Biography
Jonathan Li, PhD, PEng, FIEEE, FRSC, FCAE, FEIC, FAAIA
Jonathan Li has served as an Emeritus Professor at the University of Waterloo since September 2025. He also holds Adjunct Professor appointments across three departments including Civil and Environmental Engineering, Geography and Environmental Management, and Systems Design Engineering. He was a tenured Professor at Waterloo from 2007 to 2025. Prior to joining the University of Waterloo in January 2007, he was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Regina (2000–2001) and later an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University) from 2001 to 2006.
At Waterloo, he founded the Geospatial Intelligence and Mapping (GIM) Group, which has produced a wide array of novel AI-driven algorithms, workflows, software tools, and patented technologies licensed internationally. His research trajectory has evolved across decades: during the 2000s, he concentrated on AI-based mapping and object detection, with a focus on algorithm and software development using high-resolution multispectral and SAR satellite imagery. In the 2010s and early 2020s, his work shifted toward mobile LiDAR point cloud processing and 3D vision methodologies, applied to the creation of high-definition maps for autonomous driving, autonomous parking in indoor and underground facilities, and the development of digital twin cities.
Over the course of his academic career, Professor Li has played a pivotal role in training hundreds of undergraduates, over 130 thesis-based MSc and PhD students, 30 postdoctoral fellows, and more than 60 visiting scholars, many of whom are now established professionals in industry and academia around the globe. His extensive publication record includes more than 660 research papers, which have garnered over 32,000 citations and an h-index of 92. He is also the first inventor on over 30 granted patents.
Personal Links
Homepage: https://uwaterloo.ca/geospatial-intelligence/profiles/jonathan-li
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=7hyYxRkAAAAJ&hl=en
DBLP: https://dblp.org/pid/85/6906-1
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7899-0049
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-li-2a57541b0/
Scopus: https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=57235557700
ScholarGPS: https://scholargps.com/scholars/98524854234419/jonathan-li
Employment History (January 2007 - August 2025):
- Professor, Department of Geography and Environmental Management
- Professor (cross-appointed), Department of Systems Design Engineering
- Director, Geospatial Intelligence and Mapping Lab
- Founding Member, Waterloo Artificial Intelligence Institute
- Founding Member, Interdisciplinary Centre on Climate Changes (now Waterloo Climate Institute)
- Member, Water Institute
Distinctions and Recognitions
- Fellow, The Royal Society of Canada (RSC) Academy of Science
- Fellow, Canadian Academy of Engineering
- Fellow, Engineering Institute of Canada
- Fellow, Asia-Pacific Artificial Intelligence Association
- Fellow, IEEE, Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society
Professional Services
- Editor in Chief, International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation
- Associate Editor, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing
- Associate Editor, Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing
- Editorial Board Member, Geomatica, an Elsevier journal affiliated with the Canadian Institute of Geomatics
- Associate Editor, IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems (2015-2024)
- Associate Editor, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics of Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing (2015-2020)
- Associate Editor, Canadian Journal of Remote Sensing (2018-2022)
- President, Canadian Institute of Geomatics (2023-2025)
- President-Elect, Canadian Institute of Geomatics (2021-2023)
- Vice President, Canadian Institute of Geomatics (2020-2021)
- Executive Director, Canadian Remote Sensing Society (2020-2022)
- Chair, ICA Commission on Sensor-driven Mapping (2015-2019; 2019-2023)
- Chair, ISPRS Working Group on LiDAR, Air- and Spaceborne Optical Sensing (2020-2024)
- Chair, CRSS-SCT Waterloo Region Chapter
Awards
- Recipient, 2022-2023 Award of Excellence in Graduate Supervision, granted by the University of Waterloo
- Recipient, 2021 Geomatica Award granted by the Canadian Institute of Geomatics
- Recipient, 2020 Samuel Gamble Award granted by the International Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing