My broad research interests are in analyzing, understanding, and making sense of big data generated from various complex networks in many contexts, including urban network analysis, large-scale network data sampling, measurement, online social behavior modeling. My recent research focuses on exploring the challenges in managing and analyzing big data from urban networks, with an ultimate goal of improving human life quality and designing smarter cities. I am a member of ACM and IEEE.Teaching and mentoring students is a very exciting and rewarding process for me, which has gradually enabled me to understand: Teaching is not just conveying knowledge to students, but a process to motivate and inspire students to learn and think creatively, independently, and critically.
Scholarly Work
News
Media Coverage
The Telegram & Gazette, interviewed Yanhua Li, assistant professor of computer science and data science, for the article, "WPI researcher aims for a better, cheaper commute." He’s developing an idea for a new kind of transit system, CityLines, inspired by airlines and built for urban areas.
WPI’s Yanhua Li, assistant professor of computer science and data science, received a $174,596 grant from the National Science Foundation for a transportation study involving a "hub-and-spoke" model: an alternative urban transit system. He also appeared on WBUR radio discussing his grant.