Small Steps, Big Wins - Zheng Li
Date：23/06/2025
Article：Wang Chuxi
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Zheng Li, class of 2025 in Civil Engineering in ZJUI, during her studies, was consistently recognized for her outstanding academic performance and well-rounded qualities. She was honored as the Outstanding Student of Zhejiang University for three consecutive years and received multiple prestigious scholarships, including the Zhejiang Provincial Government Scholarship, Zhejiang University Second-Class Scholarship, and Zhejiang University Xiaomi Scholarship.
As a high-achieving all-rounder, she excelled in sports, securing the championship in the 4×400m race at the Zhejiang University Sports Game. Passionate about volunteer services, she was awarded the title of Five-Star Youth Volunteer by Zhejiang University and earned multiple accolades for her excellence in academics.
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In professional competitions, she demonstrated exceptional practical skills. In 2025, she and her team won first prize in the GeoWall Competition at the ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers) Pacific Regional Conference. Additionally, her team achieved second place and the Best Paper Award in the 4th and 5th Zhejiang University Concrete Dragon Boat Competitions.Now, she has been admitted to the College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Zhejiang University for graduate studies, where she is set to embark on a new academic journey.
Zheng Li took the approach of long-distance running and applied it to his learning—dividing the goal into manageable milestones. Adapting to English-medium educational ecosystem at ZJUI, she proactively engaged in office hours and academic meeting to systematically build her expertise. As a teaching assistant for multiple core courses, she deepened her understanding through "learning by teaching," particularly excelling at simplifying complex hydrological modeling processes. This approach not only honed her logical thinking and knowledge-transfer skills but also laid a solid foundation for her future research.
As a newcomer to the expansive field of civil engineering, Zheng Li initially faced challenges in navigating its diverse specializations. Adopting her goal-decomposition approach, she systematically explored the discipline—starting with foundational interests and progressively advancing through practice.
During her freshman year, she gained a comprehensive understanding of the field through international collaborative seminars, covering areas from structural engineering to new urban technologies. By her sophomore year, she engaged in wind tunnel experiments and hydrological modeling projects, where she discovered a passion for computational modeling. As a junior, drawing on his experience across various projects, Zheng Li proposed a research initiative to address existing challenges in the field of modeling: developing adaptive computational methods to describe complex material stress-strain responses beyond traditional empirical models.
Her academic excellence is reflected in numerous achievements, including a second place and the Best Paper Award in the 4th and 5th Zhejiang University Concrete Dragon Boat Competitions, and a First Prize in the ASCE GeoWall Competition—where her team pioneered improved soil compaction techniques. To bridge disciplinary gaps, she minored in Data Science, mastering algorithmic and computational tools. Currently, she focuses on integrating advanced computing technologies into stress-response modeling and multi-scale data fusion, aiming to enhance the accuracy of constitutive models for complex material behaviors.
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Zheng Li actively fulfills social responsibilities by integrating professional expertise with humanistic care into her volunteer services initiatives. During the summer of 2022, as a core member of the teaching assistance program at Ju'xi Primary School in Cangnan, Wenzhou, Zhejiang. She employed interactive methods like clay river models and water flow experiments to teach geographical concepts, sparking scientific curiosity among rural students. Her team's outstanding achievements earned them three prestigious honors including the First Prize in Zhejiang University's Volunteer Services Awards.
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Concurrently, she with student team organized over a hundred university volunteers to establish long-term correspondence with left-behind children in Yunnan and Guangdong provinces. Through academic guidance and emotional support, this ongoing initiative brings warmth and hope to remote communities while fostering children's personal growth and broadening their horizons.
