Yongsheng Li was nice, quiet and dedicated to his work.

Most of his neighbors didn’t know him, but those who did said they were shocked to hear his disappearance resulted in tragedy.

Li, who was last seen alive at 4 p.m. on March 10, was found in a pond between the Women’s Sports Complex and State Botanical Gardens on South Milledge Avenue Sunday.

Monday print and broadcast reporters trekked a hall of the Life Sciences building where he studied and a floor of the family housing complex where he lived to gain a better understanding of who Li was.

Li, 29, was a doctoral student from China who studied receptor cells in Regents Professor David Puett’s biochemistry and molecular biology laboratory.

University student Stephen Lott, who worked with Li, said many of the lab students were upset Monday when they received an e-mail confirming Li’s death.

Geneva DeMars, who worked closely with Li in the lab, declined to comment Monday because she was “grieving hard core,” she said.

“The lab class felt surreal,” said Lott, a biology, biochemistry and molecular biology and gerontology major who worked as Li’s assistant over the summer.

“A lot of people (in the biochemistry building) took off to be with his family.”

“He never seemed to get upset and would always help everyone in the lab,” Lott said.

He also said Li was very studious and rarely talked about his personal life.

“He was really dedicated. I think he only missed class once this semester because he had to go to the hospital for a cold,” he said.

Lott met Puett in Italy and was paired with Li to work on protein purification.

“The stuff he was doing was pretty complicated,” Lott said. “I just helped him to carry out the steps in his experiment.”

Li was pursuing his final year of doctoral work and was expected to graduate no later than May 2008.

“He was clever, compassionate and always helpful,” said Puett. “He was one of the top students I’ve ever had.”

“Yongsheng Li was an outstanding scientist and a wonderful person,” said Susanne Warrenfeltz, an assistant research scientist in Puett’s lab.

“His quiet, courteous nature and his commitment to scholarship touched the lives of all the people with whom he worked. We miss him, and we wish we could have helped him.”

More than 1,000 people joined a Facebook group dedicated to creating awareness of Li’s disappearance.

Graduate student Joseph Moore said he started the group after seeing flyers in the biochemistry building even though he didn’t know Li.

An elderly couple discovered Li’s body floating in a retention pond while walking their dog Sunday afternoon.

Li’s body has been taken to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Crime Lab for an autopsy to determine the cause of death. At this time no foul play is suspected, police said.

Li’s wife, Meiyao Wang, first reported Li’s disappearance to University of Georgia Police on March 11 at 9:21 p.m.

The initial police report said a note was obtained from Li’s wife for evidence. Police refuse to comment on the contents of the note.

University Police Chief Jimmy Williamson said police interviewed his wife and co-workers, talked to neighbors, canvassed the surrounding woods and used a Georgia State Patrol helicopter to search the area during the two weeks he was missing.

Li’s wife could not be reached for comment as of press time.

A family friend said no memorial service has been scheduled.

Police have asked the couple who found Li or anyone with information about his death to call 706-542-2200.