Michigan State University researcher Zhaojian Li has received the 2025 Outstanding Young Investigator Awardfrom the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Dynamic Systems Controls Division (DSCD) for his expertise in learning and control of robot systems, including using robots to harvest fruit.
Li is a Red Cedar Distinguished Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and an associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
The ASME award honors mechanical engineering professionals age 40 or younger for outstanding research contributions, either basic or applied, in areas relevant to the DSCD. Li received the award for his contributions to privacy-aware cloud-facilitated collaborative sensing and control; collaborative learning for multi-robot systems with model-enabled privacy protection and safety supervision; and robotic systems for tree fruit harvesting.
“I am deeply honored to receive this Outstanding Young Investigator Award,” Li said. “This recognition reflects not only my efforts but also the dedication of my students, collaborators and mentors who have supported me along the way. It reinforces my commitment to advancing robotics and intelligent systems to address real-world challenges in vehicles, agriculture and beyond. I hope this award inspires continued innovation and collaboration.”
According to Minami Yoda, chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, “The ASME Dynamic Systems and Controls Division award is based on Zhaojian’s exceptional research contributions. Building on his background and experience in dynamics and control and AI, Zhaojian’s recent work on apple harvesting robots are an impressive demonstration of the research breadth and depth of the Department of Mechanical Engineering.”
"This Young Investigator Award recognizes Zhaojian Li's outstanding dedication and scholarly success,” said Nelson Sepulveda Alancastro, interim chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. “We are very proud of his work and appreciate the faculty's effort to align their research activities with topics that build on MSU vision and our institutional strength on smart agriculture."
Li received his undergraduate degree in 2010 from Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics in China. He earned his master’s degree in 2013 and his doctorate in 2015 in aerospace engineering at the University of Michigan. In 2016, Li worked for General Motors in the NextGen Powertrain Control Group. He joined MSU’s Department of Mechanical Engineering in 2017.
The award will be presented at the 2025 Modeling, Estimation and Control Conference, Oct. 5-8 in Pittsburgh, Penn.
Written by Judi Melena Smelser
MSU College of Engineering Media and Public Relations page