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Yang Lei
"What I learned in Purdue Engineering is more than the knowledge and methods of research. I'm inspired by my advisor, Prof. Jan P. Allebach, and many many Purdue Engineering people like Neil Armstrong: aim for being extraordinary, use knowledge and technology to improve people's life, and give back to the society and community. Purdue Engineering pioneers in many subjects and inter-disciplinary fields, which are built on strong innovations and teamwork. That's my recipe for success, moving the needle through innovations and delivering results through teamwork."
Yang Lei | Electrical and Computer Engineering
Principal Research Engineer and Project Lead, HP Personal Systems
Within eight years, Yang Lei rose from a research scientist at HP Labs to her current position as principal research
engineer and project lead with HP Personal Systems group — an advancement that usually takes decades to achieve. She
currently leads the development of future video conferencing solutions with novel and robust AI technologies. In
previous roles, she defined and developed the core computer vision technologies for HP Labs' education initiative and
expanded the AI capabilities in the company's immersive computing platform.
During HP's microfluidics business creation, she led the development of key algorithms for isolating circulating tumor
cells. As a type of liquid biopsy technology, this was a significant step toward affordable cancer diagnosis and
personalized treatment. Her research earned her the HP Reinventor Award, the company's highest innovation honor. She
also designed and developed a technique that performs fast and automatic 3D imaging of biological cellular structures in
their natural states. For developing this novel technology for 3D live cell imaging, she received Purdue ECE's Eaton
Award in Design Excellence. She also has authored 22 patent applications (ten granted).
Lei founded HP's Computer Vision Virtual Community, bringing together a group of nearly 300 engineers interested in
imaging, and she has managed multiple collaborations between HP and Purdue. Active in IEEE's Signal Processing Society,
she serves on the Education Board, is a voting member and Chair of the Educational Community Committee, and received its
Industry Young Professional Leadership Award in 2023. Within the Women in Signal Processing Committee, she supports and
advocates for women technologists.