Lin Li named 2026 UIC University Scholar
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Lin Li, professor of mechanical and industrial engineering, has been named a 2026 UIC University Scholar.
This prestigious award from the Office of the President honors outstanding faculty members who demonstrate superior performance in scholarly activities in research and teaching and show great promise for future achievements.
“Dr. Li’s multidisciplinary expertise across mechanical engineering, industrial engineering, and business administration has positioned him as a leading researcher, educator, and institutional contributor at UIC,” Professor and Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department Head Houshang Darabi said. “His research has significantly elevated UIC’s reputation in sustainable manufacturing and energy systems, not only through scholarly contributions but also by strengthening UIC’s research leadership and international recognition in these fields.”
Li is the director of the Sustainable Manufacturing Systems Research Laboratory, where he works on advanced and sustainable manufacturing, including 3D/4D printing processes, energy-efficient manufacturing, electric-vehicle battery manufacturing, intelligent maintenance of manufacturing systems, and more.
He is also the director of the Industrial Training and Assessment Center, a U.S. Department of Energy-funded program that trains staff and students to conduct energy assessments at small- and mid-size industrial facilities. UIC is one of 28 centers across the United States.
He is also a member of the advising team for the NASA MIRO Center for In-Space Manufacturing: Recycling and Regolith Processing, where advanced materials, processes, and manufacturing technologies are being developed to enable sustainable, on-demand resource utilization for space exploration.
Li received his PhD in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor in 2007 and joined the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department at UIC in 2011. He is a fellow of ASME and has more than 20 years of research experience in smart manufacturing for productivity improvement and energy-efficient, sustainable manufacturing. He has published more than 150 articles, including 103 journal papers in prestigious international journals. Li’s publications have been cited more than 6,000 times with an h-index of 46 and an i10-index of 99.
As principal investigator or co-principal investigator, Li has received over $13 million in external research funding from government agencies and industry. He is conferred as a Highly Ranked Scholar – Lifetime in the Specialty of Manufacturing ranking in the top 0.05% worldwide.