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Ying Li

Ying Li

Associate Professor
gscholar website
lab website

Dr. Li joined the University of Wisconsin-Madison in August 2022 as an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering. From 2015 to 2022, he was an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Connecticut and was promoted to Associate Professor. He received his Ph.D. in 2015 from Northwestern University, focusing on the multiscale modeling of soft matter and related biomedical applications. His current research interests are: multiscale modeling, computational materials design, mechanics and physics of polymers, and machine learning-accelerated polymer design. Dr. Li’s achievements in research have been widely recognized by fellowships and awards, including NSF CAREER Award (2021), Air Force’s Young Investigator Award (2020), 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award (2020), ASME Haythornthwaite Young Investigator Award (2019), NSF CISE Research Initiation Initiative Award (2018) and multiple best paper awards from major conferences. He has authored and co-authored more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles, including Physical Review Letters, ACS Nano, Biomaterials, Nanoscale, Macromolecules, Journal of Mechanics and Physics of Solids, and Journal of Fluid Mechanics, etc. He has been invited as a reviewer for more than 90 international journals, such as Nature Communications and Science Advances. Dr. Li’s lab is currently supported by multi-million-dollar grants and contracts from NSF, AFOSR, AFRL, ONR, DOE/National Nuclear Security Administration, DOE/National Alliance for Water Innovation, and industries.

Department

Mechanical Engineering

Contact

Mechanical Engineering Bldg
1513 University Ave
Madison, WI

Professor Ying Li, Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison

  • PhD 2015, Northwestern University
  • MS 2008, Tsinghua University
  • BS 2006, Zhengzhou University

  • Mechanics of Materials
  • Polymer Physics
  • Soft Matter
  • Computational Mechanics
  • Computational Materials Science
  • Multiscale Modeling
  • Molecular Dynamics
  • Biomedical Systems
  • Data Mining, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence

  • 2023 National Academy of Engineers and Engineering Academy of Japan, Invited participant to Japan–American Frontiers of Engineering Symposium
  • 2023 American Chemical Society, Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering (PMSE) Young Investigator Award
  • 2023 Royal Society of Chemistry Journals, Soft Matter Emerging Investigator
  • 2021 National Science Foundation, NSF CAREER Award
  • 2020 3M Company, 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award (NTFA)
  • 2020 Air Force Office of Scientific Research, AFOSR Young Investigator Award
  • 2019 ASME Applied Mechanics Division, ASME Haythornthwaite Young Investigator Award
  • 2018 National Science Foundation, NSF CISE Research Initiation Initiative Award
  • 2018 University of Connecticut, Research Excellence Award
  • 2018 18th U.S. National Congress for Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Scientific Committee Member
  • 2017 University of Connecticut, Teaching Excellence Recognition by Office of the Provost
  • 2016 University of Connecticut, Teaching Excellence Recognition by Office of the Provost
  • 2016 24th the International Congress of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, U.S. Early Career Mentee
  • 2015 4th ASME Global Congress on NanoEngineering for Medicine and Biology, Best Paper award
  • 2014 51st Society of Engineering Science Meeting, 3rd Place in Student Poster Competition
  • 2014 IIN (International Institute for Nanotechnology), Outstanding Researcher Award
  • 2013 Northwestern University, Royal E. Cabell Terminal Year Fellowship
  • 2013 National Science Foundation, NSF Fellowship for Summer Institute: Materials Genome
  • 2013 12th U.S. National Congress on Computational Mechanics, Travel awardee
  • 2012 Chinese government, Award for outstanding self-financed students abroad
  • 2012 National Science Foundation, NSF Fellowship for Summer Institute: Materiomics
  • 2011 National Science Foundation, NSF Fellowship for Summer Institute: Cancer Nanotechnology
  • 2011 Northwestern University, Ryan Fellowship
  • 2010 Northwestern University, Predictive Science & Engineering Design Fellowship
  • 2010 National Science Foundation, NSF Fellowship for Summer Institute: Mechanics of Soft Materials
  • 2009 Northwestern University, Walter P. Murphy Fellowship
  • 2008 Tsinghua University, Excellent Master Thesis
  • 2007 Beijing Society of Mechanics, Excellent Youth Presentation Award
  • 2007 Tsinghua University, Tsinghua–Gaotian Scholarship for Academic Distinction, Second Prize
  • 2005 Zhengzhou University, The Outstanding Prize of National English Competition (Hennan Province)
  • 2005 Zhengzhou University, The Second Prize of Yutong Mechanics Competition (Hennan Province)
  • 2004 Zhengzhou University, Scholarship for Academic Distinction, Second Prize
  • 2003 Zhengzhou University, Scholarship for Academic Distinction, First Prize

