Beijing Women's Federation

Li Pingxue is a Research Fellow at the School of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Beijing University of Technology. She has been selected for the Beijing Scholars Program, the Ministry of Education’s National Major Talent Program, and the Beijing “Hundred-Thousand-Ten Thousand Talent Project.” 

Over more than two decades of dedicated and passionate scientific pursuit, Li has led her team in addressing major national strategic needs, making sustained advances in ultrafast laser technology. Often described as wielding the world’s “fastest knife” and “most precise ruler,” she applies this technology to solve complex scientific challenges and to help gauge the pace of national progress. The ultrashort-pulse lasers developed by her team have been widely adopted across China’s industrial and medical sectors, filling critical domestic technological gaps and overcoming longstanding barriers where key technologies could neither be imported nor independently produced.

In semiconductor manufacturing, Li’s team has developed ultrafast laser “cold processing” technology capable of producing smooth, defect-free cutting edges, providing crucial support for improving chip reliability and yield. In the aerospace sector, her team has designed customized laser systems for the precision machining of advanced materials, enabling major national equipment to become lighter and stronger. In the field of new energy batteries, their technologies are emerging as vital tools for enhancing efficiency and ensuring safety in precision manufacturing.

For Li, scientific innovation lies not only in breakthroughs, but also in the passing of knowledge from one generation to the next. As a university educator, she regards the cultivation of outstanding young scientific talent for the nation as both a core responsibility and a mission. In her teaching, she often shares the story of “twenty years devoted to perfecting a single fiber,” illustrating how her team’s innovations have played pivotal roles in major national projects. She encourages her students to align their personal aspirations with the broader goals of national development.

Under her mentorship, generations of students have developed strong professional expertise and gone on to serve at the forefront of key national industries. Many have earned top honors in prestigious national competitions such as the “Challenge Cup,” growing into a new generation of “light-chasers”—young innovators with vision in their eyes, dreams in their hearts, and a deep sense of responsibility on their shoulders who are committed to pursuing the light of scientific discovery.