Nanotech Manufacturing Pioneer and UCLA Engineering Professor Xiaochun Li Elected to the National Academy of Engineering

Xiaochun Li, a professor in the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering, one of the highest professional honors granted to American engineers.

The academy announced today its 2026 class of 130 members and 28 international members in recognition of their outstanding contributions to engineering research, practice or education.

Li, who holds UCLA’s Raytheon Company Chair in Manufacturing Engineering, is a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, and materials science and engineering. He was elected to the academy for his leadership in “nanotechnology-enabled solidification-based manufacturing processes of high-performance metal products.”

A leading authority in developing 21st-century manufacturing technologies, Li has made multiple nanotechnology-driven manufacturing innovations, including nanoparticle-enhanced arc welding of high-strength aerospace aluminum alloys long considered unweldable by conventional means. His advances in additive manufacturing using laser melting and arc welding have enabled the processing of wrought aluminum alloys. Li also developed a nanotechnology-enhanced high-pressure die-casting process and system capable of producing low-cost, lightweight, high-performance, complex structures from wrought aluminum and magnesium alloys.

Li’s work has transformed metal manufacturing across the aerospace, automotive, defense and consumer electronics industries. His innovations have ushered in a new era of mass production for nanotechnology-enhanced metals, including more than 30 patents, 10 of which have been licensed and are used worldwide. His nanotechnology-enabled casting processes have significantly reduced or eliminated the need for plastic deformation and computer numerical control machining traditionally required for complex wrought alloy products, expanding manufacturing capabilities to meet energy efficiency and sustainability goals.

He has been actively involved in the manufacturing community as an editor, conference chair and committee member, serving as co-chair of the International Manufacturing Science and Engineering Conference and the North American Manufacturing Research Conference in 2013 and 2017. From 2007 to 2009, he also served as chair of the Micro/Nano Manufacturing Technical Committee for the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).

Among the many honors Li has received are the 2025 Frederick W. Taylor Medal from the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), the 2022 William T. Ennor Manufacturing Technology Award from ASME, the 2008 Howard F. Taylor Award from the American Foundry Society and the 2003 Jiri Tlusty Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award from ASME. He is an elected fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, ASME, SME and the International Society for Nanomanufacturing. He is the founder of MetaLi LLC, which specializes in nanotechnology-enhanced manufacturing processes and systems for solidification-based processing, including welding, casting and additive manufacturing of high-performance metal products.

At UCLA, Li directs the SciFacturing (science-driven manufacturing) Lab and previously served as the inaugural technical director for the Smart Manufacturing Innovation Center, part of the Clean Energy Smart Manufacturing Innovation Institute in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy. He is also a faculty member with the California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) and the B. John Garrick Institute for the Risk Sciences.

Before joining UCLA Samueli in 2013, Li was a professor of mechanical engineering and materials science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he also served as the founding director of the Nano-Engineered Materials Processing Center.

Li received a doctorate in mechanical engineering from Stanford University, a master’s degree in industrial, system and welding engineering from the Ohio State University and dual bachelor’s degrees in mechanical engineering and applied physics from Tsinghua University, China.

Other newly elected academy members who are UCLA Samueli alumni include Amy Childress M.S. ’93, Ph.D. ’97, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at USC; John Lienhard ’82, M.S. ’84, a professor of mechanical engineering at MIT; and Shrikanth Narayanan M.S. ’90, Engr. ’92, Ph.D. ’95, an electrical and computer engineering professor at USC with multiple faculty and leadership appointments across the university. Martine Rothblatt ’77, M.B.A. ’81, J.D. ’81, chair and CEO of the United Therapeutics Corp. was also elected to the 2026 cohort.

Founded in 1964, the nonprofit National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. The academy has more than 2,800 peer-elected members and international members, including senior professionals in business, academia and government who are among the world’s most accomplished engineers. The academy provides expert advice to the nation on matters involving engineering and technology.