Max Li was born and raised in China. His hometown is a small town in Xinhua, Hunan Province. He went to Xi’an Jiaotong University (西安交通大学 ) for his undergraduate degree in computer science. He stayed there for 4 years (1986 to 1990). From 1990 to 1994, he worked for CNPC’s GRI as a software engineer. CNPC and GRI stands for China National Petroleum Corporation and Geophysical Research Institute. From 1994 to 1996, he worked for CRIT (China Resources Information Technology) as a support engineer. He was fortunate to get a RA (Research Assistant) position with the ECE (Electrical and Computer Engineer) department of the University of Florida. He came to Gainesville, FL on August 1996 to study under professor Stanley Y. W. Su. He got his Master’s degree in computer engineering in 1999 and his Doctoral degree in computer science in 2001, both of them are from the University of Florida.
He worked for IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center for 2 years as a post doctoral researcher (from 2001 to 2003). After his tenure with IBM is over, he worked for Nyack College as an assistant professor for 1 year (2003 to 2004). In 2004, he and his family moved to Jackson, TN to teach at Union University. He stayed in Jackson, TN for 16 years (2004 to 2020). He was a tenured associate professor before leaving Jackson, TN on May 2020.
He and his family relocated to Andover, MA on May 2020. The reason for his relocation is simple: finding a better place for his son Benjamin Li who was diagnosed with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). He and his wife found that Massachusetts has passed an important state law, giving certain benefits to people with ASD and other kinds of intellectual disability.
He found a computer called Recomputing Inc. The mission of the company is to provide quality computer services to small businesses. Right now, his main focus is artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Most students at NCLS (Newton Chinese Language School) are K12 students, not college students/working professionals. As a result, he realized that he needed to change his teaching styles to better meet the needs of his current students. His focus will be on how to make classroom interesting. He wrote the following statement in his room: “Goal: show students my love for computer knowledge. Special details are not important.”