Y. T. Li

Y. T. Li (T-Y. Li or Yao Tzu Li, Chinese: 李耀滋; February 1, 1914, Beijing – August 14, 2011) was an American engineer, physicist (specialized in hydrodynamics), inventor, educator, entrepreneur, and the Professor Emeritus in Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In 1934 Li graduated from the School of Engineering at Beiping University (北平大學, (different from today's Peking University in Beijing, even though Beiping is the official name for current Beijing in Republic era). In 1937 Li graduated from the School of Engineering at National Central University (now called Nanjing University) in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, receiving a Bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering.

During the Second World War (the Second Sino-Japanese War), Li, as the Chief Engineer at that time, established the first airplane factory in China – the Dading Airplane Factory (大定飛機製造廠) in Dading, current Guizhou Province, Southwestern China. Li also led the building of the first Chinese indigenous aircraft engine.

Li participated in the examination for the Boxer Rebellion Indemnity Scholarship Program, and obtained the same score as Qian Xuesen. However, there was only one scholarship awardee and Qian published two or three more articles than Li, so Qian was preferred. Nevertheless, Li went to study in the United States and received master and doctor's degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. At MIT, Li co-founded the Man-Vehicle Laboratory. Li was also the Director of the MIT innovation center. In 1951, Li collaborated with Charles Stark Draper and published an article on optimal control, which opened a new field of automation.

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