Hong-Yi Li is an Associate Professor in the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Lehigh University. He joined Lehigh in January of 2026. Li specializes in watershed hydrology, Earth system modeling, and the complex interactions between human and natural systems.
His work is primarily centered on the climate-water-energy-environment nexus, exploring how coupled natural and human systems respond to environmental changes. As a leading expert in his field, he specializes in developing advanced modeling tools for the lateral transport of water, energy, and biogeochemistry across various scales, providing critical insights into sustainable water resource management.
Prior to joining Lehigh University, Dr. Li was an Associate Professor at the University of Houston (2018–2025), where he established a robust research program in hydrologic engineering. His distinguished career also includes an associate professorship at Montana State University and a six-year tenure as a Research Scientist at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). A widely published scholar, he serves as an Associate Editor for Water Resources Research and the Journal of Hydrologic Engineering. Dr. Li earned his Ph.D. in Hydrology and Water Resources from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign after completing his undergraduate and graduate studies at Tsinghua University.
