A year ago, Fengxu Li says, the idea of talking to a stranger on Zoom about himself would have simply felt too nerve-wracking and intimidating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He had only arrived in the United States in fall 2023. Shy by nature, he wasn\u2019t confident in his English and was still emerging from a gloomy period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amazingly, amid his despondency, he\u2019d decided to take advantage of an opportunity to transfer to the University of Wisconsin-Madison from Sichuan University in his native China\u2014despite never having previously visited the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s worked out better than he could have hoped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt has been the most amazing time of my life,\u201d says Li, an industrial engineering<\/a> student who is also majoring in computer science and math. \u201cI\u2019m getting all kinds of support I need to succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to flourishing in the classroom and enjoying Madison as a city, Li has gotten involved in research as part of Industrial and Systems Engineering Assistant Professor Yonatan Mintz<\/a>\u2019s lab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Li first met with Mintz, the latter gave his new student a difficult theorem to work on, figuring it would take up the better part of a semester. Within a month, Li proved the theorem, which relates to an algorithm that\u2019s useful for behavioral interventions. The two are planning to write up the result in a journal paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe guy is a super hard worker, super motivated, one of the more brilliant people I\u2019ve worked with,\u201d says Mintz, who also taught Li in a PhD-level dynamic programming course in the fall 2024 semester. \u201cHe\u2019s been learning on his own; he\u2019s been doing stuff that I wouldn\u2019t have been able to do until like my second year of PhD. Really complicated, dense, theoretical material.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Mintz\u2019s lab, Li has continued to work on algorithms behind messaging apps that could influence safe driving, as well as physical activity vs. sedentary behavior. It\u2019s valuable, practical experience that will inform his future career plans, whether in academic research or in industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nearly a quarter of undergraduate engineering students have completed independent study research experiences for credit over the past five years. Plenty more undergrads work or volunteer in labs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2023, the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering<\/a> created an honors in research option<\/a> for students interested in adding a tangible credential from their extra hours in the lab. Li began the program in the spring 2025 semester.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He\u2019s eager to continue exploring new territory, both in his academic studies, his research and his personal life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m doing great,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m becoming more proud of myself. It\u2019s just kind of a positive cycle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Top photo caption: Assistant Professor Yonatan Mintz and undergraduate student Fengxu Li. 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