Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Fengyan Li, Ph.D., professor of mathematical sciences, has been selected as a 2025 Fellow of the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM).  AWM Fellows demonstrate a sustained commitment “to encourage women and girls to study and to have active careers in the mathematical sciences, and to promote equal opportunity and the equal treatment of women and girls in the mathematical sciences.”

Li is being recognized for “her continuous and enduring contribution to the promotion of women in computational mathematics through her service to AWM, mentorship of young women scientists, and development of training opportunities as well as platforms for women to connect such as Women in Numerical Analysis and Scientific Computing (WINASc).” She is one of seven 2025 AWM Fellows from across the country.

“From the early stage of my career as a graduate student and as a postdoc, I benefited tremendously from the rich programs organized by the dedicated volunteers at the Association for Women in Mathematics,” said Li. “It is quite natural for me to volunteer myself as I progress in my academic career, to support women in mathematics, and to promote their growth, success, and visibility in our scientific community.”

Li has been actively involved in AWM and WINASc. In 2015 and in 2019, she co-organized mini-symposia and served as a career panelist at the International Congress on Industrial and Applied Mathematics. In 2015, Li was an invited speaker at the Women in Applied Maths & Soft Matter Physics Workshop in Germany. Li is currently a member of the steering committee of WINASc. She was a mentor in the AWM Mentor Network for more than a decade and has been a faculty adviser of the AWM Student Chapter at RPI since 2016. Just this summer, Li piloted a new model for engaging and integrating underrepresented researchers in computational mathematics at a two-week workshop held at the Institute for Computational and Experimental Mathematics Research at Brown University. 

“Representation and mentorship are important for underrepresented communities in any field, including for women in mathematics,” said Rebecca Doerge, Ph.D., RPI provost. “Professor Li’s efforts to support and encourage women studying mathematics at RPI and beyond are outstanding, and we are delighted that she is being recognized with this honor.”