November 2020-August 2024 - Research Group: Oceanic Machine Vision

Position: Postdoctoral Researcher

Project: TechOceanS - Plankton Scanning and Simulation

Key Contributions:

1. Macro Photography and 3D Reconstruction:

   • Developed camera calibration methods for focus-stacked images
   • Improved 3D modeling techniques for small objects
   • Addressed challenges in shallow depth of field and optical effects
   • Created a novel corner detection strategy using focus stacks
   • Validated results with synthetic and real data
   • Enhanced micro-scale imaging for life sciences, technology, and art applications

2. Plankton Scanning and Simulation:

   • Contributed to creating first digital volumetric models of plankton in computer vision
   • Developed synthetic image generation using Mitsuba-3 volumetric raytracing
   • Scaled technology to include 7 species of plankton
   • Used synthetic data from digital amphipod models to balance datasets
   • Improved marine species classification and in-situ imaging techniques
   • Supported advancements in marine biology, biodiversity monitoring, and sustainable fisheries management

 

August 2024 - August 2025 - Research Group: Plankton Biogeochemistry and Dynamics

Position: Postdoctoral Researcher

Project: PlankTwin - Multi-Camera System for Volumetric Imaging and Modelling of Macro Size Living Zooplankton

Key Contributions: Developed a novel 3D scanning system for marine plankton using a four-camera setup with synchronized high-speed macro cameras. Implemented advanced imaging techniques, including volumetric reconstruction based on inverse ray-tracing, to generate sequential 3D models of plankton species. Successfully estimated effective volume of scanned plankton. This project significantly advanced plankton imaging technology, addressing technical challenges in 3D scanning and offering new opportunities for studying marine carbon cycling and food webs.

August 2025 - now - Research Group: Plankton Biogeochemistry and Dynamics

Position: Postdoctoral Researcher

Project: PlastoView - Microplastic detection algorithms for the PlastiScope

As part of this new project, I am developing advanced image processing algorithms to enable comprehensive seawater monitoring for both microplankton and microplastics. By integrating a novel polarization camera system into the established PlanktoScope imaging platform, we aim to create a cost-effective solution that can simultaneously detect and characterize these critical components of aquatic ecosystems. The key goals of this work are to: 1) manage and process images with varying quality, including polarized and standard illumination; 2) develop automated segmentation and classification of microplastics and plankton; and 3) provide an open-access software framework to enable global deployment of this technology. This project represents an innovative approach to addressing the growing challenge of microplastic pollution, while also advancing our understanding of plankton communities and their role in marine ecosystems.

Education

• 2013-2020 Successive Postgraduate and Doctoral Programs Studies (control science and engineering), College of Automation, Harbin Engineering University, with PhD thesis “Research on Measurement Technique Based on Trinocular Hybrid Stereo vision”

• 2017-2018 Joint PhD Studies (optical sensors and measurement technique), Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany

• 2008-2012 Undergraduate Studies (automation), College of Automation, Harbin Engineering University