Rui Li

My research interests address various aspects of Geographic Information Science with a special focus on spatial cognition such as wayfinding behaviors and Navigation Systems. In addition, I apply GIS and cartographic tools empirically to address issues including minority health disparities.

I am also an affiliated member of the Spatial Intelligence Laboratory in the Institute for Geoinformatics at University of Muenster in Germany, where I have spent two years working as a substitute professor and post-doctoral researcher in two funded projects: WayTO (Wayfinding through Orientation information) funded by German Science Foundation (DFG) and strategic partnership on Spatial Learning (funded by European Union Erasmus + Program). 

Currently, I am working on the projects of providing cognitively efficient wayfinding solutions, landmark selection for spatial orientation as well as location based services for both indoor and outdoor environments. Additional collaborative projects include racial disparities through redlining and later-life health, and minority health disparities in COVID-19 pandemic. More information can be found on my Research page. 

In 2022, I receive the Honorary Award for Distinguished Community Engagement at part of the President's Awards for Exemplary Public Engagement. You can watch the interview video to learn about the work carried out by me and my community partners.