Li Ping

Researcher in Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University. Main research direction: STS (Science, Technology and Society), focusing on social governance of technological innovation, transition governance, engineering ethics, and gamification research in STS education.

   2000.09-2006.09: Ph.D., Department of Philosophy, Nanjing University

Dec.2011 – Present, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Associate Professor, Researcher

Jan.2014 – Jan.2015, SPRU(Science Policy Research Unit), University of Sussex, Visiting scholar

Jan.2007 – Dec.2008, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University，Postdoctoral Researcher, Lecturer

Deputy Director, Committee on Science and Technology Strategy, China Strategy Research Association;

Deputy Director, Committee on General History, Chinese Society for the History of Science and Technology.

Courses taught at Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School (SIGS): Dialectics of Nature, Professional Ethics, Engineering Ethics, Data Ethics, and Quality Development for Engineers. Among them, Dialectics of Nature and Professional Ethics are awarded as Excellent Courses of Tsinghua University. Member of the National Expert Group for Engineering Ethics Research and Curriculum Development.

    Science, technology and society; Innovation for sustainability and technology risk; Transformative innovation (regional innovation systems)

Main research areas include STS (Science, Technology and Society), with a focus on social governance of scientific and technological innovation, sustainable transition, engineering ethics, and gamified research in STS education. 

I have served as principal investigator in more than 20 major research projects, including projects funded by the National Social Science Foundation of China, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Shenzhen Municipal Government. In the field of social governance mechanisms for science, technology and innovation transition, I have been consecutively awarded four grants from the National Social Science Foundation of China. More than 40 papers published in key journals such as Journal of Responsible Innovation, Environmental Politics, Studies in Science of Science, and Journal of Dialectics of Nature. I have also published 4 monographs, and the edited Case Collection of Engineering Ethics has successively won the Second Prize of the National Textbook Construction Award (Higher Education Category) and the Tsinghua University Excellent Textbook Award.

As one of the drafters, I participated in compiling the sub-report “Reflections and Recommendations on Promoting Independent Innovation and Accelerating the Construction of a Regional Innovation System”, a major research project under the National 12th Five-Year Plan Proposal. This report was highly praised by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Shenzhen Municipal Government. In 2023, the report “New Basic Research Paradigms in Shenzhen” was adopted by the Ministry of Science and Technology and promoted nationwide. In 2025, I served as the person in charge of the ethics group for the formulation of the Shenzhen local standard Technical Framework for Value Alignment of Artificial Intelligence Pre-trained Models.

[1] General Project of the National Social Science Fund of China (NSSFC): A Cross-Cultural Comparative Study of Responsible Innovation between China and the U.S.;

[2] Key Project of NSSFC: Research on Institutional Mechanisms for the Development of New Quality Productive Forces Driven by Cutting-Edge Scientific and Technological Innovation;

[3] Key Project of NSSFC: Research on the Construction of an Innovative Country in China under the Transformation of the Principal Contradictions in Society in the New Era;

[4] Youth Project of NSSFC: Research on the Ecological Transformation of Technological Paradigms;

[5] Commissioned Project by the National Steering Committee for Engineering Education: Case Studies in Engineering Ethics;

[6] Project of the Hong Kong and Macao Research Center, Tsinghua University: Research on Artificial Intelligence Governance;

[7] Project funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC): Low Carbon Innovation in China;

[8] China Postdoctoral Science Foundation: Research on Social Choice Mechanisms for Circular Economy Pathways;

[9] Major Research Project of Shenzhen Municipal Government: Research on Institutions and Policies for Shenzhen to Build an International Center for Science, Technology and Industrial Innovation;

[10] Project of Shenzhen Academy of Social Sciences: Research on the Development Index of World-Class Bay Areas.

[1] Ping Li, Ziqiang Zhao. Humanizing RRI in mega engineering projects: insights from the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge project. Journal of Responsible Innovation, 2025, 12(1): 2520640.

[2] Cai Z, Wu D, Ping Li*. DialCL-Bias: A Semantic and Contextual Framework to Identify Social Bias in Dialogue. 2023 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics (SMC).

