Biographical Sketch
Ji Li obtained his B.S. degree in Microelectronics from the Xi'an Jiaotong University in 2012. Subsequently, he received M.S. in Electrical Engineering, M.S. in Computer Sciences and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Southern California in 2014, 2017, and 2018, respectively. His Ph.D. Thesis Improving efficiency to advance resilient computing was under the supervision of Prof. Jeffrey Draper and Prof. Shahin Nazarian. Dr. Li has 10 Journal publications, 30+ conference publications, and 40+ US patents filed with Microsoft Corporation. Dr. Li has provided service as TPC or reviewer for 25+ journal and conferences. He served as a session chair at the 2020 Design Automation Conference and 2021 Machine Learning and Data Sciences Conference.
Education
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
2014.5 - 2018.1, Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, GPA: 3.9/4.0
2015.8 - 2017.5, M.S. in Computer Science, GPA: 3.9/4.0
2012.8 - 2014.5, M.S. in Electrical Engineering, GPA: 4.0/4.0
Xi'an Jiao Tong University, Xi'an, China
2008 - 2012, B.S. in Microelectronics, GPA: 88.6/100, Rank: 2/91
National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
2010, Exchange student in Electronics, GPA: 91.5/100
Experience
Principal Applied Science Manager, 2022-present, Microsoft
Leading an ML team to deliver generative AI solutions for Microsoft Designer, M365 Copilot, PowerPoint Designer. Solutions shipped to Copilot, M365 Copilot, Designer, PPT, Word, Forms, Planner, Edge, Teams, etc.
Sr. Data and Applied Scientist, 2018-2022, Microsoft
Machine learning on various CV/NLP/Speech/Video/RL/Ranking projects
Filed 30+ patents for successful ML projects
Graduate Research Assistant, 2016 - 2018, ISI/USC
Resilient computing
Graduate Teaching Assistant, 2014 - 2016, USC
Computer network and VLSI system design I&II (EE450, EE577A and EE577B)
Research Intern, 2016 summer, Syracuse University
Neuromorphic computing, embedded systems, and deep learning
Verification R&D Intern, 2015 summer, Broadcom Limited
Support the testbench infrastructure and testplans for simulations and regression automation for both RTL and gate environments
Selected Publications
Topic: Efficient Hardware Realization of Deep Learning Systems
Ao Ren, Ji Li, Zhe Li, Caiwen Ding, Xuehai Qian, Qinru Qiu, Bo Yuan, Yanzhi Wang, "SC-DCNN: Highly-Scalable Deep Convolutional Neural Network using Stochastic Computing," in 22nd ACM International Conference on Architectural Support for Programming Languages and Operating Systems (ASPLOS), 2017 (Acceptance rate 17.4%)
Topic: Deep Reinforcement Learning for Cloud Computing
Mingxi Cheng, Ji Li, and Shahin Nazarian, "DRL-Cloud: Deep Reinforcement Learning-Based Resource Provisioning and Task Scheduling for Cloud Service Providers," in 23nd Asia and South Pacific Design Automation Conference (ASP-DAC), 2018
Topic: Soft Error Analysis
Ji Li, Jeffrey Draper, "Accelerating Soft-Error-Rate (SER) Estimation in the Presence of Single Event Transients", Proc. of Design Automation Conf. (DAC), 2016 (Acceptance rate 17%)
Topic: Low Power FinFET Circuits
Ji Li, Qing Xie, Yanzhi Wang, Shahin Nazarian, and Massoud Pedram, "Leakage Power Reduction for DeeplyScaled FinFET Circuits Operating in Multiple Voltage Regimes Using Fine-Grained Gate-Length Biasing Technique", Proc. of Design Automation and Test in Europe (DATE), 2015
Topic: Green Computing in Smart Grid
Ji Li, Yanzhi Wang, Xue Lin, Shahin Nazarian, and Massoud Pedram, "Negotiation-Based Task Scheduling and Storage Control Algorithm to Minimize User’s Electric Bills under Dynamic Prices", Proc. of Asia South Pacific Design Automation Conference (ASP-DAC), 2015
