Yong Yan has been the Director and Lead Scientist of International Center for Carbon Neutralization at Hangzhou International Innovation Institute of Beihang University since.  He was a Professor of Electronic Instrumentation, Director of Research and Innovation, and Head of Instrumentation and Control Research Group at the School of Engineering, University of Kent, UK from June 2004 to June 2024. He gained the BEng, MEng and PhD degrees from Tsinghua University (1980-1988) and Teesside University in the UK (1989-1992), respectively. In recognition of his contributions to pulverised fuel flow metering and burner flame imaging, he was named an IEEE Fellow in 2011 and elected as a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2020. He serves as the Vice Chair of International Measurement Confederation (IMEKO) TC20 (Measurements of Energy & Related Quantities), Council Member of International Flame Research Foundation (IFRF), and Member of the Executive Committee of Fuel and Energy Research Forum (FERF), Editor-in-Chief of the Measurement: Energy journal, Editor of the Measurement journal, and Qiushi Chair Professor (part-time) at Zhejiang University.

Professor Yan has been undertaking active research and education in the field of instrumentation and measurement for more than three decades. His research interests include measurement techniques for the Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) chain, multiphase flow metering, combustion process monitoring, and intelligent sensing and condition monitoring. He has made world-leading achievements in electrostatic sensors, digital imaging based measurement, and intelligent instrumentation. He is a recipient of more than 20 prizes and awards in recognition of his research achievements, including the Best Applications Award of the IEEE Instrumentation and Measurement Society in 2017. He has published more than 540 papers in scientific journals and conference proceedings, of which 240 papers are in SCI indexed journals and 60 papers in the top journal, IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement. His h-index is 55 with over 10,000 citations. He is a named inventor in more than 40 granted patents and has supervised 46 PhD students and over 20 post-doctoral research associates to sucessful completion.