Kai-Qi Li, Ph.D.
Incoming Professor, School of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering, Wuhan University
I develop mechanics-grounded, data-enabled, and uncertainty-aware methods to reveal, predict, and manage complex geotechnical systems under evolving environmental and engineering conditions — bridging classical soil mechanics with modern AI to engineer ground systems that are safer, smarter, and more sustainable.
Source: Google Scholar · Last updated: April 2026
About Me
I am an NSFC Excellent Young Scientists Fund Overseas Awardee and will join the School of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering, Wuhan University as an Incoming Professor.
I am currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, working with Prof. Zhen-Yu Yin. I received my Ph.D. in Geotechnical Engineering from Wuhan University under the supervision of Prof. Yong Liu and Prof. Dian-Qing Li, and was a visiting Ph.D. student at the National University of Singapore, hosted by Prof. Fook-Hou Lee.
My work lies at the interface of geotechnical engineering, mechanics, computational modelling, stochastic analysis, and artificial intelligence, with applications in frozen ground, artificial ground freezing, underground construction, hydrate-bearing sediments, and resilient infrastructure.
Research Agenda
Shaping future geotechnics through mechanics-informed intelligence, uncertainty-aware modelling, and resilient infrastructure systems.
Mechanics of ground in extreme and evolving environments
I study coupled thermal, hydraulic, mechanical, chemical, and phase-change processes in frozen soils, artificial ground freezing, hydrate-bearing sediments, and related multiphysical systems.
AI that understands mechanics, not merely fits data
I develop physics-informed and mechanics-guided models that combine constitutive modelling, numerical simulation, machine learning, neural operators, and graph-based learning.
Turning uncertainty into actionable engineering knowledge
I work on uncertainty quantification, stochastic analysis, reliability assessment, Bayesian updating, and risk-informed design for geotechnical systems.
From advanced models to safer infrastructure decisions
My group aims to translate frontier geomechanics and AI into practical tools for underground construction, cold-region infrastructure, marine geotechnics, and climate-resilient engineering.
Selected News
Recent highlights in research, funding, awards, and academic service.
Awards & Honors
- 2026Awarded the NSFC Excellent Young Scientists Fund Overseas and will join Wuhan University as an incoming professor.
- 2025Shortlisted for the JC STEM Early Career Research Fellowship.
- 2024Awarded the PolyU Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship.
- 2024Received the 2023 Hubei Province Science & Technology Progress Award for the project Risk Prevention and Control of Artificial Ground Freezing Technique in Water-Rich Stratum.
- 2023Received the Academic Innovation Award from Wuhan University.
- 2021Received the Excellence in Teaching Award from Wuhan University.
- 2020Named one of Wuhan University's Top 10 Academic Stars.
- 2016Awarded the Top 10 Future Star Undergraduate by the China Water Resources Education Association.
Research & Publications
- 2026Published AGFNN, a smart platform for uncertainty-aware prediction of freezing time in artificial ground freezing, in Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology.
- 2026Published AGF-PINN-HC, a hard-constrained enhanced physics-informed neural network for multi-pipe heat transfer in artificial ground freezing, in Canadian Geotechnical Journal.
- 2025Published Relative ice saturation and unified elastoplastic modeling of frozen soils in the Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering.
- 2025Published Physics-informed neural networks for solving steady-state temperature field in artificial ground freezing in the Canadian Geotechnical Journal.
- 2025Published State of the art of mechanical behaviors of frozen soils through experimental investigation in Cold Regions Science and Technology.
Funding
- 2025–26Awarded HK$841,040 as PI for a PolyU project on thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical coupling in hydrate-bearing sediments using physics-informed neural networks.
- 2025–29Participating in a HK$53.821 million Theme-based Research Scheme project on digital twins for coastal resilience under extreme storm surges in Hong Kong.
- 2024–26Participating in a HK$1.133 million GRF project on physics-informed multi-fidelity neural networks for intelligent rectification of shield machine attitude in layered soils.
- 2022Received the Centrally Funded Postdoctoral Fellowship (HK$763,555) for thermo-hydro-mechanical modelling of artificial ground freezing.
Academic Service
- 2025Serving as Co-chair of Mini-Symposium 9: Multiphysics Modeling of Geo-engineering and Geohazards at IACMAG 2025, Hong Kong.
- 2024Joined the Early-career Editorial Panel for the European Journal of Soil Science.
- 2024Served as Session Chair at the 12th National Conference on Engineering Geology, Shenzhen.
- 2023Served as Secretary of the International Symposium on Innovations in Geotechnical Engineering towards Sustainability, IGES 2023.