Xingyu Liu

Postdoctoral Research Associate, Ph.D.
University of Wisconsin-Madison

I am a postdoctoral research associate in Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, working with Dr. Izabela Szlufarska. I received my Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University, advised by Dr. Xing Wang and Dr. Arthur T. Motta, and my B.E. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Science and Technology Beijing.

My research asks how materials survive radiation. Inside a nuclear reactor, or in space, energetic particles knock atoms out of place and change a material from within, until it fails. I use ion irradiation to recreate in days what a reactor would take years to do, and advanced microscopy techniques to observe radiation damage.

Research Interests: Materials Science Nuclear Materials Radiation Damage Microscopy Metals Ceramics

contact@xingyuliu.org LinkedIn Google Scholar ORCID Curriculum Vitae

Experience

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Postdoctoral Research Associate in Materials Science and Engineering

Aug 2026 - Present

Supervised by Dr. Izabela Szlufarska
Pennsylvania State University

Graduate Research Assistant in Nuclear Engineering

Sep 2021 - Aug 2026

Supervised by Dr. Xing Wang and Dr. Arthur T. Motta
University of Science and Technology Beijing

Undergraduate Research Assistant in Materials Science and Engineering

Sep 2018 - Dec 2020

Supervised by Dr. Wentuo Han and Dr. Chi Xu

Education

Pennsylvania State University

Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering

Jan 2021 - Aug 2026

Advised by Dr. Xing Wang and Dr. Arthur T. Motta
University of Science and Technology Beijing

B.E. in Materials Science and Engineering

Sep 2016 - Jul 2020

Advised by Dr. Wentuo Han and Dr. Chi Xu

Awards

Nuclear Science User Facilities Rapid Turnaround Experiments Award #24-5164 [link]
Sep 2024

U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy

PI: Xingyu Liu · Co-PIs: Xing Wang, Arthur T. Motta

Selected Publications (view all )

Cavity evolution in irradiated alloy 800H studied with in-situ ion irradiation

Xingyu Liu, Antoine Waegaert, Wei-Ying Chen, Xing Wang^#, Arthur T. Motta^#

Acta Materialia 318, 122616 (2026) 10.1016/j.actamat.2026.122616

INR-TEM: Robust cavity detection in multifocus TEM images via implicit neural representations

Chan-Min Hsu, Siyuan Xu, Matthew J. Lynch, Yucheng Wang, Xingyu Liu, Conrad Williams, Xing Wang, Lijun Qian, Kevin G. Field, Xiaoning Qian^#

APL Machine Learning 4, 016105 (2026) 10.1063/5.0301417

Combining 2D simulations with atom probe tomography to investigate radiation-induced segregation near nanoscale cavities

Xinyuan Xu, Xingyu Liu, William J. Weber, Yanwen Zhang, Xing Wang^#

npj Materials Degradation 10, 14 (2026) 10.1038/s41529-025-00727-y 1 citation

Understanding the effect of minor alloying elements on helium bubble formation in ferritic-martensitic steels

Xingyu Liu, Jonathan D. Poplawsky, Yongqiang Wang, Xinyuan Xu, Xiang (Frank) Chen, Xing Wang^#

Journal of Nuclear Materials 616, 156045 (2025) 10.1016/j.jnucmat.2025.156045 1 citation

Field-dependent carrier transport in implanted isolation region of GaN lateral power devices

Mansura Sadek^#, Yixin Xiong, Yuxin Du, Jesse T. Kemmerling, Rian Guan, Jianan Song, Xingyu Liu, Xing Wang, Andy Xie, Rongming Chu

APL Materials 13, 051113 (2025) 10.1063/5.0245549 2 citations

Microstructural changes in GaN and AlN under 950 MeV Au swift heavy ion irradiation

Mahjabin Mahfuz, Farshid Reza, Xingyu Liu, Rongming Chu, Maik Lang, Michael Snure, Xing Wang^#, Miaomiao Jin^#

Applied Physics Letters 124, 112104 (2024) 10.1063/5.0189812 25 citations 3.6× field average

Effects of transition metal carbide dispersoids on helium bubble formation in dispersion-strengthened tungsten

