William Liu

At KTH, I work as a permanent researcher with focus on railway energy and railway sustainability. I have been working and researching in the railway field since 2008. I have joined the system development and commissioning trials of the high-speed railways (with a top speed of 420 km/h). To make rail transport more reliable, more affordable and more attractive, in the past 15 years I have participated in more than 20 railway-related research projects and published 50 publications (conference and journal articles) about research on rail transport systems. I have been acting as PI in 4 research projects (financed by EU, Swedish governmental agencies and railway industry) and Co-PI in 7 research projects. At the same time, I also contribute to the railway education at KTH. I am a teacher in 8 courses on transport systems. I have been the main supervisor of 6 bachelor's theses and 12 master's theses. I also act as co-supervisor of several doctoral students. I have also looked into the theory of pedagogy in higher education and finished 5 pedagogical courses at KTH. Based on the pedagogical theory and my experience in teaching and supervision, I have written a report that is included in the course material of a pedagogical course(LH219V) at KTH.

Work experience:

• Researcher in Rail Vehicle Technology, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm. 2020.01 - now
• Member of Swedish Electrical Standardization Committee (SEK Svensk Elstandard). 2020.06 - now
• Member of Swedish Society of Mechanical Engineers (Mekanisterna), 2022.11 - now
• Postdoc in Rail Vehicle Technology, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm. 2017.12 - 2019.12
• Researcher at China Academy of Railway Sciences (CARS), Beijing. 2011.06 - 2013.05
• Research Engineer at China Academy of Railway Sciences (CARS), Beijing. 2009.06 - 2011.05
• Intern at China Academy of Railway Sciences (CARS), Beijing. 2008.

Education:

• Doctor of Philosophy in Vehicle Engineering, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm. 2013.09 - 2017.11
• Licentiate of Technology in Vehicle Engineering, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm. 2013.09 - 2015.10
• Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin. 2007.09 - 2009.06
• Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), Harbin. 2003.09 - 2007.06

Teaching:

·Rail Vehicle Technology (SD2307), master level, Teacher

·Vehicle System Technology (SD2221), master level, Teacher

·Energy System (MJ1145), bachelor level, Teacher

·Energy Technologies for Sustainable Transport (MJ2506), master level, Teacher

·Vehicle Engineering (SD1002), bachelor level, Teacher

·Railway system and rail vehicle technology, Professional education for industry, Teacher

·Vehicle dynamics project course part I (SD2229), master level, Teacher

·Vehicle dynamics project course part II (SD2230), master level, Teacher

·Energy technologies for sustainable transport (MJ2506), master level, Teacher

·KTH Delsbo Electric Team, Advisor

Supervision:

• Bachelor's theses (7)

[1] Jakob Lindbergh and Hector Älfvåg, Optimering av tågs kontakt med kontaktledning – utplacerade massors påkerkan på kontaktkraftens kvalitet (in Swedish), 2019.

[2] Alice Zhang and Gustav Ström, Delsbo electric: Design och tillverkning av bottenplatta till ett rälsfordon (in Swedish), 2022.

[3] Ludvig Danström, Delsbo electric: Optimering av fjäder-dämpar system (in Swedish), 2023.

[4] Olof Skagerlind and Gabriel Forsling, Delsbo electric: Optimering av hjuldesign (in Swedish), 2023.

[5] Oliver Rehn, Delsbo electric: Energiförbrukning & köroptimering (in Swedish), 2024.

[6] Henric Molin and Anton Säll, Hyperloop: Study on traction energy consumption, 2025. (Ongoing)

[7] Darian Rafiq and Aboud Shammo, Hyperloop: Study on heat generation and cooling, 2025. (Ongoing)

• Master's theses (12)

[1] Philipp Geiberger, Analysis of the electrical energy consumption of LKAB’s iron ore trains, 2021.

[2] Alexandra Jerresand and Micaela Diamant, Energy usage of smart wayside object controller, 2021.

[3] Filipp Zarov, Life cycle cost of smart wayside object controller, 2021.

[4] Gaston Holmström, Pantograph-catenary wear modelling using dynamic simulation, 2022.

[5] Sidharth Kapoor, Energy usage of railway wayside object heating, 2022.

[6] Jimmy Liden, Optimization of comfort-related energy of Stockholm commuter trains, 2023.

[7] Siddharth Sumathi, Modelling of heat transfer of railway switch heating, 2023.

[8] Yijing Pang, Optimization of traction energy of Stockholm commuter trains, 2023.

[9] Gökmen Dursun, Cost modelling of optimizing train operation and upgrading infrastructure for decision-making, 2024.

[10] Kangli Chen, Modelling of power supply systems of Stockholm local rail transport, 2024.

[11] Danlin Fang, Study on train driving strategies in virtual coupling operation, 2024/2025. (ongoing)

[12] Yinan Yang, Circular economy: Quantifying railway sustainability, 2024/2025. (ongoing)

• Doctoral students (Co-supervisor):

[1] Bastian Schick, Pantograph-catenary dynamic interaction, ongoing.

[2] Yanjun Zhang, Braking system of rail vehicle, ongoing.

[3] Yan Xu, Rail vehicle dynamics under adverse conditions, finished, 2022.

[4] Sidharth Kapoor (Research engineer),  Railway system energy simulation