  • Mahajan, S., Hoek, E. M., McCutcheon, J., & Li, Y. (2024). Benchmarking Forcefields for Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Polyamide-based Reverse-Osmosis Membranes. Journal of Membrane Science, 123493.
  • Yue, T., Tao, L., Varshney, V., & Li, Y. (2024). Benchmarking Study of Deep Generative Models for Inverse Polymer Design.
  • Kalutantirige, F. C., He, J., Yao, L., Cotty, S., Zhou, S., Smith, J. W., Tajkhorshid, E., Schroeder, C. M., Moore, J. S., An, H., & others, (2024). Beyond nothingness in the formation and functional relevance of voids in polymer films. Nature Communications, 15(1), 2852.
  • Lee, J., Zhang, W., Nguyen, D., Zhou, L., Amengual, J., Zhai, J., Cote, T., Landolina, M., Ahmadi, E., Mishra, N., & others, (2024). Computation-aided Design of Rod-Shaped Janus Base Nanopieces for Improved Tissue Penetration and Therapeutics Delivery. bioRxiv, 2024--01.
  • Xian, W., Maiti, A., Saab, A. P., & Li, Y. (2024). Development of a coarse-grained molecular dynamics model for poly (dimethyl-co-diphenyl) siloxane. Soft Matter, 20(42), 8480--8492.
  • Xian, W., Zhan, Y., Maiti, A., Saab, A. P., & Li, Y. (2024). Filled Elastomers: Mechanistic and Physics-Driven Modeling and Applications as Smart Materials. Polymers, 16(10), 1387.
  • Quezada-Renteria, J. A., Wu, J., Xiao, M., He, J., Dlamini, D. S., Li, Y., & Hoek, E. M. (2024). Insights on the chlorine resistance of polyester composite nanofiltration membranes. Journal of Membrane Science, 695, 122459.
  • Li, Y. (2024). Machine Learning-accelerated Molecular Design of Innovative Polymers: Advanced manufacturing, extreme conditions, and sustainable energy solutions. Bulletin of the American Physical Society.
  • He, J., Fan, H., Elimelech, M., & Li, Y. (2024). Molecular simulations of organic solvent transport in dense polymer membranes: Solution-diffusion or pore-flow mechanism?. Journal of Membrane Science, 708, 123055.
  • Li, Z., Bhardwaj, A., He, J., Zhang, W., Tran, T. T., Li, Y., McClung, A., Nuguri, S., Watkins, J. J., & Lee, S. (2024). Nanoporous amorphous carbon nanopillars with lightweight, ultrahigh strength, large fracture strain, and high damping capability. Nature Communications, 15(1), 8151.

  • B M E 601 - Special Topics in Biomedical Engineering (Spring 2025)
  • CIV ENGR 649 - Special Topics in Structural Engineering (Spring 2025)
  • E M A 601 - Special Topics in Engineering Mechanics (Spring 2025)
  • M E 890 - PhD Research and Thesis (Spring 2025)
  • M E 990 - Dissertator Research and Thesis (Spring 2025)
  • B M E 601 - Special Topics in Biomedical Engineering (Fall 2024)
  • CIV ENGR 649 - Special Topics in Structural Engineering (Fall 2024)
  • E M A 601 - Special Topics in Engineering Mechanics (Fall 2024)
  • E M A 605 - Introduction to Finite Elements (Fall 2024)
  • M E 601 - Special Topics in Mechanical Engineering (Fall 2024)
  • M E 790 - Master's Research and Thesis (Fall 2024)
  • M E 890 - PhD Research and Thesis (Fall 2024)
  • M E 990 - Dissertator Research and Thesis (Fall 2024)
  • M E 890 - PhD Research and Thesis (Summer 2024)
  • E M A 303 - Mechanics of Materials (Spring 2024)
  • M E 306 - Mechanics of Materials (Spring 2024)
  • M E 890 - PhD Research and Thesis (Spring 2024)
  • M E 890 - PhD Research and Thesis (Fall 2023)
  • M E 890 - PhD Research and Thesis (Summer 2023)