Research

Measurement-grounded intelligence for trustworthy autonomy in complex physical systems

Research Vision

Our research follows the arc in our name: Intelligent Measurement, Perception & ACTion. Intelligent measurement grounds every decision in precise, physics-based sensing; trustworthy perception and reasoning turns those measurements into calibrated, uncertainty-aware inference; and adaptive action uses that understanding to direct robotic sensing and control to close the loop from measurement to action and back. Across all three, we are guided by the same principles: physics-grounded, uncertainty-aware, and deployment-driven.

Projects

Bridging Sensing, Learning, and Reasoning for Trustworthy Manufacturing Defect Inspection

NSF Engineering Research Initiation (ERI), Award #2629316 · $200,000 · 2026–2028 · PI: Jiaqiong Li

Three integrated thrusts: multi-modal sensing (color, hyperspectral, and 3D) to capture complementary defect attributes; uncertainty-aware learning for reliable in-situ inspection; and causal reasoning to trace defect patterns back to root causes in materials and processing.

Sponsors

Any opinions, findings, and conclusions expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funding agencies.

Publications

See Google Scholar for the complete, up-to-date list.

Teaching

Courses taught by Dr. Li.

Team

Principal investigator and lab members

Jiaqiong (Joan) Li, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Principal Investigator

Dr. Li's research spans intelligent measurement, AI-enhanced perception, and perception-to-action autonomy, integrating 3D optical metrology, hyperspectral imaging, and robotic systems to enable trustworthy automation in complex, real-world environments.

Dr. Li received her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Georgia (2024), her M.S. from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and her B.S. from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China. Prior to joining Fresno State, she was an Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. She was selected for MIT's Rising Stars in Mechanical Engineering program (2025).

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Graduate Students

Janith Karavita

M.S. Student, Mechanical Engineering

Janith Karavita is an M.S. student in Mechanical Engineering at California State University, Fresno. He received his B.Sc. (Hons.) in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Mechatronics Engineering from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura in Sri Lanka in 2025. His research interests include mechatronics, control systems, machine design, computer vision, sensor fusion, 3D imaging, and intelligent manufacturing systems.

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Undergraduate Students

Felipe Ramirez

B.S. Student, Mechanical Engineering & Physics

Felipe Ramirez is a junior undergraduate student double majoring in Mechanical Engineering and Physics at California State University, Fresno. His research interests include computer vision, manufacturing defect inspection, and nuclear fusion sciences and engineering.

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T. G. Isuri Nelum Jayathilake (Ziana Zade)

B.S. Student, Mechanical Engineering

T. G. Isuri Nelum Jayathilake (Ziana Zade) is an undergraduate Mechanical Engineering student at California State University, Fresno. Her research interests include AI-driven robotics, intelligent manufacturing, machine learning, automation, and engineering innovation focused on solving real-world problems.

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Lab Life

Prospective Members

We welcome M.S. students, undergraduate researchers, and senior-project teams. Fresno State students: come talk to us about funded and for-credit research opportunities.

Equipment & Facilities

The IMPACT Lab is located in EW 113 at the Lyles College of Engineering, California State University, Fresno.

Hyperspectral Imaging System

GoldenEye™ snapshot hyperspectral imaging system covering 400–1000 nm with a native spatial resolution of 648 × 488 pixels. The system supports material-sensitive inspection, spectral anomaly detection, and multimodal defect characterization.

Fringe Projection Profilometry System

Hardware-synchronized DLP projection and imaging system for high-precision, full-field 3D surface measurement. It supports dimensional inspection, complex-surface reconstruction, and RGB–spectral–3D data fusion.

Robots

Unitree Z1 robotic arm integrated with vision and optical sensors for autonomous sensing and manipulation. The platform supports robotic inspection, adaptive viewpoint planning, and closed-loop perception-to-action research.

Deep Learning Workstations

GPU-accelerated platform for training, fine-tuning, and deploying computer-vision and multimodal AI models, including hyperspectral analysis, uncertainty-aware learning, and digital-twin workflows.

Researchers, students, and industry partners (especially local SMEs) interested in our equipment or in collaborative inspection projects are welcome to contact us.

Contact

Prospective students, collaborators, and industry partners are all welcome.

Research Opportunities

We have no funded openings at this time. Students interested in our research are still encouraged to reach out for potential research opportunities and prior research experience is not required

How to Reach Out

Email Dr. Li at jiaqiongli@mail.fresnostate.edu with (1) your CV or résumé and (2) a brief statement describing your research interests and relevant experience. Use the subject line "IMPACT Lab Research Interest".