EPFL Ph.D. / Based in Switzerland

Lin Du.

Machine Learning
Scientific Systems
AI for Science

Building computational systems that connect experimental measurements, scientific models, and automated tools.

The connecting thread
  1. Measure
  2. Analyse
  3. Model
  4. Decide
  5. Execute
  6. Feedback

01 / Selected work

From signals.
To systems.

Scientific problems, built into
working computational tools.

Current systems

01

AGENTIC SYSTEMS · ENGINEERING WORKFLOWS · IN PROGRESS

Building reliable autonomy.

A prototype architecture for turning loosely specified engineering tasks into verifiable actions. An orchestrator structures the problem before execution, coordinates specialised agents and deterministic tools across planning and execution, routes failed validation through recovery, and advances only after independent verification. Coding provides the first testbed for the architecture.

Structured planningAgent orchestrationFailure recoveryIndependent verification

ORCHESTRATION, IN MOTION

An orchestrator structures the task, coordinates planning and execution, and evaluates execution evidence. If validation fails, the workflow enters a recovery path and returns to validation. Verified execution then proceeds to independent review before completion.

ORCHESTRATOR / CoordinateAGENT

Routes work. Checks outcomes.
Decides what happens next.

Route · check · decide

01 / FrameAGENT

Clarify the task and define an approach.

02 / BuildAGENT

Turn the plan into something executable.

03 / ValidateGATE

Run it. Inspect the evidence.

IF VALIDATION FAILS

RecoverAGENT

Diagnose. Repair.
Validate again.

04 / ReviewAGENT

Independent verification before completion.

05 / VerifiedSTATE

Ready to deliver with evidence.

Ready in view

Follow how one task becomes a verified result.

ORCHESTRATION WORKFLOWEvidence opens the review gate.
Inside the architecture

Structured planning: the orchestrator frames loosely specified tasks before execution, separating requirements, assumptions and important edge cases into a clear plan.

Conditional recovery: failed validation triggers a dedicated recovery path, then returns to validation before the workflow can move forward.

Independent verification: execution evidence and a separate review stage determine whether the workflow is ready to complete.

Prototype in progress: the animation illustrates the target architecture; the documented workflow is being implemented as a working orchestration prototype.

02

Scientific automation · 2026

Closing the loop
with a scientific agent.

A constrained workflow that turns design proposals into validated simulations, quantitative results, and the next iteration.

Python / JavaCOMSOLTool orchestration
A design, then the next.
SENSING REGION 2 INLETS · ±35°
Topology 2 inletsAngles ±35°

Propose a bounded set of design parameters.

Workflow illustration · not a live simulation

+6.9%Functional area
−8.3%Surface t90
−1.7%Outlet t90

Selected design vs. baseline · COMSOL simulation

Inside the workflow

The agent proposes bounded design parameters. A Python controller checks the schema, geometry and feasibility before a fixed Java/COMSOL implementation constructs and solves the model.

Each attempt retains its proposal, validation outcome, solver log, raw exports and derived metrics. Isolated solver processes and explicit execution states make failures inspectable and iterations reproducible.

Outcome: The selected design increased reservoir area from 46.18 to 49.38 mm² while reducing surface t90 from 32.01 to 29.34 minutes. This remains a simulation-based proof of principle; physical validation and autonomous laboratory execution are future work.

Research foundations

Signal to system

It starts with a signal.

amplitude / a.u.
Illustrative signal processingA synthetic trace with three peaks. Switch between measurement, features, and decision to explore the workflow.0.00.51.0normalised inputILLUSTRATIVE MODEL OUTPUTFeature A0.86Feature B0.64Feature C0.44

Real experiments start with imperfect signals. The first task is to find the structure in the noise.

Interactive illustration
03

Electrochemical simulation · 2023–2024

From few measurements
to many possible signals.

An unsupervised pipeline that turns limited experiments into a compact, interpretable signal model, then generates synthetic datasets while preserving interaction patterns and experimentally supported variability.

