Ming Li Selected as 2019 Distinguished Scholar

Associate professor Ming Li conducts cybersecurity research that aims to keep everything from smartphones and laptops to driverless vehicles and drones safe from hackers. In 2019, the UA Office of the Provost named him a Distinguished Scholar for outstanding contributions in teaching, research and outreach. Only three to four mid-career faculty are selected for the honor each year.

“I feel very lucky to receive this award,” Li said. “We’ve done many years of work on wireless networks and cybersecurity. These are issues that affect every asset of our lives.”

Li arrived at the UA in 2015 after receiving his PhD in electrical and computer engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and serving as an assistant professor in Utah State University’s Department of Computer Science. He’s already racked up a list of accomplishments, including a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Award in 2014, an Air Force Office of Scientific Research Summer Faculty Fellowship in 2015 and an Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award in 2016. He is also a senior member of IEEE, and has authored or co-authored more than 100 publications.