Professor James Chen-Min Li

In the field of Materials Science and Engineering, Dr. James C. M. Li is world-renowned for making significant advances towards the understanding of how materials deform and become damaged under mechanical loading.
Dr. James Li was the esteemed Albert Arendt Hopeman Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science at the University of Rochester. He is remembered for his brilliance, humility, and tireless work ethic. He was someone who held the bar high with his outstanding research, his mentoring of students, and his stellar contributions to science and engineering at the national and international levels.
James Li grew up in China before and during World War II, earning his bachelor's degree from the National Central University in China and his master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Washington. Following his postdoctoral appointment at U.C. Berkeley, he worked briefly at the Carnegie Institute of Technology and Westinghouse Corporation before launching a 12-year career in the U.S. Steel Corporation. While working at the E. C. Bain Laboratory for Fundamental Research, he first became known for dislocation theory, which was critical for much of his later work.
Among Dr. James Li's most remarkable contributions was his pioneering discovery of "metallic glass." At the Allied Chemical Corporation, he succeeded in producing "glassy metals" by cooling molten metal so rapidly that its atoms had no time to form a crystalline structure. His research disrupted an entire industry as engineers used this material to create electrical transformers that transferred energy at higher efficiencies than conventional transformers. Dr. James Li continued to develop similar materials mechanically superior to their traditional counterparts-stronger, tougher, and more resistant to corrosion.
Dr. Li's many awards include the ASM International Gold Medal, the Champion Mathewson Gold Medal, the Robert F. Mehl Gold Medal, the Acta Metallurgica Gold Medal, the Albert Easton White Distinguished Teacher Award and the Lu Tse-Hon Medal of the Chinese Society for Materials Science. He has been recognized as a Fellow of ASM, the American Physical Society and the Metallurgical Society, and is a member of the National Academy of Engineering.
In 2006 Dr. Li was elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE).
Over his lifetime, he published over 540 papers and authored over 50 patents, the most recent ones on catalysts for fuel cells to improve their durability and reduce costs. One of his projects involved eliminating the "whiskers" that can grow between the electrodes of a battery, shorting the battery over time, having significant implications where batteries are difficult to replace, as in orbiting satellites.
Perhaps the most personal legacy Dr. Li leaves behind is the impressive cohort of scholars whom he has mentored. He has helped more than 40 PhD students launch successful careers in industry, government, and academia as corporate researchers, engineers, technical officers, administrators, and even experts in intellectual property law.
Students who graduated from the University of Rochester revere Professor Li as a mentor who exemplified scholarly endeavor and intellectual creativity, while maintaining his stature as a decent, considerate human being. Certainly, this combination of attributes was rare in his time.
We will miss him dearly.
Dr. James Li is survived by his three children: Conan Li, May Li, and Edward Li, six grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
A Memorial Service will be held in his honor at Bartolomeo & Perotto Funeral Home in Rochester, NY at 11 am on Saturday, May 10, 2025.
Memorial Service:
Saturday, May 10, 2025
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Bartolomeo & Perotto Funeral Home, Inc.
1411 Vintage Lane
Rochester, NY 14626