Professional Member Spotlight: Dr. Xiaofeng Li

Background

Xiaofeng Li is an IEEE Fellow and a leading scientist in ocean remote sensing, with more than three decades of experience advancing satellite-based studies of air-sea interactions. He earned his Ph.D. in Physical Oceanography from North Carolina State University and spent 22 years at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), where he conducted foundational research in satellite-based oceanography, before joining the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Dr. Li has been deeply involved with the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS) throughout his career, beginning as a young scientist when he attended his first IGARSS shortly after completing his Ph.D. He currently serves as the Vice President of Publications for GRSS and previously served as the Vice President of Meetings and Symposium, reflecting his long-standing commitment to leadership and service within the community.

Can you introduce yourself and share a brief background about who you are and what you do?

I’m Xiaofeng Li, and I work in ocean remote sensing. A big part of what I do is using satellite observations, often from multiple sensors, to better understand and predict ocean processes. In recent years, I’ve been leaning more into AI, but always with the goal of keeping things physically meaningful. I like problems where the ocean and atmosphere interact strongly because they’re scientifically interesting and relevant to real-world applications.

How long have you been a member? Tell us about your GRSS journey.

I’ve been part of GRSS since IGARSS 1998, a year after I got my Ph.D. from North Carolina State University. I started the same way most people do: by submitting papers, attending conferences, and meeting people whose work I respected. Over time, I got more involved through reviewing and publications work, and that gradually led to larger service roles. I served as the GRSS Vice President for Meetings and Symposia. Now, I am the VP of Publications, which basically means I spend a lot of time thinking about how we keep our journals strong and how we support authors and reviewers across the community.

What inspired you to join GRSS?

At the time, I was fresh out of school, and my boss told me to attend this conference to meet people and broaden my network. GRSS really offers it all for us as junior research scientists. Attending IGARSS, I found the conversations you can have with senior scientists really helpful for guidance.

GRSS is one of the best communities where researchers can go from sensors to algorithms to Earth science impact. GRSS makes it easy to connect across those areas, and the conversations are usually very technical, but also very practical.

How has GRSS contributed to your professional growth?

There are many things that have helped me grow in GRSS, but two I want to highlight are the people and the feedback. GRSS is a place where I’ve gotten some of the most useful technical feedback on my work, and it’s also where a lot of collaborations start.

On the service side, I tried to contribute more, as mentioned earlier, by serving as VP for Meetings and Symposia and then VP for Publications. These experiences have really taught me what makes research convincing: clear problem definition, solid baselines, transparent validation, and writing that helps others reproduce and build on the work. Overall, it is great for feedback!

What advice would you give to YPs considering joining GRSS?

For senior people, it is very worthwhile to connect with your peers around the world. For me, for example, I have 300 co-authors worldwide. Being part of GRSS has really helped me understand my papers and research.

For young professionals, get involved early, even in small ways. Don’t just attend a conference – submit a paper or abstract, volunteer, or help organize a session. Go to the talks outside your niche and introduce yourself to speakers afterward. It is a great place to meet many famous scientists who are just ordinary people and surprisingly easy to talk to. They can even potentially help you!

If you have a mentor or professor, help them to review some papers so that you can learn. If you’re nervous, start with one simple goal: meet 2–3 new people and follow up after the event. Also, try reviewing under mentorship when you can, which is one of the fastest ways to learn what strong papers look like and how the field is moving.

As a GRSS Chapter Head:

What has your experience been like leading a GRSS chapter? Any challenges and how have you addressed them?

Leading a GRSS chapter has been genuinely rewarding. There’s something special about turning “a community on paper” into a community that people show up for. The best moments are when students, YPs, and senior members are in the same room, asking questions and making connections that wouldn’t happen otherwise.

The biggest challenge is consistency. Everyone is busy, and chapters can easily become “one big event per year” instead of an ongoing community. What has helped us is keeping the structure simple by building a small core team, so the chapter doesn’t depend on one person, and using hybrid formats when travel or schedules are tight. Coordinating across different regions and time zones can also be a real constraint, so we rotate time slots and co-host sessions when possible, to share the workload and widen participation.

It is especially important to involve young people and female scientists! It is so important to bring in a diversity of skills and scientists.

Why do you think establishing a chapter in your region is important and how do you maintain cadence in membership?

A local chapter matters because it is the closest you can get no matter what level. This lowers the barrier to entry, especially for young professionals who may lack funding or time to travel to major conferences each year. A chapter gives people a nearby “front door” to GRSS: a place to learn, meet mentors, and find collaborators. To maintain continuity, we organize and facilitate regular events such as small seminars, book events, and distinguished lectures, as it is important to bring these young people together. They come from different backgrounds in government and industry, so this provides a place to come together.

The key to maintaining an active chapter is to let people engage in organizing and participating in regular seminars every other month, plus one larger event or short course each year. Another important piece is building a pipeline: staying connected with universities and labs, encouraging student and YP participation, and giving younger members visible roles (hosting, moderating, outreach). When YPs feel ownership, membership becomes active rather than passive.

What has been achieved in your chapter that you are proud of?

I’m proud that we didn’t just “start” chapters; we helped build sustainable communities. Co-founding the Washington, DC, and Shanghai Chapters and founding the Qingdao Chapter created local platforms where people can regularly exchange ideas and stay connected to GRSS without waiting for a major annual conference.

I’m also proud of the culture we’ve tried to promote: open technical discussion, strong support for students and YPs, and real opportunities for YPs to step up as organizers and leaders. When a chapter becomes a place where young members feel comfortable presenting, asking questions, and meeting senior researchers, that’s a real win.

What is your vision for the future of your chapter?

After founding the Qingdao Chapter a few years ago, we are focused on building the community; therefore, in 2026, we will host the first Asia-Pacific Geoscience and Remote Sensing symposium in Qingdao. It will take place in October. This will be very helpful in enhancing the impact of GRSS and in opening regional opportunities for students and researchers. Look out for more information to come soon!

My vision is to make the chapter even more useful for YPs … less “formal society activity,” and more “career and skills acceleration.” Practically, that means more YP-led short tutorials, paper clubs, career panels, and more cross-chapter joint events, like the big GRSS conference. Finally, I want the chapter to be a launchpad: a place where students become YPs, and YPs become the next chapter leaders, so the community stays fresh, active, and growing year after year.