Xin Li will serve as DKU’s first dean of graduate studies
Duke Kunshan University has appointed Xin Li, professor of electrical and computer engineering (ECE), as its inaugural dean of graduate studies.
Li will provide academic, intellectual and administrative leadership to develop a collaborative support system across the university’s five graduate programs, and ensure excellence in research, teaching, and service to society.
He will also support faculty, students and staff as they continue to navigate the challenging conditions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
‘I’m honored and excited to take on this new role to further develop and grow Duke Kunshan’s graduate programs, in close collaboration with our distinct undergraduate program,’ said Li. ‘I look forward to working with the leadership team and other colleagues to offer high-quality, innovative education and research opportunities to our students.’
Li will report directly to Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs Scott MacEachern and work closely with Chancellor Youmei Feng and Executive Vice Chancellor Al Bloom to ensure the university provides graduates with a cutting-edge education.
Li, previously a faculty member at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), joined Duke Kunshan in January 2017. He has been a key figure in the university’s development, having established the ECE master of engineering program, the Institute of Applied Physical Sciences and Engineering, and the Data Science Research Center. Since July 2019, he has served as associate dean of research, a role he will incorporate into his new duties. He also is a professor in the ECE Department at Duke University.
‘Xin Li’s remarkable academic insight and experience, combined with his compelling vision of how higher education can contribute to building a more effective and cooperative world, make him the ideal person to guide the continued development of our graduate programs into even more distinctive dimensions of DKU’s educational excellence,’ said EVC Bloom.
Chancellor Feng said, ‘Over the past four years, Xin Li has shown a great deal of commitment and dedication in helping DKU expand its research capacity and lay a strong foundation to attract talented, ambitious graduate students from around the world. I believe he will help DKU’s research projects and graduate programs collaborate more closely with our undergraduate education in the future.’
An award-winning scientist specializing in integrated circuits, signal processing and data analytics, Li is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and is deputy editor-in-chief of the international journal IEEE Transactions on Computer-Aided Design.
Li has B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in electrical engineering from Fudan University and a Ph.D. in ECE from CMU. In 2005, he co-founded Xigmix Inc., serving as chief technical officer until Extreme DA acquired the company in 2007.
Between 2009 and 2012, Li was assistant director at the FCRP Focus Research Center for Circuit and System Solutions, a consortium of research universities including CMU, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford, Berkeley and Columbia to work on next-generation integrated circuit design challenges. He later became assistant director for the Center for Silicon System Implementation, a CMU research center.
Li has been part of several influential committees in the international ECE community. He has also received awards including the NSF Faculty Early Career Development Award, two IEEE Donald O. Pederson best paper awards, two IEEE/ACM William J. McCalla ICCAD best paper awards, and the best paper award at the 2014 International Symposium on Integrated Circuits, as well as multiple nominations.
Duke Kunshan offers master’s programs in electrical and computer engineering, global health, environmental policy, medical physics, and management studies.
Find out more at our open house running March 22-27.
