Prior to joining MBZUAI, Professor Duan worked as a research associate at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU). Before that, he was enrolled in a joint Ph.D. program in robotics, a collaborative initiative between the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) and the University of Genoa in Italy. Additionally, Professor Duan held a position as a visiting researcher at the Learning Algorithms and Systems Laboratory at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland.

• Ph.D. in Robotics, Italian Institute of Technology and University of Genova, Italy
• Master’s in Mechatronics, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden
• Bachelor in Mechanical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, China

• The National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) Robotics Fellowship

• Duan, A., Batzianoulis, I., Camoriano, R., Rosasco, L., Pucci, D. and Billard, A.: “A structured prediction approach for robot imitation learning”, The International Journal of Robotics Research, 43(2), pp.113-133, 2024.
• Duan, A., Victorova, M., Zhao, J., Sun, Y., Zheng, Y. and Navarro-Alarcon, D.: “Ultrasound-guided assistive robots for scoliosis assessment with optimization-based control and variable impedance”, IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 7(3), pp.8106-8113, 2022.
• Duan, A., Huo, S., Lee, H.Y., Zhou, P., Romero, J.G., Yang, C. and Navarro-Alarcon, D.: “Robust grasping by bimanual robots with stable parameterization-based contact servoing”, IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, 2024.
• Duan, A., Yang, C., Zhao, J., Huo, S., Zhou, P., Ma, W., Zheng, Y. and Navarro-Alarcon, D.: “Safe Learning by Constraint-Aware Policy Optimization for Robotic Ultrasound Imaging”, IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering, 2024.