Biography: Ning Xi received his D.Sc. degree in Systems Science and Mathematics from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, USA in December 1993. He is the Chair Professor of Robotics and Automation in the Faculty of Engineering and the Director of the Emerging Technologies Institute at the University of Hong Kong.  Before he joined the University of Hong Kong in 2016, he was University Distinguished Professor, the John D. Ryder Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Director of Robotics and Automation Laboratory at Michigan State University. Dr. Xi received the Best Paper Award in IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) in August, 1995, and the Best Paper Award in the 1998 Japan-USA Symposium on Flexible Automation.  Dr. Xi was awarded the first Early Academic Career Award by the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society in May, 1999. He also received The Best Paper Award of IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering in 2007.  Dr. Xi was awarded SPIE Nano Engineering Award in 2007. In addition, he is a recipient of US National Science Foundation CAREER Award.  Dr. Xi is a fellow of IEEE.