Leijun Li, P.Eng., obtained his B.S. degree in welding engineering from the Huazhong University of Science and Technology. He was a faculty member from 1990 to 1994, first as a lecturer, and then as an associate professor, in the welding engineering program at Wuhan University. In 1994, he moved to the United States for his graduate studies in physical metallurgy. He obtained a Ph.D. degree in materials engineering from the Warren “Doc” Savage Materials Joining Lab at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). From 2000 to 2002, he served as a tenure-track assistant professor of manufacturing at the University of Northern Iowa (Cedar Falls, Iowa). From 2002 to 2013, he served as a tenure-track and then tenured professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Utah State University (Logan, Utah). In 2013, he relocated from Utah to Alberta, and took up his present position at the University of Alberta, where he is Professor and Chair of Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering. He has been active with the American Welding Society, serving on the Technical Papers and Testing of Welds committees, and as a Principal Reviewer for the Welding Journal. He chaired the Joining Critical Technologies committee of ASM International, additionally serving as a Key Reader for the Metallurgical and Materials Transactions for more than 20 years. He is a Fellow of ASM International, the American Welding Society, and the Canadian Welding Association.