Academic Credentials
  • Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2020
  • B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2016
Professional Honors
  • Rising Stars in Mechanical Engineering, 2021
  • Phononics 2019 National Science Foundation Participation Fellowship
Languages
  • Mandarin

Dr. Xia specializes in mechanical engineering, with her primary areas of expertise including vibration attenuation, structural dynamics, nonlinear dynamics, wave propagation in complex structures, and structural acoustics. Her breadth of experience enables her to utilize both experimental and theoretical approaches to solve complex engineering problems.

Prior to joining Exponent, Dr. Xia was a postdoctoral fellow at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where she worked on finite element modeling of mammalian cochlea to investigate the rich dynamic responses, improving the understanding of the normal biomechanics of the mammalian ear.

Dr. Xia performed her doctoral work at Georgia Tech's Smart Structures and Dynamical Systems Laboratory (SSDSL) and Vibration and Wave Propagation Lab. Her dissertation was a theoretical and experimental effort centered around leveraging nonlinear attachments and quasiperiodic resonators, respectively, with a focus on vibration attenuation bandwidth enhancement via complex nonlinear dynamics (chaotic vibrations) and topologically non-trivial bandgap formation with localized edge modes. She explored both mechanical and electromechanical (with piezoelectric unit cells) structures to that end, both computationally and via rigorous experiments. She conducted testing with accelerometers, piezoelectric transducers, shakers, and (scanning) laser doppler vibrometer. Other graduate projects included investigating time modulation effects in elastic metamaterials and providing a key role in the experimental validation of the selective wave-filtering feature in an elastic waveguide with time-modulated stiffness. Her graduate work also included courses in acoustics, robotics, mechatronics, transducers and signals, linear and nonlinear control systems.