[3] Cai Z, Chang X, Ping Li*. HCPP: A Data-Oriented Framework to Preserve Privacy during Interactions with Healthcare Chatbot. 2023 IEEE International Performance, Computing, and Communications Conference (IPCCC).

[4] Zhang S, Ping Li*, Cai Z. Are Male Candidates Better than Females? Debiasing BERT Resume Retrieval System. 2022 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics (SMC).

[5] Zhang S, Ping Li*. Unmasking the Stereotypes: Evaluating Social Biases in Chinese BERT. 2022 4th International Conference on Natural Language Processing (ICNLP).

[6] Ping Li. Practical Implications of “Technological Situatedness” in the Empirical Turn of Philosophy of Technology. Philosophical Analysis, 2021. Renmin University Reprint Journals, 2022(4).

[7] Ping Li, Miao Liao. Rethinking the Reflective Dimension of Responsible Innovation. Journal of Dialectics of Nature, 2021.

[8] Ping Huang, Ping Li*. Politics of urban energy transitions: new energy vehicle (NEV) development in Shenzhen. Environmental Politics, 2020, 29(3): 524–545.

[9] Xiaoshuo Hou*, Ping Li*. Whose Legitimacy?: China’s Drive for Electric Vehicles. Sociology of Development, 2020, 6(1): 66–90.

[10] Ping Li. Low-Carbon Transition from the Perspective of Socio-Technical Paradigms. Studies in Science of Science, 2018. Reprinted in Xinhua Digest, 2018(19).

[11] David Tyfield, Dennis Zuev, Ping Li, John Urry. Low Carbon Innovation in Chinese Urban Mobility: Prospects, Politics & Practices. STEPS Working Paper, 2014(12).

[12] Ping Li, Chun Yang. Marine research institutions in transition to “post-academic science”: MBARI and its implications. Journal of Dialectics of Nature, 2014(4).

[13] Ping Li. Disputes over the Precautionary Principle under Risk Decision-Making and Its Implications. Journal of Dialectics of Nature, 2011(2). Renmin University Reprint Journals, 2011(7).

[1] Ping Li. Research on the Ecological Transformation of Technological Paradigms (Understanding Science Series, Tsinghua University). Science Press, 2023.

[2] Pusheng Wang, Ping Li, Lidong Liu. Case Collection of Engineering Ethics (National Planned Textbook for Graduate Education of Engineering Professional Degrees). Tsinghua University Press, 2022.

[3] Yi Lei, Ping Li, Wei Wang. Philosophy of Science and Technology and Dialectics of Nature (Tsinghua STS Series). Science Press, 2024.

[4] Contributing Author. In: Zhengfeng Li et al. (eds.) Engineering Ethics (Key Textbook for University Science and Technology Ethics Education, Ministry of Education). Science Press, 2023.

[5] Pusheng Wang, Junyou Yang, Ping Li. Industrial Transition in Shenzhen under the Evolution of Global Production Modes. People’s Publishing House, 2011.

[1] Case Collection of Engineering Ethics (Pusheng Wang, Ping Li, Lidong Liu et al.) : Second Prize of the National Textbook Construction Award (Higher Education), 2025; Second Prize, Tsinghua University Excellent Textbook Award, 2024; 11th Shenzhen Outstanding Achievement Award in Philosophy and Social Sciences, 2023.

[2] Professional Ethics (Pusheng Wang, Ping Li et al.): National First-Class Undergraduate Course (3rd Batch), 2025; First National Online Demonstration Course for Engineering Professional Degree Graduates, 2024; Model Teacher, Team & Course for Value-Integrated Education, Ministry of Education, 2021; Model Teacher & Course for Value-Integrated Education, Tsinghua University, 2021.

[3] Construction and Practice of Engineering Ethics Education System in China in the New Era. First Prize for Teaching Achievements, Tsinghua University, 2025 (15/21).

[4] Exploration of the Professional Ethics Teaching System Highlighting “Fostering Virtue Through Education”. Second Prize for Teaching Achievements, Tsinghua University, 2021.