He graduated from University of Science and Technology of China in 1983 and won the Guo Moruo Award (Silver Award). He was invited to work in the polymer and composites research group at Hamburg-Harburg Institute of Technology from July 1987 to December 1989. In December 1989, he joined the University of Sydney in Australia to pursue a Ph.D. in the field of polymer blends. In March 1994, he was awarded a doctorate and was subsequently appointed postdoctoral researcher at the University of Sydney. In January 1995, he was awarded the prestigious Australian Postdoctoral Scholarship. In early 1996, he joined the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He is a professor and director of the Center for Engineering Materials and Reliability, and a director of senior engineering facilities. He is also an adjunct professor at the University of Science and Technology of China, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Sichuan University and Harbin Engineering University.