He received his PhD in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley in 2009, his master's in industrial engineering from Texas Tech University in 2005 and his bachelor's in mechanical engineering from China University of Petroleum in 1999. Yuan’s research focuses on sustainable and nanomanufacturing, spanning from large-scale manufacturing systems (automotive manufacturing) to nanoscale clean-energy technologies (solar cells and lithium-ion batteries). His past research has led to a total of 44 publications in book chapters, academic journals and conference proceedings. Yuan is currently the director of the Department of Energy’s Industrial Assessment Center at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, working with dozens of Wisconsin manufacturing companies on energy efficiency and industrial sustainability.