Biography
Dr. Shuai Li is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering at the University of Florida. He leads the AIRIS Lab, where breakthroughs in Data Science, Robotics, Environmental Transformation, AI, and Manufacturing are harnessed to tackle humanity’s most pressing challenges.
Before joining the University of Florida, Dr. Li was the David Goodpasture Endowed Associate Professor and Assistant Professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He earned his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Purdue University (2017), along with three M.S. degrees in Construction Engineering, Industrial Engineering, and Economics. He also holds dual B.S. degrees in Hydraulics and Hydroelectric Engineering and in Project Management from Tianjin University (2012).
Dr. Li has secured over $10M in federal funding as PI and Co-PI, supported by highly competitive agencies including NSF, ARPA-E, DOT, and leading technology companies. His research has been recognized with multiple awards, including the ASCE Collingwood Prize and the Best Paper Award from Building and Environment. Dr. Li is actively seeking talented and self-motivated students and postdoctoral researchers to join the AIRIS Lab and help advance AI and robotics for civic innovations and industrial transformations on Earth and beyond.
Education
- B.S., Hydraulics & Hydroelectric Engineering, Tianjin University, 2012
- B.S., Project Management, Tianjin University, 2012
- M.S., Construction Engineering and Management, Purdue University, 2014
- M.S., Industrial Engineering, Purdue University, 2015
- M.S., Economics, Purdue University, 2016
- Ph.D., Civil Engineering, Purdue University, 2017
Research Aeras
- Scalable Construction and Manufacturing Robotics
- Intelligent Robots for Hospitality, Home, and Healthcare
- Vision-Language-Action Models for Embodied AI
- Human-Robot Interactions
- Quantum-Enhanced Robotics
- Agentic AI Systems