Affiliation: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Dr. Xia is a postdoc researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He received his dual bachelor's degrees in electrical and computer engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China, and in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, the USA in 2015. He received his master's and PhD from the MIT Mechanical Engineering Department in 2017 and 2020, respectively. On a higher level, Dr. Xia’s research interests include precision instruments, intelligent mechatronic systems, and micro/nano-robots. To be specific, Dr. Xia’s doctoral work focused on the development of next-generation Atomic Force Microscopes (AFM) to enable new imaging modalities such as high-speed imaging and specialized environment imaging. Such capabilities were enabled by new development in new nanopositioning systems, active cantilever probes with Micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) technology, high-performance drivers, intelligent learning-based controllers, and system integration. With an established expertise in AFM instrumentation, his current research focuses on new application areas in the rising fields of 2D material studies for advanced material property characterization. Using an application-driven design strategy, the ongoing work aims to extend advanced AFM imaging modalities to handle demanding samples in extreme environments, where interesting phenomena can be observed. AFM-based nanorobotic manipulation and nanofabrication techniques are also being actively investigated for in-situ sample processing and characterization.