Bingji Yan received his Ph.D. in metallurgical engineering from University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, China, in 2015. He is currently an associate professor in the School of Iron and Steel, Soochow University, Suzhou, China. His research interests are in the areas of big data technology use in blast furnace ironmaking, analysis of the blast furnace ironmaking process, and comprehensive utilization of metallurgical resources.