Dr Ji Li BEng, PhD, MIEEE

Department of Mechanical Engineering
Assistant Professor
Deputy Head of CASE Automotive Group
Manager of Birmingham CASE Automotive Research and Education Centre

Contact details

Telephone: +44 (0) 121 414 3476
Email: j.li.1@bham.ac.uk

View my research portal

Address: Birmingham CASE Automotive Research and Education Centre
School of Engineering
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
UK

Dr Ji Li is an Assistant Professor in Control and Automation, Deputy Head of CASE Automotive Group and Manager of Birmingham CASE Automotive Research and Education Centre. Prior to being appointed to this position, he spent two years as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow and one year as a Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow at the University of Birmingham.

His research vision centralizes on the critical role of artificial intelligence (AI) in shaping the future of automotive technology. Within this framework, the focus covers three key domains: multi-objective control, human-machine interaction, and cyber-physical systems, all oriented toward achieving net-zero and trustworthy engineering solutions.

Qualifications

PhD in Mechanical Engineering, 2020
BEng in Automotive Engineering, 2015

Biography

Ji Li was awarded a PhD in Mechanical Engineering in 2020 from University of Birmingham, United Kingdom. Prior to being appointed to this position, he spent two years as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow and one year as a Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow at the University of Birmingham.

He has been instrumental in the successful delivery of several government and industry research projects (e.g., EP/J00930X/1, EP/N021746/1, Innovate UK 102253) and established expertise in dedicated AI systems for automotive engineering. He has received major grants from several OEMs and research institutes e.g., BYD Auto Ltd, Jiangsu Industry Technology Research Institute.

He has authored over 30 peer-reviewed journal papers, several conference papers, and two book chapters in the field of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles with aspects of multi-objective control, human-machine interaction, and cyber-physical systems.

Teaching

Lecture

LH Powertrain and Vehicle Engineering (Year 3 BEng)
LM Advanced Vehicle Engineering (Year 4 MEng/MSc)

Mentorship

LI Integrated Design Project 2 (Year 2 BEng)

Postgraduate supervision

Warmly welcome individuals with a keen interest in multidisciplinary research in the field of Automotive Engineering. My research encompasses a broad range of topics, including but not limited to Vehicle Energy Management, Driver Behavior Modeling, Data-driven Modeling, Learning Systems, Human-Machine Interaction, Shared Control, Platoon Control, Applied Data Science, Multi-Modal Information Fusion, and Physics-Informed Machine Learning.

One of our current research projects, titled "Human-Like Shared and Autonomous Driving of Future Vehicles," offers an opportunity for external or self-funded PhD students. This project aims to investigate and develop advanced driving systems that emulate human-like behaviors in shared and autonomous vehicles.

For more information about this specific project, please drop me an email: j.li.1@bham.ac.uk or visit the following link: https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/human-like-shared-and-autonomous-driving-of-future-vehicles/?p157648

Research

His research focus covers three key domains: multi-objective control, human-machine interaction, and cyber-physical systems, all oriented toward achieving net-zero and trustworthy engineering solutions. The overarching goal is to contribute to developing future vehicles that are not only zero-emission but also trustworthy and adeptly leverage digitalization at various operational levels. The research seeks to address challenges and pave the way for innovative solutions in the dynamic landscape of automotive technology at four observation scales:

Lv.1 Component Level: engine/battery/fuel cell

Physics/data-enhanced robust modelling
Transient calibration and autonomous calibration

Lv.2 Powertrain Level: series/parallel/power-split hybrid

Many-objective modular design
Learning-based energy management

Lv.3 Vehicle Level: driver/vehicle/road

Driving behaviour identification and recognition
Human-machine interaction and shared control

Lv.4 Fleet Level: platoon/traffic

Car-following behaviour characterization
Mixed vehicular platooning

Current Project:

Development of Dual-mode Engine AI Emission Prediction and Knock Detection, 2022, BYD Auto Company
Research on Real-time Optimisation System for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle based on Artificial Intelligence Digital Twin Technology, 2020, Jiangsu Industry Technology Research Institute
AI Strategy for Hybrid Engine Development, 2020, BYD Auto Company

Industrial Partnership:

BYD Auto Company, Mahler, Changan UK, London Electric Vehicle Company, Joint Research Centre, Lotus Cars Limited, etc.

Other activities

Board Member of SAE International Committee (2022-)
Board Member of UK-China Society of Automotive Engineers (UKCSAE) (2023-)
Editor assistant for Applied Energy (2020-)
Editor assistant for International Journal of Powertrains (2023-)
Guest Editor for ‘Vehicle Emissions.’ Chemosphere (2022)
Guest Editor for ‘Enabling Technologies for Zero-Emission Road Vehicles.’ International Journal of Powertrains (2022)
Guest Editor for ‘Sensing, Optimization, and Navigation on Vehicle Control’. Sensors (2022)
Guest Editor for ‘Integrated Control and Sensing Technology for Electric vehicles.’ Sensors (2023)
Session Chair for the 6th CAA International Conference on Vehicular Control and Intelligence (CVCI2022)
Associate Editor for the 7th CAA International Conference on Vehicular Control and Intelligence (CVCI2023)
Technical Track Chair for IEEE Transportation Electrification Conference (ITEC) 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Technical Chair for International Workshop on the Bees Algorithm and Its Applications 2022, 2023
Session Chair of ‘Collaborative Control and Management of EV Powertrains based on Intelligent Transport Systems’. The 25th IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Transportation Systems.
Session Chair of ‘Smart&Sustainable Enabling Technologies for eMoblity’, The 7th CAA International Conference on Vehicular Control and Intelligence (CVCI2023), 2023

Invited Reviewer for IEEE Trans. on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, IEEE Trans. Fuzzy Systems, IEEE Trans. Transportation Electrification, IEEE Trans. Industrial Electronics, Applied Energy, Control Engineering Practice, IET Intelligent Transportation Systems, IET Electrical Systems in Transportation, International Journal of Energy Research, Complexity, and several international conferences.

