Fei-Fei Li was born on May 14, 1976, in Beijing, China. At the age of 16, she moved to the United States with her family, a significant change that marked the beginning of her journey in the field of technology. Fei-Fei attended high school in Parsippany, New Jersey, where she developed a keen interest in physics and mathematics. She went on to earn her Bachelor's degree in Physics from Princeton University in 1999. Fei-Fei then pursued her Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), where she focused on AI and computer vision, laying the groundwork for her future groundbreaking work.
Fei-Fei Li's career is distinguished by her pioneering contributions to the fields of AI and computer vision. After completing her Ph.D., she joined the faculty at Stanford University, where she became a Professor of Computer Science. One of her most notable achievements is the creation of ImageNet, a large-scale visual database designed to advance object recognition software. ImageNet played a crucial role in the development of deep learning algorithms and has been a foundational resource in the AI community.
In addition to her academic contributions, Fei-Fei served as the Chief Scientist of AI/ML at Google Cloud, where she worked on integrating AI into cloud computing. Her leadership and vision have significantly influenced the direction of AI research and its application in real-world scenarios.
Fei-Fei Li is a strong advocate for ethical AI and the inclusion of women and underrepresented minorities in STEM fields. She co-founded AI4ALL, a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing diversity and inclusion in AI education, research, and policy. Through AI4ALL, Fei-Fei works to inspire and empower young people, particularly those from underrepresented groups, to pursue careers in AI and technology.