Chao Li was born and raised in Taiyuan, Shanxi, known as the largest coal mining center in China. His parents are both mechanical engineers.

Chao is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in computer engineering at the University of Florida, where he has received a prestigious four-year UF Alumni Fellowship Award. Chao was named an Outstanding International Student by the UF International Center in 2010. He was also a Ph.D. recipient of the annual Attributes of a Gator Engineer Recognition Award, one of the highest honors that can be received by a student in the College of Engineering at UF.

Chao's dissertation work focuses on sustainable computer systems and green computing techniques. He has received a Best Paper Award at the premier computer architecture conference IEEE HPCA. He is a winner of the Yahoo! Key Scientific Challenges Award in the area of green computing. His research is also generously supported by a Facebook Fellowship in Computer Architecture.

Chao earned his B.S. (with honors) from Zhejiang University, one of the most prestigious universities in China. He was a member of the Mixed Class in Chu Kochen Honors College, an elite undergraduate program at Zhejiang University. In Auguest 2008, he attended UCLA as a short-term visiting student.

Chao has many interests outside of computer. It is great to be a Gator!