Xiaolei (Alex) Chu

Hi — I'm Xiaolei (Alex)! I'm a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate at UC Berkeley, in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, fortunate to work with Prof. Ziqi Wang.

Prior to my Ph.D., I received rigorous training in mechanics through my B.S. (with honors) at Southwest Jiaotong University and M.S. (with honors) at Tongji University, where I built a solid foundation in structural dynamics and probabilistic methods. During the first three years of my Ph.D., I focused on statistical physics, studying phase transitions and collective behavior in complex systems via mean-field theory and the renormalization group. Through this work, I discovered deep connections between statistical physics and modern AI — from energy-based models and diffusion processes to sampling and variational inference — which naturally led me to pivot toward AI research.

My current interests center on generative models (diffusion / flow), reinforcement learning, and LLM post-training. I'm always open to research collaborations, especially on 3D vision, generative models, and various RL stuff. Please feel free to reach out!

Email / CV / Scholar / Github / LinkedIn

Research Interests

My research sits at the intersection of generative models, statistical physics, and uncertainty quantification, with applications to natural-hazard modeling and human–AI collective behavior. Current focus areas:

Large Language Models. Multimodal sentiment analysis; post-training (SFT, RLHF, RLVR).
Generative Models. Foundation models for natural-hazard generation (ground motion, hurricanes); text-to-image generation.
Statistical Physics. Emotional phase transitions; mean-field theory; renormalization group.
Uncertainty Quantification. Sequential Monte Carlo; Hamiltonian Monte Carlo.

Publications

	Social Amplification Dominates Collective Hazard Response Xiaolei Chu, Guanren Zhou, Marco Broccardo, Didier Sornette, Khalid M. Mosalam, Ziqi Wang arXiv preprint, Mar. 2026 arXiv
	Maximum entropy-based modeling of community-level hazard responses for civil infrastructures Xiaolei Chu, Ziqi Wang Reliability Engineering & System Safety, Oct. 2024 arXiv
	Multiscale Time Series Decomposition for Structural Dynamic Properties: Long-Term Trend and Ambient Interference Xiaolei Chu, Wei Cui, Shengyi Xu, Lin Zhao, Hua Guan, Yaojun Ge Structural Control and Health Monitoring, Feb. 2023 paper
	Bayesian inference based parametric identification of vortex-excited force using on-site measured vibration data on a long-span bridge Peng Liu, Xiaolei Chu, Wei Cui, Lin Zhao, Yaojun Ge Engineering Structures, Sep. 2022 paper
	Life-Cycle Assessment of Long-Span Bridge's Wind Resistant Performance Considering Multisource Time-Variant Effects and Uncertainties Xiaolei Chu, Wei Cui, Lin Zhao, Yaojun Ge Journal of Structural Engineering, May 2022 paper
	Bayesian spectral density approach for identification of bridge section's flutter derivatives operated in turbulent flow Xiaolei Chu, Wei Cui, Peng Liu, Lin Zhao, Yaojun Ge Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing, May 2022 paper
	Probabilistic flutter analysis of a long-span bridge in typhoon-prone regions considering climate change and structural deterioration Xiaolei Chu, Wei Cui, Lin Zhao, Shuyang Cao, Yaojun Ge Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics, Aug. 2021 paper

Awards & Honors

May 20252nd Place, Objective Resilience Student Paper/Presentation Competition at EMI 2025, Anaheim, CA
Aug 2024Professor Alex & Georgia Scordelis Fellowship, UC Berkeley
Oct 2022Excellent Master's Thesis, Tongji University
Jun 2022Excellent Graduate, Tongji University
Oct 2021China National Scholarship
Aug 2019Citation for Outstanding College Graduate (Summa Cum Laude), China Civil Engineering Society
Jun 2019Excellent Undergraduate of Sichuan Province
Jan 20191st International Engineering Mechanics Competition: 1st Prize (Individual) & 2nd Prize (Team)
Apr 2018ASCE Steel Bridge Competition: 5th Overall & Best Display Medal (Group Leader), Sacramento, CA
Oct 20171st Prize, 9th Chinese Mathematics Competition (CMC)
Jul 20171st Prize, 11th Zhou Peiyuan National Mechanics Competition
Oct 20161st Prize, 8th Chinese Mathematics Competition (CMC)
2016–18Railway Alumni Scholarship, Chengdu

Academic Services

Journal Reviewer

Journal of Structural Engineering, ASCE
Journal of Engineering
Advanced Engineering Informatics
Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing
Engineering Structures
Measurement
Journal of Building Engineering
Automation in Construction
Reliability Engineering & System Safety
Information Processing and Management
Structural Safety

Professional Membership

Student Member of ASCE (2016–present)

Visitor Map

Website source from Jon Barron.