Currently, Prof Niu is the leader of the environmental science and engineering program at Guangdong University of Petrochemical Technology. He is also a national clean production auditor, a member of the Community Safety Professional Committee of the China Emergency Management Society, an expert in environmental emergency preparedness and planning for Foshan City, and a member of the Shenzhen Safety Committee's expert panel on production safety. As an evaluation expert for the Foundation for the Returned Overseas Chinese Scholars, he reviews master's and doctoral theses for the Education Development Center of the Ministry of Education, as well as proposals for the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and natural science funds in Shandong and Sichuan. Additionally, he is a technology consulting expert and bidding expert for Guangdong Province and a peer reviewer for journals such as Environmental Science and Technology, Water Research, Water Environment Research, High Technology Communication, Bioresource Technology, Water Science and Technology, Separation & Purification Technology, Journal of Hazardous Materials, and Environmental Technology.

Prof Niu has led over 30 projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Doctoral Fund of the Ministry of Education, the Foundation for the Returned Overseas Chinese Scholars, the Guangdong Provincial Science and Technology Plan, the Guangdong Provincial Natural Science Foundation, the Basic Research Business Expenses of Central Universities, and the National Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse. He has published over 100 research papers in core journals such as Chemosphere, Plant and Soil, Science of the Total Environment, Chemical Engineering Journal, and Environmental Pollution. He holds 31 patents in China, 1 Japan patent, 14 utility patents, and has co-authored 1 monograph.