Ph.D., University of California, Irvine, 2021

M.S., University of California, Irvine, 2017

B.S., Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, 2015

Instructor

Civil Engineering, City College of New York
   - CE 52000/H2000 Traffic Engineering (Senior Undergraduate/Graduate) Fall 2024–2025
   - CE 32700 Transportation System Engineering (Undergraduate) Spring 2024–2025

Teaching Assistant

Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Irvine
   - ENGRCEE 124. Transportation Systems IV: Freeway Operation and Control Spring 2021
   - ENGRCEE 295. Seminars in Civil and Environmental Engineering Fall 2019

View All Publications on Google Scholar 

Recent Publications

1. Masri, S.* , Li, Y., Gui, L., Zhu, S., Xie, X., and Wu, J. 2026. Satellite-based detection of heavy-duty trucks: distribution and health impacts in southern California. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 39, 102150.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trip.2026.102150

2. Shang, B.ˆˆ , Li, Y.* . 2026. Roadside LiDAR for Cooperative Safety Auditing at Urban Intersections: Toward Auditable V2X Infrastructure Intelligence. In Proceedings of the IEEE/CVF Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (pp. 757-765).

3. Feng, G.* , Li, Y.* , Tok, A.Y.C. & Ritchie, S. G. 2026. Domain informed vision language model for sustainable freight with drayage truck powertrain and cargo classification. npj. Sustain. Mobil. Transp. 3, 15. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44333-026-00086-4

4. Feng, G.ˆ , Li, Y.* , Tok, A. Y. C. & Ritchie, S. G. 2026. Automated Knowledge Elicitation for Rail Vehicle Identification Using Vision-Language Models. Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, 189, 105725. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trc.2026.105725

5. Feng, W., Li, Y.* , & Wei, J. 2026. Impact of LiDAR Beam Loss on 3D Object Detection: A Systematic Analysis of Vulnerable Road User Safety. Pattern Recognition Letters. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.patrec.2026.04.030

6. Arnob, F.ˆ , Li, Y.* , 2026, An Accurate Infrastructure-Based LiDAR Framework for Precise Vehicle Length Estimation, ASCE International Conference on Transportation & Development (ICTD)

7. He, Y., Shang, B., Li, Y.* , Xiao, J, 2026, Investigation of Active Learning Approaches for Efficient Vehicle Detection and Classification, ASCE International Conference on Transportation & Development (ICTD)
   
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• AI for Transportation Systems
   
• Transportation Digital Infrastructure
   
• Transportation Cyber-Physical Systems
   
• Connected & Automated Vehicles (CAV) and Cooperative Driving
   
• Human–AI Interaction in Transportation Systems
   
• Urban Mobility Data Science & Freight Analytics; Smart City
   
• Traffic Safety Assessment & Infrastructure Intelligence.

1. Congestion Pricing Effects on Traffic Patterns in Neighboring Underserved Communities, US DOT – UTC Region 2 SEMPACT center, 2024-2026, co-PI.

2. Exploring Drive-by Sensing for Urban Truck Characterization using Google Street View Imagery, US DOT – UTC Region 2 SEMPACT center, 2024-2025, PI (Sole).

3. Investigation of Emerging Sensing and AI/ML Technologies to Enhance the Safety of Vulnerable Roadway Users at Signalized Intersection, US DOT – UTC TBD National Center, 2024-2026, PI.

4. A Comprehensive Region 2 Transportation Research Needs Assessment Study, US DOT – UTC Region 2 SEMPACT center, 2023-2024, Co-PI.

5. Analyzing Cross-Border Truck Activity to Inform California’s Transition to Zero-Emission Trucks, Resilient and Innovative Mobility Initiative (RIMI), 2023-2024, Institutional PI.

• CUNY Faculty Research Travel Award ($1,500)
   
• Transportation Research Board, Best Paper Award
   
• Transportation Data Competition, Contest Winner, TRB
   
• UC Irvine Associated Graduate Students, Travel Grant
   
• Outstanding Graduates Award, Beijing University of Technology • First Prize Scholarship, Beijing University of Technology