Technical Skills
Software programming: Python/Perl, C++/C/C#, Matlab
Hardware programming: Verilog/VHDL, spice, ocean script, shell/TCL
Tools and Other Technical Skills:
Software: TensorFlow, Pytorch, MS Visual, Xcode
Hardware: Modelsim, hspice, LTspice, Xilinx ISE, design compiler, encounter, virtuoso, cacti, prime time, etc
Others: Latex, MS Visio, GIT/SVN, MySQL
Research Interests
Generative AI, LLM, Diffusion Models
NLP, Speech Analysis, CV, Deep Learning
Efficient Hardware Realization of Resilient Deep Learning Systems using Stochastic Computing
Resource Allocation and Task Scheduling Algorithms for Smart Grid and Cloud Computing
Honors and Awards
2023, Microsoft Hackathon IDC Noida winning project for an executive challenge
2021, ML lead for a hackathon project that becomes the Microsoft Designer
2020, Microsoft Hackathon Challenge - Hack for Modern Life&Learning - 1st out of 400+ projects
2014, EE MS Honor
2013, Analysis of Algorithms (CSCI 570) top 1
2012, MOS VLSI Circuit Design (EE477L) Project top 3
2012, Undergraduate Thesis Prize (top 5 out of 300+)
2010, National Scholarship (1 / 90+)
2009, National Scholarship (2 / 90+)
Professional Services
An active (exhausted!) reviewer for many international publications such as
Conference Session Chair at International Symposium on Quality Electronic Design (ISQED) 2023
Conference Session Chair at Machine Learning and Data Sciences Conference (MLADS) 2021
Conference Session Chair of the 57th Design Automation Conference (DAC) 2020
Reviewer of Journal of Manufacturing Systems [JMS] IF: 8.6
Reviewer of Journal of Industrial Information Integration [JII] IF:11
Reviewer of IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks and Learning Systems [TNNLS] IF: 10.4
Reviewer of Elsevier Materials & Design [Mater. Des.] IF:7.9
Reviewer of IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics [TII] IF: 10.2
Reviewer of IEEE Transactions on Computer-Aided Design of Integrated Circuits and Systems [TCAD]
Reviewer of IEEE Transactions on Computers [TCSI] IF: 2.6
Reviewer of IEEE Transactions on Very Large Scale Integration Systems [TVLSI] IF: 2.3
Reviewer of Knowledge-Based Systems [KNOSYS] IF: 8.03
Reviewer of Biomedical Signal Processing & Control [Biomed Signal Process Control] IF: 3.88
External Reviewer of Design Automation Conference 2018, 2019, 2020 (DAC) [DAC]
Reviewer of ACM Transactions on Design Automation of Electronic Systems [TODAES]
Reviewer of Elsevier Neurocomputing Journal [NEUCOM] IF:3.317
Reviewer of Elsevier Data & Knowledge Engineering [DKE] IF: 1.992
Reviewer of Elsevier Integration the VLSI Journal [Integration] IF: 1.000
Reviewer of Elsevier Microelectronics Journal [link] IF: 1.163
Reviewer of Elsevier Information Processing in Agriculture [IPA]
Reviewer of Egyptian Informatics Journal [link] IF: 2.306
Reviewer of Elsevier Sustainable Computing, Informatics and Systems [SUSCOM] IF: 1.196
Reviewer of Infrared Physics and Technology [IPT] IF: 2.313
Reviewer of ETRI journal [ETRI] IF: 1.116
Reviewer of Tsinghua Science and Technology journal [Tsinghua Sci Technol] IF: 1.063
Reviewer of International Journal of Distributed Sensor Networks [DSN] IF: 1.6
Reviewer of International Journal of Electronics Letters [TETN]
Reviewer of International Journal of Automation and Computing [IJAC]
Sub Reviewer of ACM ISVLSI 2017 [ISVLSI]
TPC of 2017 International Conference on Electrical Engineering and Automation Control [ICEEAC2017]
TPC of 2017 International Conference on Advanced Electronic Science and Technology [AEST2017]