Wayne K. Li is the James L. Oliver Professor, which is a joint position between the Colleges of Design and Engineering. Through classes and the Innovation and Design Collaboration (IDC), he leads joint teaching initiatives and advances interdisciplinary collaboration between mechanical engineering and industrial design. Endowed by School of Industrial Design alumnus James L. Oliver, II (BS ID 1965, ME 1967), the Oliver professor embodies the idea of "multidisciplinary." Li teaches students that design behavior bridges the language and ideological gap between engineering and design. Li’s research areas include ethnographic research, multidisciplinary online education, and human-machine interaction in transportation design.
Previously, Li led innovation and market expansion for Pottery Barn seasonal home products, was an influential teacher in Stanford University’s design program where he taught visual communication and digital media techniques, led “interface development” in Volkswagen of America’s Electronics Research Laboratory, and developed corporate brand and vehicle differentiation strategies at Ford Motor Company.
He received a Master of Science in Engineering from Stanford University, and undergraduate degrees in Fine Arts in Design and Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.

The Georgia Institute of Technology is one of the nation's premier research universities providing a focused, technologically based education to more than 25,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Ranked seventh among U.S. News & World Report's top public universities, Georgia Tech offers degrees through the Colleges of Business, Computing, Design, Engineering, Liberal Arts and Sciences. The Institute offers research opportunities to both undergraduate and graduate students and is home to more than 100 centers that consistently contribute vital innovation to American government, industry, and business.