Introduction
Zhen Li is a tenured professor and doctoral supervisor at Tsinghua University, where he teaches Engineering Thermodynamics and Thermophysical Measurement Techniques. His research focuses on HVAC systems, refrigeration, energy efficiency in buildings and industrial processes, and data center cooling technologies. He has led numerous key research projects, including the development and demonstration of energy-saving technologies for data centers, seawater-based cooling systems, optimization methods for data center energy performance, energy-efficient fresh air air-conditioning systems, thermodynamic analysis of moist air treatment processes, corrosion-resistant heat exchangers, micro energy systems for thermoelectric conversion, and waste heat dehumidification technologies in steel plants. Professor Li holds over 20 authorized invention patents and has published more than 100 academic papers. He serves as a member of the Sub-Committee on Information Technology and Sustainable Development under the National Technical Committee for Information Technology Standardization and is the deputy director of the Beijing Key Laboratory of Heat Transfer and Energy Utilization. His work has been recognized with the Second Prize of the Beijing Science and Technology Award (2008) and the Second Prize of the National Technological Invention Award (2007). He has also been honored as a “Beijing Science and Technology Star,” “Outstanding Talent of Beijing,” and “Zhongguancun High-Level Leading Talent.”
Concurrent Academic
Deputy Director, Beijing Key Laboratory of Heat Transfer and Energy Utilization
Member, Subcommittee on Information Technology and Sustainable Development (1st and 2nd Terms), National Technical Committee for Information Technology Standardization of China
Areas of Research Interests/ Research Projects
1. Refrigeration, Air Conditioning, and Building Energy Efficiency
2. Data Center Cooling Methods and Applications
3. Industrial Energy Efficiency
Research Status
Professor Li’s research focuses on key technologies for energy efficiency in data centers, including seawater-cooled data center systems and integrated energy-saving technologies for major energy-consuming auxiliary facilities. His work also covers the optimization analysis of distributed heat pipe cooling systems for data centers, as well as principles, technologies, and applications related to waste heat transportation and conversion. He investigates critical thermophysical problems in micro energy systems based on thermoelectric conversion, and explores flue gas waste heat recovery methods based on solution dehumidification. Other research areas include studies on thermohumid cycles, self-driven and pump-driven two-phase cooling systems, heat transfer performance testing and applications of carbon dioxide fluids, and data-driven fault diagnosis and early warning technologies for IDC air-conditioning systems. Additionally, his work involves energy consumption surveys and performance testing in data centers, plastic heat exchangers, corrosion characteristics of biofuels, waste heat dehumidification technologies in steel plants, principles and methods of solution-based dehumidification air-conditioning, water-saving technologies, and indirect evaporative cooling methods and techniques.
Honors And Awards
Second Prize, National Technological Invention Award, 2007
Beijing Science and Technology Rising Star, 2011
New Century Excellent Talents Program, Ministry of Education, 2010
Excellent Doctoral Dissertation Award, Tsinghua University, 2005
Academic Achievement
1. X.X. Chen; X.Y. Wang; L. Wang; H. Zheng; T. Ding; Z. Li*. Multistage data center cooling system for temperature gradation and matching, Applied Energy, 2025, 377: 124592.
2. B. Zhang; Z. Li*. Data-driven and physics-constrained learning for inferring physical parameters and solving forward problems of heat conduction, Applied Thermal Engineering, 2025, 264: 125534.
3. X.X. Chen, T. Ding, L. Wang, Z. Li*. Experimental research and energy effectiveness analysis on chip-level two-stage loop thermosyphon system for data centre free cooling[J]. Applied Thermal Engineering, 2024, 245: 122767.
4. X.Z. Li, X.Y. Wang, Z.G. He, X.X. Chen, Z. Li*. Combining physical laws and ANN for predicting energy consumption of data center cooling systems[J]. Energy and Buildings, 2024, 311: 114170.
5. Z.G. He, H.N. Xi, J.M. Wang, Z. Li*. Synergy optimization analysis of heat transfer performance and energy consumption in heat transfer process and its application in data centers[J]. Applied Energy, 2022, 307: 118276.
6. W.C. Liao, X.Y. Zhang, Z. Li*. Experimental investigation on the performance of a boiler system with flue gas dehumidification and combustion air humidification[J]. Applied Energy, 2022, 323: 119623.
7. H.W. Cao H, H.B. Li, T. Ding, Z.G. He, Z. Li*. Research on the refrigerant distribution and distinctive flow phenomena in a two-phase loop thermosyphon through a holistic visualization method[J]. International Journal of Refrigeration, 2021, 125: 64-74.
8. Z. Li, SG Kandlikar*. Current status and future trends in data-center cooling technologies[J]. Heat Transfer Engineering, 2015, 36(6): 523-538.
9. Z. Li*, X. H. Liu, Z. Lun, Y. Jiang. Analysis on the ideal energy efficiency of dehumidification process from buildings[J]. Energy and Buildings, 2010, 42(11): 2014-2020.
10. Z. Li*, X.H. Liu, Y. Jiang, X.Y. Chen. New type of fresh air processor with liquid desiccant total heat recovery[J]. Energy and Buildings, 2005, 37(6): 587-593.
