Rupert Li

About Rupert Li

Rupert Li was born and raised in Portland, Oregon, the son of Chinese immigrants who came to the United States in pursuit of higher education. While he displayed a talent for mathematics from a young age, his parents instilled in him a respect for learning in all fields, and supported him in all his academic activities, not just mathematics. His high school education reinforced this, where his high school’s motto, age quod agis or “do well, whatever you do,” reminds him to this day to give his best in all aspects of his life.

Rupert’s first experience with mathematics research was as a high school student as part of the MIT PRIMES-USA program, and this fulfilling experience encouraged him to continue pursuing math research, which developed into his passion. He continued researching in mathematics as an undergraduate at MIT, where he was fortunate to work with Professors Henry Cohn, Nike Sun, and Elchanan Mossel. Rupert also had the pleasure of spending two summers at the Duluth REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) program with Professor Joe Gallian. Rupert’s research in probability, discrete geometry, and combinatorics (see, e.g., his work in sphere-packing) culminated in receiving the Barry Goldwater Scholarship, an honorable mention for the Frank and Brennie Morgan Prize for Outstanding Research in Mathematics by an Undergraduate Student, the Marshall Scholarship, and the Hertz Fellowship.

Beyond research, Rupert finds fulfillment in opportunities to give back to the math community that has supported him throughout his mathematical journey. 2025 marks the second year that he has served as a graduate student mentor for the PRIMES-USA program that sparked his mathematical career and his first year as an advisor for the Duluth REU program.

Rupert graduated from MIT in 2024 as a double major in mathematics, as well as computer science, economics, and data science, in addition to a MEng in the latter. In the academic year 2024-2025, Rupert is pursuing a MASt in the Part III Mathematics program at the University of Cambridge, supported by the Marshall Scholarship.