Xu joins the school as an assistant professor after serving as an adjunct associate professor at the University of Michigan and principal research engineer at Argonne National Laboratory.

He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nuclear engineering from Tsinghua University and his Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from Purdue in 2004. He also received a master’s degree in computer science from Purdue in 2006.

Xu’s research is in the areas of reactor physics and computer science for a diverse set of applications including nuclear reactor design and safety analysis, advanced nuclear fuel cycles, numerical methods, and homeland security.  In particular, Xu is highly recognized for his technical expertise in advanced neutronics codes, including PARCS, DeCart, MPACT, and Multi-physics coupled codes, such as TRACE, RELAP5.

As excited as he is to join the faculty, Xu is anticipating the opportunity to give back to the nuclear engineering community at Purdue.

“It’s a pleasure to provide help to students at Purdue University who are just like me 19 years ago,” said Xu. “I am grateful for having the chance to demonstrate that an alumnus of Purdue University can be a good faculty member at a top university.”