Rate My Professor Yan Vivian Li

Yan Vivian Li, Associate Professor in Fiber Science in the Department of Design and Merchandising at Colorado State University, earned her Ph.D. from Cornell University. Since joining the faculty, she has established and leads the Smart Textiles and Nanotechnology Research Group as Principal Investigator, and holds affiliate faculty positions in the School of Materials Science and Engineering and the School of Biomedical Engineering. Her teaching emphasizes Textile Science, Textile Quality Assurance, and Fundamentals and Applications of Fibrous Materials. Li's academic interests focus on developing multifunctional fibrous materials through nanotechnology, understanding, assessing, and controlling the functionality and performance of fibers and fabrics at the nanoscale, and upgrading textiles for public health, safety, and sustainable environments. She also directs the Textile Testing Service and served as a 2016-2017 Sustainability Resident Fellow.

Li's research contributions include 3D-printed biomimetic shark skin fabrics with significant water drag resistance and antibacterial properties for swimsuits and high-touch surfaces; smart wound dressings that diagnose bacterial infections while treating them to promote faster healing and fight antibiotic resistance; and cellulose nanocrystals extracted from hemp crop residue and textile waste for biodegradable applications in biodesigned footwear using mycelium composites and 3D printing, as well as biomedical sanitizers and bioimaging. She received a 2023 Colorado Advanced Industries grant, alongside collaborators Reza Nazemi and John Mizia, for advancing hemp agro-waste into high-value bioproducts. Key publications include "Enhanced Transdermal Medication Delivery: Core-Shell Nanofiber Scaffolds with Antibiotic-encapsulated Poly(lactic acid-co-glycolic acid) Nanoparticles Applications" (ACS Applied Nano Materials, 2025), "Machine Learning Integrated with In Vitro Experiments for Study of Drug Release from PLGA Nanoparticles" (Scientific Reports, 2025), "Heterogeneous zebra-patterned ultra-sensitive flexible sensor for human motion detection and game control" (Chemical Engineering Journal, 2025), "Mechanical and morphological properties of cellulose nanocrystals synthesized from industrial hemp agro-waste" (Cellulose, 2024), "Incorporation of gentamicin-encapsulated poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles into polyurethane/poly(ethylene oxide) nanofiber scaffolds for biomedical applications" (ACS Applied Nano Materials, 2023), and "Selective detection of Gram-negative bacteria and antibacterial properties of colorimetric polydiacetylene nanofibers" (Journal of Materials Science, 2023). With over 1,000 citations from 70 publications, her interdisciplinary work translates nanoscale innovations into practical textile solutions.