About Me

I am a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate at UC Berkeley, fortunate to work with Prof. Ziqi Wang. Prior to my Ph.D., I received rigorous training in mechanics through my bachelor's degree (with honors) at Southwest Jiaotong University and master's degree (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 using mean-field theory and renormalization group. I have since pivoted toward AI research, and my current interests center on LLM post-training (SFT, RLHF, RLVR), generative models (diffusion and flow matching), reinforcement learning, and graph learning. I am always open to research collaborations, especially on LLMs, computer vision, and generative models. Please feel free to connect!

Research Interests

Multimodal Sentiment Analysis Text-to-Image Generation Foundation Models for Natural Hazards

Large Language Models

Multimodal sentiment analysis; post-training (SFT, RLHF, RLVR)

Generative Models

Foundation models for natural hazard generation (ground motion, hurricanes)

Statistical Physics

Emotional phase transition; mean-field theory; renormalization group

Uncertainty Quantification

Sequential Monte Carlo; Hamiltonian Monte Carlo

Publications

  1. Social amplification dominates collective hazard response arXiv
    Social Amplification Dominates Collective Hazard Response
    Xiaolei Chu, Guanren Zhou, Marco Broccardo, Didier Sornette, Khalid M. Mosalam, Ziqi Wang
    arXiv preprint, Mar. 2026
  2. Maximum entropy community-level hazard responses RESS
    Maximum entropy-based modeling of community-level hazard responses for civil infrastructures
    Xiaolei Chu, Ziqi Wang
    Reliability Engineering & System Safety, Oct. 2024
  3. Multiscale time series decomposition SCHM
    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
  4. Bayesian inference vortex-excited force ES
    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
  5. Life-cycle assessment wind resistant performance JSE
    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
  6. Bayesian spectral density flutter derivatives MSSP
    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
  7. Probabilistic flutter analysis climate change JWEIA
    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

Awards & Honors

  • May 2025 2nd Place, Objective Resilience Student Paper/Presentation Competition at EMI 2025, Anaheim, CA
  • Aug 2024 Professor Alex & Georgia Scordelis Fellowship, UC Berkeley
  • Oct 2022 Excellent Master's Thesis, Tongji University
  • Jun 2022 Excellent Graduate, Tongji University
  • Oct 2021 China National Scholarship
  • Aug 2019 Citation for Outstanding College Graduate (Summa Cum Laude), China Civil Engineering Society
  • Jun 2019 Excellent Undergraduate of Sichuan Province
  • Jan 2019 1st International Engineering Mechanics Competition: 1st Prize (Individual) & 2nd Prize (Team)
  • Apr 2018 ASCE Steel Bridge Competition: 5th Overall & Best Display Medal (Group Leader), Sacramento, CA
  • Oct 2017 1st Prize, 9th Chinese Mathematics Competition (CMC)
  • Jul 2017 1st Prize, 11th Zhou Peiyuan National Mechanics Competition
  • Oct 2016 1st Prize, 8th Chinese Mathematics Competition (CMC)
  • 2016–18 Railway 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

Professional Membership

  • Student Member of ASCE (2016–present)

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