Ming Li

<h2 id="education">Education</h2>
Li received a Master of Science degree (Computer Science) from <a href="/facts/Wayne_State_University/DI8huwcr">Wayne State University</a> in 1980 and earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree (Computer Science) under the supervision of <a href="/facts/Juris_Hartmanis/MkgqlhQb">Juris Hartmanis</a>, from Cornell University in 1985. His post-doctoral research was conducted at <a href="/facts/Harvard_University/Lhy9L1cx">Harvard University</a> under the supervision of <a href="/facts/Leslie_Valiant/hA5okAxL">Leslie Valiant</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3">3</a>

<h2 id="career">Career</h2>
<a href="/facts/Paul_Vitanyi/X7GQpyIN">Paul Vitanyi</a> and Li pioneered Kolmogorov complexity theory<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4">4</a> and applications, and co-authored the textbook An Introduction to Kolmogorov Complexity and Its Applications.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5">5</a>
In 2000, Li founded Bioinformatics Solutions Inc, a biomedical software company, for <a href="/facts/Tandem_mass_spectrometry/otT5Q9tY">tandem mass spectrometry</a> protein characterization. Originally developed to identify novel peptides through <a href="/facts/De_novo_peptide_sequencing/PsnjFcIu">de novo peptide sequencing</a>, the technology has been adapted to address antibody characterization. Other products have included protein structure prediction, general purpose homology searching, and next generation sequencing glyco-peptide research.
In 2013, Li co-founded RSVP Technologies Inc, an artificial intelligence company. Utilizing <a href="/facts/Deep_neural_network/JLuwD3ea">deep neural networks</a>, and natural language processing, RSVP Technologies has created software to automatically listen and respond to questions in Cantonese, Mandarin, and English. The software has been applied on voice-control navigation systems, personal tour guide applications, robotics, and other intelligent electronics.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6">6</a>

<h2 id="awards-and-honours">Awards and honours</h2>
<ul><li>1996 - E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowship, <a href="/facts/NSERC/XqPb2f0W">NSERC</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7">7</a></li>
<li>1997 - Award of Merit, FCCP<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8">8</a></li>
<li>2001 - Killam Research Fellowship, Canada Council for the Arts<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9">9</a></li>
<li>2002 - <a href="/facts/Canada_Research_Chair/yygdlvA9">Canada Research Chair</a> in Bioinformatics, Tier I<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10">10</a></li>
<li>2006 - Fellow, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Pioneer Award<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11">11</a></li>
<li>2006 - Fellow, Association for Computing Machinery<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12">12</a></li>
<li>2006 - Fellow, Royal Society of Canada<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13">13</a></li>
<li>2009 - Premier’s Discovery Award (Innovation Leadership)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14">14</a></li>
<li>2010 - Killam Prize</li>
<li>2021 - <a href="/facts/ISCB_Fellow/PjsnhCNy">Fellow</a> of the <a href="/facts/International_Society_for_Computational_Biology/5Dcek8jV">International Society for Computational Biology</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15">15</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>
<ul><li><a href="https://cs.uwaterloo.ca/~mli/">Home page</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1">M. Li and P. Vitanyi, Inductive reasoning and Kolmogorov complexity. Journal of Computer and System Sciences, (special issue for Structure’89) 44:2(1992), 343-384. <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:2">"Profile of Ming Li". 8 February 2017. <a href="https://cs.uwaterloo.ca/about/people/mli" target="_blank">https://cs.uwaterloo.ca/about/people/mli</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:3">Ming Li at the Mathematics Genealogy Project <a href="https://mathgenealogy.org/id.php?id=94793" target="_blank">https://mathgenealogy.org/id.php?id=94793</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:4">M. Li, P. M. B. Vitányi, "Applications of Algorithmic Information Theory", Scholarpedia, 2(5):2658; 2007 <a href="http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Applications_of_algorithmic_information_theory" target="_blank">http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Applications_of_algorithmic_information_theory</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:5">M. Li and P. M. B.Vitányi, An Introduction to Kolmogorov Complexity and its Applications, Springer, New York, 1993 (1st Ed.), 1997 (2nd ed.), 2008 (3rd ed.) <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Kolmogorov-Complexity-Applications-Computer/dp/0387339981/ref=dp_ob_title_bk=" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Kolmogorov-Complexity-Applications-Computer/dp/0387339981/ref=dp_ob_title_bk=</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:6">"Ask computer a question, computer answers". The Record. 8 July 2015. Retrieved 28 October 2016. <a href="http://www.therecord.com/news-story/5712720-ask-computer-a-question-computer-answers/" target="_blank">http://www.therecord.com/news-story/5712720-ask-computer-a-question-computer-answers/</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:7">"Government of Canada announces talented and diverse group of new and renewed Canada Research Chairs". 28 June 2016. <a href="http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Prizes-Prix/Steacie-Steacie/Profiles-Profils_eng.asp?ID=1072" target="_blank">http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Prizes-Prix/Steacie-Steacie/Profiles-Profils_eng.asp?ID=1072</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:8">"Award Recipients – FCCP". <a href="http://fccpontario.com/education-foundation/award-of-merit/award-recipients/" target="_blank">http://fccpontario.com/education-foundation/award-of-merit/award-recipients/</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:9">"Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-03-13. Retrieved 2018-08-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170313235050/http://killamprogram.canadacouncil.ca/~/media/images/cumulative%20list/2016/killam%20research%20fellowships%20past%20recipients%20-%20by%20year.pdf" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20170313235050/http://killamprogram.canadacouncil.ca/~/media/images/cumulative%20list/2016/killam%20research%20fellowships%20past%20recipients%20-%20by%20year.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:10">"Canada Research Chairs". 29 November 2012. <a href="http://www.chairs-chaires.gc.ca/chairholders-titulaires/profile-eng.aspx?profileID=748" target="_blank">http://www.chairs-chaires.gc.ca/chairholders-titulaires/profile-eng.aspx?profileID=748</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:11">https://uwaterloo.ca/math50/international-honours-and-awards [dead link] <a href="https://uwaterloo.ca/math50/international-honours-and-awards" target="_blank">https://uwaterloo.ca/math50/international-honours-and-awards</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:12">https://uwaterloo.ca/math50/international-honours-and-awards [dead link] <a href="https://uwaterloo.ca/math50/international-honours-and-awards" target="_blank">https://uwaterloo.ca/math50/international-honours-and-awards</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:13">"Fellows | the Royal Society of Canada". <a href="http://rsc-src.ca/en/fellows" target="_blank">http://rsc-src.ca/en/fellows</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:14">"Ontario Newsroom". <a href="https://news.ontario.ca/mris/en/2009/05/premiers-discovery-awards.html" target="_blank">https://news.ontario.ca/mris/en/2009/05/premiers-discovery-awards.html</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:15">"March 02, 2021: ISCB Congratulates and Introduces the 2021 Class of Fellows!". www.iscb.org. Retrieved 17 June 2022. <a href="https://www.iscb.org/iscb-news-items/4626-2021-march02-iscb-congratulates-introduces-2021-class-fellows" target="_blank">https://www.iscb.org/iscb-news-items/4626-2021-march02-iscb-congratulates-introduces-2021-class-fellows</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
</ol>

Ming Li open-in-new

Ming Li