Professor
Supervisor of Doctorate Candidates
Supervisor of Master's Candidates
Date of Employment:2016-03-15
School/Department:Traffic and Transportation Engineering
Education Level:Postgraduate (Postdoctoral)
Business Address:铁道校区高速中心北楼114
Sex:Female
Degree:Doctoral degree
Status:Employed
Academic Titles:院研究生教育管理中心主任、教授委员会秘书委员、党支部宣传委员、院工会宣传委员
Alma Mater:湖南大学
Discipline:Transportation Engineering
Li Yingli, Professor and Doctoral Supervisor
Professor Li Yingli obtained her Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctoral degrees from Hunan University (2003–2013). She pursued joint doctoral research at the University of Toronto, Canada (2011–2013), and conducted postdoctoral research at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (2015–2016).
Her current research focuses on vibration and noise reduction for rail transit equipment, acoustic/mechanical metamaterial structures, and robotic dynamics. She is a recipient of the Natural Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars of Hunan Province and has been selected for the "Huxiang Youth Talent Program" (Technological Innovation Category - Lotus Tip) and the "Sheng-hua Lie-ying Talent Program" of Central South University. She was listed among the "World's Top 2% Scientists" in 2025. Her accolades include the First Prize of the Hunan Provincial Natural Science Award, the Special Prize of Railway Science, the Mao Yisheng Scientific Research Grant, and the Outstanding Master’s Thesis Advisor Award of Hunan Province.
She has presided over three projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Key/General/Young Scientists Fund), two sub-projects under the National Key R&D Program, five provincial/ministerial-level projects, and 14 industry-funded projects. She has published over 100 academic papers, including more than 90 in mainstream international journals (83 as first author or corresponding author), which have been cited over 2,500 times according to SCI databases. She holds 13 national invention patents as the first inventor and has participated in the authorship of five academic monographs.
Professor Li serves as a Youth Editorial Board Member for Scientific Reports, International Journal of Dynamics and Control, Transportation Safety and Environment, the Journal of Railway Science and Engineering, and Dynamics and Control. She is also a Council Member of the Chinese Society of Metamaterials.
Office Address: Room 114, High-Speed Train Research Center, Railway Campus, Central South University
Email: liyingli@csu.edu.cn
Mailing Address: High-Speed Train Research Center, Railway Campus, Central South University, No. 22 Shaoshan South Road, Tianxin District, Changsha, Hunan Province, P.R. China, 410075
Student Recruitment: We recruit 2-3 Master's students and 1-2 Ph.D. students annually (preferred backgrounds include Transportation Equipment, Mechanics, Mechanical Engineering, Mathematics, and Civil Engineering).
Education
Sep. 2011 – Apr. 2013: Joint Ph.D. Student, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, Canada.
Sep. 2009 – Apr. 2013: Ph.D. in Nonlinear Vibration, College of Mechanical and Vehicle Engineering, Hunan University.
Sep. 2007 – Sep. 2009: M.Eng. in Solid Mechanics, College of Mechanics and Aerospace Engineering, Hunan University.
Sep. 2003 – Jun. 2007: B.Eng. in Engineering Mechanics, College of Mechanics and Aerospace Engineering, Hunan University.
Professional Experience
Sep. 2023 – Present: Professor, National Engineering Research Center of High Speed Railway Construction Technology / School of Transportation Engineering, Central South University.
Sep. 2017 – Sep. 2023: Associate Professor, National Engineering Research Center of High Speed Railway Construction Technology / School of Transportation Engineering, Central South University.
Mar. 2016 – Sep. 2017: Lecturer, National Engineering Research Center of High Speed Railway Construction Technology / School of Transportation Engineering, Central South University.
Jun. 2015 – Mar. 2016: Postdoctoral Fellow, Singapore Centre for 3D Printing, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
Jul. 2013 – Jan. 2016: Assistant Research Fellow, College of Mechanical and Vehicle Engineering, Hunan University.
Research Interests
1. Vibration Control
Aims to isolate excitation sources (e.g., wheel-rail vibration) from propagating to passengers or sensitive equipment in vehicles (trains, automobiles, ships, aircraft) and machinery, ensuring comfort and operational integrity.
(1) Mechanical Metamaterials/Structures: Design of artificial periodic structures, auxetic (negative Poisson’s ratio) structures, tension-twist coupling structures, and perforated architectures to generate bandgaps that block elastic wave propagation within target frequency ranges. Utilizes topology optimization and data-driven methods for on-demand design of metastructures with specified bandgap properties.
(2) Quasi-Zero-Stiffness (QZS) Isolators: High static stiffness for load-bearing capacity combined with low dynamic stiffness to achieve ultra-low-frequency vibration isolation, effectively shielding against vibrational excitations.
(3) Inertia Amplification Mechanisms: Folded structures and rigid-link mechanisms that amplify effective inertia without increasing physical mass, enabling quasi-zero-stiffness or ultra-low-frequency vibration isolation.
(4) Bio-inspired Vibration Suppression: Mimicking biological systems (e.g., goat legs, woodpecker heads, chicken necks) to develop highly efficient damping and isolation solutions.
(5) Vibration Energy Harvesting: Concurrent vibration reduction and energy conversion via piezoelectric, electromagnetic, or electrostatic effects to power micro-sensors for structural health monitoring.
2. Noise Control
Focus on sound insulation (e.g., vehicle walls) and interior acoustic absorption for transportation systems (train NVH, automotive, marine, aerospace) and industrial machinery.
(1) Acoustic Metamaterials/Structures: Design of sound insulation barriers to prevent external noise transmission (e.g., into vehicle cabins) and perfect absorbers for interior noise reduction.
(2) Acoustic Black Hole (ABH) Structures: Tapered structures that localize and trap wave energy at the tip, preventing its transmission to the primary structure.
(3) Acoustic Metasurfaces: Forward mechanism studies and data-driven inverse design of surface structures (e.g., for noise barriers, tunnel linings, vehicle panels) to manipulate sound waves.
3. Smart Robotics Dynamics
Research on robot dynamics, stability, machine vision, and path planning for autonomous systems capable of performing tasks in inaccessible or hazardous environments.
(1) Vibration-Driven Robots: Utilization of environmental passive dynamics and flexible actuators to enable locomotion (fast crawling, bending, jumping) for intelligent inspection and maintenance in confined spaces (e.g., enclosed train compartments).
(2) Smart Material-based Continuum Robots: Development of micro/small-scale robots using dielectric elastomers, shape memory polymers, and multi-stable structures for crawling, jumping, and stair-climbing motions suited for exploration and cleaning tasks.
(3) Train Inspection & Service Robots: Hybrid robots integrating legged, wheeled, and tracked locomotion features, equipped with machine vision and path planning for detecting contamination, damage, and environmental hazards, performing cleaning, inspection, and delivery services.
Student Supervision
Supervised a total of 37 graduate students, of whom 22 have graduated (comprising 5 international Master’s students, 13 Chinese Master’s students, and 4 PhD students). Currently, 15 students are in progress with their studies (7 PhD candidates and 8 Master’s students).