Unsupervised learningParametric modellingSynthetic data
Few measurements. Many possibilities.
A small experimental starting point01 / 04
Current / a.u.Potential / a.u. → Raw samplesPeak parametersDifferent lengthsSame structure
From the experiment

Limited measurements, with background, noise and interacting peaks.

Measured → Simulated

Start with a few measured curves, rather than an extensive training dataset.

Method illustration · schematic curves, not experimental results

Inside the simulator

Extract without peak annotations: gradient-pattern clustering locates peak regions. Polynomial baseline subtraction isolates the peak current, and GMM decomposition estimates peak location and width before amplitude scaling.

Build a shared representation: each peak becomes an amplitude, position and width triplet, independent of raw sample count. Concentration-dependent amplitude modelling accounts for pairwise activation or inhibition.

Generate with experimental constraints: modelled concentration trends are combined with residual variability and observed parameter ranges to generate plausible signal families. Full dataset generation and decomposition of overlapping peaks were evaluated in complementary experimental settings.

04

Electrochemical ML · 2023–2025

Making complex
measurements usable.

An end-to-end pipeline for identifying and quantifying interacting drugs from noisy electrochemical measurements.

PyTorchSignal processingGaussian features
A signal becomes an answer.
Current / a.u.Potential / a.u. →
IdentNetWhich analytes?
ABC
QuantNetHow much of each?
ABC

A complex measurement, with overlapping peaks and noise.

Synthetic signal · illustrative identities and relative amounts

Inside the pipeline

Measurement → representation: peak detection, baseline subtraction and Gaussian/GMM feature extraction convert cyclic voltammograms into structured model inputs.

Representation → prediction: Optimized IdentQuantNet combines identification with drug-specific, multi-branch quantification. Interaction-aware modelling and tailored asymmetric losses account for interference and unequal error costs.

Validation: simulated and independently measured datasets, with ETO, MTX, IFO, CP and 5-FU across the studied single-agent and interacting-drug cases. Read the signal-simulation paper

05

Decision robustness · 2026

When is a decision
robust to error?

ETODA evaluates how errors in measured concentration and recorded sampling time propagate through dosage adjustment to affect therapeutic exposure under the true PK state.

Bayesian inferenceMonte CarloPopulation PK
What follows from this dose?
Observation error
ConcentrationTime →○ True state● Observed input Observed inputConcentration + timeBayesian updatePK estimateCompare regimens Selected regimen BExpected exposureExposure under true PKExposure metric →Example: subtherapeutic Sampling timeObserved concentrationTrue concentration
Inefficacy alarmSubtherapeuticWithin targetSupratherapeuticToxicity alarm

The dosing workflow receives the observed concentration and recorded time.

Schematic workflow · not a clinical calculation

Inside the framework

Define a plausible domain: population PK models, patient covariates and dose history generate prior concentration profiles. Monte Carlo population sampling and percentile bounds define the evaluation domain independently of a particular measurement.

Separate decision from consequence: observed concentration and recorded sampling time drive Bayesian estimation and regimen selection. The selected regimen is then evaluated under the corresponding true PK state, and the resulting exposure is assigned to one of five therapeutic risk categories.

Repeat across uncertainty scenarios: concentration and timing discrepancies are evaluated systematically. Time-conditioned slices visualise the resulting robustness space. Drug-specific case studies show that sampling phase, uncertainty source and therapeutic target can change robustness; informativeness and robustness are distinct objectives.

02 / A continuous trajectory

Closer to the
physical world.

From interpreting experiments to
orchestrating what happens next.

  1. 2019–2022 / BIT

    Signal
    processing

    Radar time series, unsupervised deformation-region segmentation, and spatiotemporal forecasting.

  2. 2022–2026 / EPFL

    Scientific
    machine learning

    Structured representations and interaction-aware models for electrochemical measurements.

  3. 2026 / ETODA

    Decision
    robustness

    Understanding how measurement uncertainty propagates into downstream decisions.