Ashrakat Saefan, Xingyu Liu, Eric Lang, Levko Higgins, Yongqiang Wang, Osman El-Atwani, Jean Paul Allain, Xing Wang^#

Scientific Reports 13, 13352 (2023) 10.1038/s41598-023-40421-0 18 citations 1.3× field average

^# corresponding author

All publications

Selected Conferences (view all )

Materials Science & Technology (MS&T) in Pittsburgh, PA, United States
Oct 4–7, 2026
- Understanding the role of collision cascades in cavity formation using in situ ion irradiation [link]
  
  Xing Wang^#, Xingyu Liu, Antoine Waegaert, Wei-Ying Chen, Arthur T. Motta^#
Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF) Annual Program Review held Online
May 11–13, 2026
- Investigating effect of dose rate on microstructure evolution in 800H alloy at high doses [link]
  
  Xingyu Liu, Antoine Waegaert, Wei-Ying Chen, Xing Wang^#, Arthur T. Motta^#
Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS) in San Diego, CA, United States
Mar 16–19, 2026
- Understanding the effect of nitrogen on cavity formation and precipitate stability using correlative STEM-APT technique [link]
  
  Xingyu Liu, Xing Wang^#
Materials in Nuclear Energy Systems (MiNES) in Cleveland, OH, United States
Dec 8–11, 2025
- Effect of minor alloying elements on helium bubble formation in T91 and F82H ferritic-martensitic steels [link]
  
  Xingyu Liu, Jonathan D. Poplawsky, Yongqiang Wang, Xinyuan Xu, Xiang (Frank) Chen, Xing Wang^#
- Investigating the effect of dose rate on cavity evolution in 800H alloy using ex-situ and in-situ irradiation [link]
  
  Xingyu Liu, Antoine Waegaert, Wei-Ying Chen, Xing Wang^#, Arthur T. Motta^#
Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS) in Las Vegas, NV, United States
Mar 24–27, 2025
- Emulation of microchemical evolution at high doses in neutron irradiated 800H using dual ion irradiation [link]
  
  Xingyu Liu, Antoine Waegaert, Xing Wang^#, Arthur T. Motta^#
- Cavity and dislocation loop evolution in neutron irradiated 800H alloy [link]
  
  Antoine Waegaert, Xingyu Liu, Xing Wang^#, Arthur T. Motta^#
Materials Science & Technology (MS&T) in Pittsburgh, PA, United States
Oct 7–9, 2024
- Emulation of neutron irradiation-induced cavities and precipitates at high dose in 800H alloy using dual ion irradiation [link]
  
  Xingyu Liu, Antoine Waegaert, Xing Wang^#, Arthur T. Motta^#
Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS) in Orlando, FL, United States
Mar 4–7, 2024
- Radiation-induced segregation around helium bubbles in reduced-activation ferritic/martensitic (RAFM) steels [link]
  
  Xingyu Liu, Jonathan D. Poplawsky, Matthew R. Chancey, Yongqiang Wang, Xing Wang^#

^# corresponding author

All conferences

Technical Expertise

Materials Characterization

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) Scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) Scanning electron microscopy Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy Electron energy loss spectroscopy S/TEM tomography High-resolution S/TEM In-situ TEM annealing Focused ion beam Atom probe tomography (APT) Correlative STEM-APT
Ion Irradiation

Ex-situ dual ion irradiation In-situ single ion irradiation SRIM simulation

Recent Activities (view all )

Launched this website [link]

Milestone

Sep 02, 2026
Joined the University of Wisconsin-Madison as a postdoctoral research associate, working with Dr. Izabela Szlufarska

Careerin Madison, WI, United States

Aug 17, 2026
Completed the Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering at the Pennsylvania State University

Careerin State College, PA, United States

Aug 15, 2026
Published "Cavity evolution in irradiated alloy 800H studied with in-situ ion irradiation" in Acta Materialia as first author [link]

Publication

Aug 08, 2026
Visited Oak Ridge National Laboratory with Xing Wang for correlative STEM-APT experiments, with thanks to James Burns and Joy Chao for hosting and helping with the experiments

Researchin Oak Ridge, TN, United States

Jul 20, 2026 – Jul 24, 2026

All activities