Dr. Li (PhDME '05) Distinguishes Himself in His Studies
September 28, 2005

Zhonghua Li(r) receives award for first place from Chancellor James Oblinger at the 2005 NCSU Research Expo Award Ceremony.

Dr. Zhonghua Li recently graduated from the MAE department with a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering in August 2005 and is currently working at Cordis Corporation in Miami , FL. He conducted his dissertation research under the direction of Professor C. Kleinstreuer.

Dr. Li's research has been recognized through several awards, including the MAE Graduate Poster Competition, the NCSU International Research Exposition and Competition, and the Ph.D. Paper competition at the ASME Bioengineering Conference in Vail, CO in 2005. Dr. Li has published twelve papers.

Dr. Li conducted his research in the field of biofluid mechanics. Endovascular aneurysm repair, i.e., the insertion of a stent-graft, is a new surgical technique for the prevention of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) rupture, the 13th leading cause of mortality in the U.S. While this minimally invasive method has major advantages over conventional open surgery, post-operative complications, such as stent-graft migration and endoleaks, may lead to sudden aneurysm rupture. We solved for the first time numerically the coupled fluid-structure interaction problem of stented abdominal aortic aneurysms and hence provided endovascular surgeons with new physical insight and quantitative data for improved surgical interventions.

Dr. Li's research also resulted in an invention disclosure. Drs. Li and Kleinstreuer developed an automated computer program which provides quantitative AAA-rupture risk assessment for each individual patient based on standard pressure and CT-scan measurements. Accurate prediction of aneurysm rupture would save thousands of lives annually.

Dr. Li enjoys hiking and fishing. Dr. Li is happily married to Yunzhen Du and their son, David Li, is 2 years old.