Rate My Professor Yong-qing Li

Yong-Qing Li is a Professor of Physics at East Carolina University in the Department of Physics, Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences, where he has been a faculty member for 27 years. He earned his PhD in Physics from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai in 1989. Li's research specializes in biophotonics and biomedical optics, employing techniques such as optical tweezers, Raman spectroscopy, confocal Raman imaging, live-cell light microscopy, and atomic force microscopy to study fundamental biological processes at the single-cell level, including cellular heterogeneity. His laboratory projects encompass monitoring the kinetic germination, outgrowth, and growth of single bacterial spores under nutrient and high-pressure conditions; developing tractor beam-like optical pulling of micron-sized airborne absorbing particles and biological smut spores over distances up to 10 meters in low-pressure environments via photophoresis and radiometric forces; lifting and rotating large curved objects like gold vanes using laser-induced negative forces; and label-free surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy for Ras proteins in cancer diagnosis and therapy. He established the Biomedical Optics Laboratory at ECU, which has advanced the university's doctoral program in biomedical physics by integrating quantum optics with biomedical physics and microbiology.

Professor Li has obtained over $4.5 million in external research funding from the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense. He has published more than 170 peer-reviewed journal articles and conference papers. As a dedicated mentor, he has chaired over 16 master's theses and doctoral dissertations, directed approximately 11 graduate students to completion, and hosted about 20 postdoctoral researchers and visiting scientists. He teaches a range of courses, including PHYS 1250 General Physics I, PHYS 1260 General Physics II, PHYS 4310 Modern Optics, PHYS 6300 Electrodynamics I, PHYS 7310 Electrodynamics II, PHYS 6200 Thermodynamics and Statistical Physics, and PHYS 7715 Biomedical Optics. In April 2026, Li was honored with East Carolina University's Lifetime Achievement for Excellence in Research and Creative Activity Award, the institution's highest research accolade, recognizing his innovative contributions with broad impacts in medical diagnostics, food safety, biodefense, antibiotic resistance, infectious disease control, and potential space applications.