Lili Qiu
Lili Qiu, PhD, is a Professor of Computer Science at The University of Texas at Austin and a leading researcher in wireless systems, artificial intelligence, and next-generation sensing technologies. Her work focuses on advancing wireless communication and sensing, machine learning systems, and healthcare technologies that have real-world impact. Through her research and teaching, she is dedicated to shaping future technologies while mentoring the next generation of scientists and engineers.
Professor Qiu has built an internationally recognized research career spanning academia and industry. She joined the faculty at The University of Texas at Austin in 2005, progressing from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor before becoming a full Professor in 2015. In addition to her academic leadership, she has played an important role in industry research, including serving as Assistant Managing Director at Microsoft Research Asia from 2022 to 2025. Throughout her career, she has led cross-disciplinary collaborations in wireless networking, wearable sensing, AI infrastructure, and machine learning applications for healthcare.
Professor Qiu earned her PhD in Computer Science from Cornell University and has contributed extensively to influential research in mobile computing, AI systems, and wireless technologies. Her work frequently bridges foundational research with practical applications, including partnerships with hospitals and major technology companies to translate innovation into real-world solutions. Recognized for both her technical depth and mentorship, she continues to guide groundbreaking research, publish award-winning work, and support emerging scholars in the rapidly evolving fields of AI, systems, and wireless technology.
• Cornell University
• IEEE Fellow (2017)
• ACM Fellow (2018)
• National Academy of Inventor Fellow (2022)
• NSF Career Award (2006)
• IEEE
• ACM
• ACM SIG Mobile (served as chair for 4 years
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to perseverance. I'm a person that's not easily giving up. Especially in technology, I think in every field, there are lots of challenges and failures, and sometimes, being able to persist and working day in, day out, for decades, is something that might make me make some contribution. This perseverance, even under the hardship or under the failure, is something that has been very important to me.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've received is to believe in yourself. Throughout my career, I think I need to have faith in what I'm doing, and have a very clear goal, so that even during hardship or challenges, this clear goal and belief is something that carried me through.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
The advice I give is to try to be confident, and even though we often think boys are excellent, especially in the IT field, girls can do equally well, and sometimes even better. So don't let wisdom limit your potential. I have two daughters, and one of them is already going to college, and this is the advice I give her as well.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge in my field is developing technology so that a user can use it conveniently outside the lab. How to develop technology that is not only advanced in functionality, but also very easy to use, so that it can reach users. Making it so that grandma, grandpa can comfortably use it is something we are trying to achieve.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I think kindness is most important to me. Being kind to people is important. As a faculty, I see students with different backgrounds, and feeling compassion and trying to see from their perspective and help inspire them to achieve their dreams and goals is something that's important to me as a faculty.