Yang Li

Dr. Yang Li is a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Baylor University, where he has been a faculty member since 2011. He holds a PhD from The University of Texas at Austin and specializes in electromagnetics, antenna design, wireless propagation, and radar systems with applications in wearable and biomedical sensing.

• PhD, Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin (2011)
• MS, Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin (2007)
• BS, Electrical Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China (2005)

His research focuses on antenna design for body-worn applications, electromagnetic wave propagation on and around the human body, metamaterials, electrically small antennas, and wireless sensing using radar and AI. He investigates how dynamic human motion affects wireless channels and develops wearable antennas using electronic textiles. His work integrates deep learning for classifying human activities from wireless signals and radar micro-Doppler signatures.

The recent publications demonstrate a strong trend in millimeter-wave radar for non-contact vital sign and motion monitoring, on-body creeping wave propagation, MIMO antenna design, and durability of e-textile antennas. His research bridges theoretical electromagnetics with practical applications in healthcare, automotive safety, and wearable technology.

Scientific awards include:

• CST University Publication Award
• IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society Doctoral Research Award
• Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Students Abroad
• Houston Endowment President’s Excellence Fellowship
• Multiple Best Student Poster Awards (1st, 2nd, 3rd place)
• Young Scientist Award, URSI Atlantic Radio Science Conference (2015)
• 3rd Prize, USNC-URSI Student Paper Contest (2010)

Dr. Li actively advises graduate and undergraduate students, with many of his publications co-authored by student researchers marked with asterisks. He has secured funding for research in wearable antennas, body-area propagation, and radar sensing. He teaches core courses such as Signals and Systems, Applied Electromagnetic Fields, Antennas & Wireless Propagations, Radar Systems, and Antenna Design.

He leads a research group focused on Wireless Antenna Design for the Human Body, conducting experiments using motion-capture systems, phantom models, and radar measurements. The lab investigates e-textile durability, human micro-Doppler signatures, and AI-driven classification of physiological and motion data.