Lui Sha

Lui Sha serves as the Donald B. Gillies Chair Professor of Computer Science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign within the Grainger College of Engineering, where he also holds the Daniel C. Drucker Eminent Faculty distinction. A pioneer in real-time computing, his work has established foundational standards for safety-critical systems deployed globally.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, 1985

Research Interests: Professor Sha's research bridges Cyber-Physical Systems, Safe Autonomy, and Medical Guidance Systems. His breakthroughs in real-time computing standards underpin aerospace, automotive, and medical device reliability, while recent work integrates physics models with deep learning (Physics Model Edited DNN) and develops Medical GPS systems to eliminate preventable medical errors causing 250,000 annual U.S. deaths.

Scientific Awards:

• IEEE Simon Ramo Medal for exceptional achievement in systems engineering
• IEEE Fellow
• ACM Fellow

Advising and Grants: Sha led NASA and National Academy of Sciences initiatives including the revision of IEEE real-time computing standards adopted industry-wide. His research transitions directly into practice for GPS, Space Station, and Mars Pathfinder systems, with current focus on autonomous vehicle safety frameworks.

Labs and Teams: He directs the Cyber-Physical Systems Integration Lab at Siebel Center, advancing integration of computational models with physical processes for next-generation safety-critical applications.