  4. 2026 / TOOL SYSTEMS

    Scientific
    orchestration

    Connecting high-level proposals to constrained, traceable scientific-tool execution.

  5. NEXT / RESEARCH DIRECTION

    Experimental
    automation

    Instrument control and closed-loop experimentation that connect models to the lab.

03 / Research outputs

Published work.

6 journal papers / 1 conference paper
2 granted patents
Google Scholar 

Journal papers 06
  1. 2026
    ETODA: Automatic three-dimensional error tolerance grid generation for dosage adaptation in precision medicine 

    L. Du, M. Briki, T. Buclin, M. Guidi, S. Carrara, Y. Thoma.

    Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine · 286, 109597
  2. 2025
  3. 2024
    Automatic simulation of electrochemical sensors by machine learning for drugs quantification 

    L. Du, Y. Thoma, F. Rodino, S. Carrara.

    Electrochimica Acta · 491, 144304
  4. 2024
  5. 2024
    Optimized Quantification of Multiple Drug Concentrations by WeightedMSE With Machine Learning on Electrochemical Sensor 

    T. Matsumoto, L. Du, F. Rodino, Y. Thoma, C. Premachandra, S. Carrara.

    IEEE Sensors Letters · 8, 1–4
  6. 2022
    Partition of GB-InSAR deformation map based on dynamic time warping and k-means 

    W. Tian, L. Du, Y. Deng, X. Dong.

    Journal of Systems Engineering and Electronics · 33, 907–915
Conference proceedings 01
  1. 2024
    Simultaneous Quantification of Multiple Drugs by Machine Learning on Electrochemical Sensors 

    T. Matsumoto, L. Du, Y. Thoma, S. Carrara.

    IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS)
Doctoral thesis 01
  1. 2026
Granted patents 02
  1. PATENT

    Slope deformation area division method based on dynamic time warping and k-means clustering

    W. Tian, L. Du, C. Hu, Y. Deng, X. Dong.

    CN113177575B
  2. PATENT

    Step-type landslide displacement prediction method based on gradient boosting machine and quadratic programming

    W. Tian, L. Du, C. Hu, Y. Deng, T. Xiao.

    CN112668606B

04 / About

Where experiments
meet code.

View my CV

I’m an electrical engineer and EPFL Ph.D. working across machine learning, scientific systems, and experimental data.

My work has moved from radar measurements and time-series modelling to electrochemical ML and uncertainty-aware decision support. Today, I build workflows that connect scientific reasoning to specialist tools. My longer-term aim is to close the loop in physical experiments.

2026

Ph.D. · Electrical Engineering
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)

2022

M.Sc. · Information & Communication Engineering
Beijing Institute of Technology

2019

B.Sc. · Electronic Information Engineering
B.Econ. · Economics (dual degree)

Beijing Institute of Technology

Teaching & Awards

Teaching EPFL

Applied Machine LearningTeaching Assistant · Prof. Aude Billard

Deep Learning for Autonomous VehiclesTeaching Assistant · Prof. Alexandre Alahi

Awards

Beijing Outstanding Graduate2022 · Top 5%

National Scholarship of China2021 · Top 2%

Tools I work with
  • Python
  • PyTorch
  • scikit-learn
  • NumPy / SciPy / Pandas
  • MATLAB
  • C
  • SQL
  • Git
  • Streamlit
  • COMSOL / Java API
  • LLM APIs

Models meet measurements. Let’s build what’s next.

Let’s connect.
Want to know a little more?

Small moments,
elsewhere.

Places I’ve been,
and little moments that built me.

WORLD

Pick a place to discover a memory.

1 little memory found

Choose a glowing dot. There is a little more inside Europe and Japan.

A postcard from13 / 17

NORWAY

Svalbard

Thank you to Svalbard, for my first experience of the midnight sun, and for the drink cooled by ice carved directly from a glacier.

Another little adventure?
Life could still be vivid, gentle, surprising, and full of light. And that the world is still so wide.

Map outlines: Natural Earth