Academic Staff

Prof. Xu received his first PhD degree in metallurgical engineering from University of Science and Technology Beijing, China in 1998 and his 2nd PhD degree in chemical and biochemical engineering from the University of Western Ontario, Canada in 2004. After obtaining his first PhD degree, he was offered a prestigious postdoctoral fellowship from Japan Society for Promotion of Science (JSPS) to carry out postdoctoral research at Tohoku University, Japan, in 1998-2000, followed by a Research Associate appointment by Tohoku University. After obtaining his 2nd PhD degree, he spent one year as a postdoctoral fellow at University of Alberta and Syncrude Canada Research Center till July 2005, when he joined Lakehead University, Canada as a tenure-track Assistant Professor in chemical engineering and was promoted quickly to a tenured Associate Professor in 2008. He moved to Western University (formerly The University of Western Ontario) to take up the NSERC/FPInnovations Industrial Research Chair in Forest Biorefinery in 2011 and became a tenured Full Professor in 2014. He served Associate Chair – Undergraduate of the Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering (2016-2017) and Associate Director of Institute for Chemicals and Fuels from Alternative Resources (ICFAR) of Western University (2021-2023). He jointed City University of Hong Kong as a Chair Professor in July 2023.

With nearly 20-year research experience in biorefinery for biomass and biowastes valorization, Professor Xu has profound and world-leading expertise in research, innovations and industrial applications of high-value bioproducts from renewable resources, particularly in development of biofuels and bio-based chemicals and materials from forestry/agricultural residues and biowastes. He has authored/edited 3 books on biorefinery and resources recovery from wastes, and published 20+ book chapters and 300+ papers in peer-reviewed journals and delivered over 100 invited seminars/keynote/plenary lectures worldwide. According to Google Scholar, his work has received over 17,000 total citations with an H-index of 72 to date and been continuously ranked among the 100,000 most-cited scientists in the world and the top 2 percent of their sub-fields in recent years. With 16 PCT/US/Canadian/Chinese Patents issued/pending, Dr. Xu has made outstanding contributions to applied science and engineering practice, He is a founder of Western Maple Bio Resources Inc., incorporated federally in Canada, currently in the process of commercialization of various clean technologies and green products, e.g., bio-based formaldehyde-free adhesives for wood panels (plywood, OSB, particleboard, fiberboard). Prof. Xu is co-Editor-in-Chief of International Journal of Chemical Reactor Engineering (IJCRE) and Associate Editor of two Elsevier journals: (1) Biomass and Bioenergy, and (2) Resources Chemicals and Materials, and has contributed to training of 180+ highly qualified personnel including 100+ PhD/master’s students since 2005.

Prof. Xu has a demonstrated track record in establishing and leading large research programs/teams to deliver world-class impactful research, having served as Project Coordinator/Theme Leader in several multidisciplinary/multi-institutional large projects, including an Ontario Research Fund-Research Excellence (ORF-RE) program for the development marketable products from agricultural solid residues, an Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Foods and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) program for the development of innovative biorefining technologies for valorizing agricultural biomass, the Canada’s Networks of Centers of Excellence (NCE) on biofuels (BioFuelNet), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Strategic Partnership program on lignin valorization (Lignoworks), and the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC)’s  Agri-Sci Cluster-BioMass Canada, etc.

His research accomplishments and leadership have been recognized through prestigious awards including an Outstanding Young Scientists Award in 1999 from Japan Institute of Energy, the 2011 Syncrude Canada Innovation Award and the 2019 Award in Design and Industrial Practice from Canadian Society of Chemical Engineering. He was elected Fellow of the Chemical Institute of Canada (FCIC) in 2018, Fellow of Canadian Academy of Engineering (FCAE) in 2019 and Fellow of Engineering Institute of Canada (FEIC) in 2023.

• BEng in Metallurgical Engineering, Anhui University of Technology, China
• PhD in Metallurgical Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, China 
• PhD in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, The University of Western Ontario, Canada