The paper was written by Li along with Dr. Erik Brown, Dr. Sergei Katsev and Dr. Sean Crowe and published in the Journal of Great Lakes Research in 2018. The paper was entitled "Sediment geochemistry and contributions to carbon and nutrient cycling in deep meromictic tropical Lake: Lake Malawi."
This honor was awarded to Li at the 62nd annual conference on Great Lakes Research in Brockport, NY. The conference and award were presented by the International Association for Great Lakes Research.