Female scientist blends empathy and ethics in algorithms

Her colleague Fan Hongxiang says Li's expertise "is no less than, and often surpasses, that of many male experts", adding that she pays close attention to students' growth. Her personal website reflects this balance, showcasing not only her academic achievements but also photos of lab gatherings, including game nights with her team.

Today, Li supervises 11 PhD students and two postdoctoral students from China, Europe, South America and elsewhere.

Her students describe her as motivated. "She gives you space to grow, but steps in when you struggle," says Carles Balsells Rodas, one of her PhD students. "Her passion for research is contagious."

Pinned to her office door are six words she calls her "six Cs": curiosity, courage, challenge, concentration, continuation and confidence.

"Curiosity drives science," she says. "Courage means not blindly following authority, and confidence is about debating your ideas with your peers. These are not just research principles, they're life principles."

Li's academic record speaks for itself. In 2020, she became one of the first Chinese scholars to deliver a tutorial at NeurIPS, one of the world's top machine learning conferences.

In 2021, she debated Yann LeCun, Turing Award laureate and one of the "three giants" of deep learning, on probabilistic methods in energy-based models. "There was no clear winner," she says, laughing, "but it was a serious 50-minute debate that highlighted what probability brings to the table, and the challenges it faces." In 2023, she was named one of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence's global "New Faculty Highlights", recognizing her as a rising scholar.