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Liu, H, Yu, S, Wang, T, Li, J & Wang, Y 2024, 'A systematic review on sustainability assessment of internal combustion engines', Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 451, 141996. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.141996

Wu, Y, Zuo, Z, Wang, Y, Han, Q, Li, J, Zhou, Q & Xu, H 2024, 'Surrogate-Driven Multi-Objective Predictive Control for Electric Vehicular Platoon', IEEE Transactions on Transportation Electrification. https://doi.org/10.1109/TTE.2024.3379590

Liao, J, Hu, J, Yan, F, Chen, P, Zhu, L, Zhou, Q, Xu, H & Li, J 2023, 'A comparative investigation of advanced machine learning methods for predicting transient emission characteristic of diesel engine', Fuel, vol. 350, 128767. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2023.128767

Li, J, Zhou, Q, He, X, Chen, W & Xu, H 2023, 'Data-driven enabling technologies in soft sensors of modern internal combustion engines: Perspectives', Energy, vol. 272, 127067. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2023.127067

Yan, S, Fang, H, Li, J, Ward, T, O’Connor, N & Liu, M 2023, 'Privacy-Aware Energy Consumption Modeling of Connected Battery Electric Vehicles using Federated Learning', IEEE Transactions on Transportation Electrification. https://doi.org/10.1109/TTE.2023.3343106

He, X, Li, J, Zhou, Q, Lu, G & Xu, H 2023, 'Robust key parameter identification of dedicated hybrid engine performance indicators via K-fold filter collaborated feature selection', Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence, vol. 126, no. D, pp. 107114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engappai.2023.107114

Li, J, Liu, K, Zhou, Q, Meng, J, Ge, Y & Xu, H 2022, 'Electrothermal dynamics-conscious many-objective modular design for power-split plug-in hybrid electric vehicles', IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics. https://doi.org/10.1109/TMECH.2022.3156535

Li, J, Zhou, Q, Williams, H, Xu, H & He, X 2022, 'Fuzzy logic based power-split hybrid propulsion control system using digital twin assisted parallel learning', International Journal of Powertrains, vol. 11, no. 4, 288. https://doi.org/10.1504/ijpt.2022.10048469

Li, J, Zhou, Q, Williams, H, Xu, P, Xu, H & Lu, G 2022, 'Fuzzy-tree-constructed data-efficient modelling methodology for volumetric efficiency of dedicated hybrid engines', Applied Energy, vol. 310, 118534. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2022.118534

Conference contribution

Yan, S, Shah, MH, Li, J, O’Connor, N & Liu, M 2024, A Review on AI Algorithms for Energy Management in E-Mobility Services. in 2023 7th CAA International Conference on Vehicular Control and Intelligence (CVCI)., 10397371, Conference on Vehicle Control and Intelligence (CVCI), IEEE, 2023 7th CAA International Conference on Vehicular Control and Intelligence (CVCI), 27/10/23. https://doi.org/10.1109/CVCI59596.2023.10397371

Abdillah, AA, Zhang, C, Sun, Z, Li, J, Xu, H & Zhou, Q 2024, Data-driven Modelling for EV Battery State of Health Estimation using SFS-PCA Learning. in 2023 7th CAA International Conference on Vehicular Control and Intelligence (CVCI)., 10397248, Conference on Vehicle Control and Intelligence (CVCI), IEEE, 2023 7th CAA International Conference on Vehicular Control and Intelligence (CVCI), 27/10/23. https://doi.org/10.1109/CVCI59596.2023.10397248

Tan, G, Li, J, Li, Y, Liu , ZE, Xu, L, Xu, H & Shuai, S 2024, Fine-tuning Transfer Learning for Knock Intensity Modeling of an Engine Fuelled with High Octane Number Gasoline. in 2023 7th CAA International Conference on Vehicular Control and Intelligence (CVCI)., 10397125, Conference on Vehicle Control and Intelligence (CVCI), IEEE, 2023 7th CAA International Conference on Vehicular Control and Intelligence (CVCI), 27/10/23. https://doi.org/10.1109/CVCI59596.2023.10397125

He, X, Li, J, Zhou, Q & Xu, H 2024, Human-Road Dual Trust Mechanism in Adaptive Distributed Shared Control Framework under Lane Keeping Scenario. in 2023 7th CAA International Conference on Vehicular Control and Intelligence (CVCI)., 10397103, Conference on Vehicle Control and Intelligence (CVCI), IEEE, 2023 7th CAA International Conference on Vehicular Control and Intelligence (CVCI), 27/10/23. https://doi.org/10.1109/CVCI59596.2023.10397103

Liu, K, Li, J, Zhu, C, Chen, T, Li, K, Zhou, Q & Xu, H 2022, Electrothermally-aware multi-objective modular design: a case study on series-parallel hybrid propulsion systems. in 2022 IEEE 5th International Electrical and Energy Conference (CIEEC)., 9845925, China International Electrical and Energy Conference (CIEEC), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), pp. 1912-1917, 2022 IEEE 5th International Electrical and Energy Conference (CIEEC), 27/05/22. https://doi.org/10.1109/CIEEC54735.2022.9845925

Review article

Zhou, Q, Li, J & Xu, H 2022, 'Artificial Intelligence and Its Roles in the R&D of Vehicle Powertrain Products', International Journal of Automotive Manufacturing and Materials, vol. 1, no. 1, 6. https://doi.org/10.53941/ijamm0101006

View all publications in research portal