"Jim is known for nurturing students and encouraging all his students to achieve their very best," says Stephen Burns, chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. "He likes to talk with students and see that they achieve their goals and aspirations."
Li was cited for his research on "glassy metals," a kind of material that has no crystalline properties. His research has yielded a glassy metal that has formed the basis for an entire industry. Engineers use this material to create electrical transformers that transfer energy with a much higher efficiency than conventional transformers. He has worked for 45 years on similar materials that are mechanically superior to their traditional counterparts--stronger, tougher, and more resistant to corrosion.
Recently, Li has worked on new catalysts for fuel cells to improve their durability and reduce costs. He is developing a material process for lightweight, high-temperature valves that will improve the efficiency of internal combustion engines.
In his long tenure at the University, Li has mentored more than 50 master's, doctorate, and postdoctoral students, published more than 350 papers, and obtained many patents. He has been awarded the Champion H. Mathewson Gold Medal by the Metallurgical Society, the Acta Metallurgica Gold Medal by the American Society for Materials, and the Senior Alexander von Humboldt Award.
"Jim asks the most astute questions of anyone in the department," says Burns. "When visiting professors would talk about their computer simulations, he'd often be able to ask such penetrating questions that it would become evident that the simulations were not quite up to par. We learned to expect that level of insightfulness from him."
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Academy elects Li as fellow
ames Li, Albert A. Hopeman Professor of Engineering, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering, one of the most prestigious honors in the engineering fields. Li has been a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering for 35 years.
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