Academic Staff

Brief Biosketch

Prof. Xiewen Wen (Sitman) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He is Director of the PolyU-CSU (Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization, Chinese Academy of Sciences) Joint Research Center for Space Manufacturing Technologies (RCSMT) and Associate Director of the University Research Facility in 3D Printing (U3DP). Prior to joining PolyU ISE, Prof. Wen was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at City University of Hong Kong and a postdoctoral fellow at Argonne National Laboratory, where he conducted research on quantum imaging and ultrafast optical spectroscopy under the supervision of Prof. Gary P. Wiederrecht. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Physics, with a focus on optics, from Sun Yat-sen University, and earned his Ph.D. in Materials Science from Rice University under the supervision of Prof. Jun Lou and Prof. Pulickel M. Ajayan.

Prof. Wen’s research focuses on intelligent manufacturing technologies that integrate advanced materials, precision equipment, optical sensing, robotics, and artificial intelligence. His group designs and builds one-of-a-kind manufacturing systems and functional materials to enable high-precision fabrication, online process monitoring, and closed-loop control for applications in advanced optics, electronics, biomedicine, aerospace, and space manufacturing.

A major theme of Prof. Wen’s work is glass micro- and nano-manufacturing. His team has developed world-leading technologies for high-resolution 3D printing and micro/nano fabrication of fused silica glass, enabling complex glass micro-optics, microfluidic devices, mechanical metamaterials, and high-performance functional components that are difficult or impossible to fabricate using conventional glass processing methods.

Prof. Wen is also actively expanding advanced manufacturing technologies into aerospace and commercial space applications. As Director of the (RCSMT), he leads interdisciplinary efforts in space manufacturing, in-orbit fabrication and assembly, lightweight structures, space optical fibre payloads, and robotic manufacturing systems for future orbital infrastructure and commercial space missions.

In addition to academic research, Prof. Wen is strongly committed to technology translation, innovation policy service, and deep-tech entrepreneurship. He has played an active role in building cross-border technology transfer platforms and supporting regional innovation initiatives, including 蘇港理智, a Jiangsu Province–approved International Cooperation Key Technology Transfer Center operated under the PolyU Wuxi Research Institute to promote technology collaboration, industrial innovation, and knowledge exchange between Jiangsu and Hong Kong. He is Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of IntraSpect Laser Technologies, a PolyU deep-tech venture and a Third Round RAISe+ awardee developing intelligent in-situ laser melt pool monitoring technology for high-end precision manufacturing. He is also the founder of G3D, a deep-tech company advancing world-leading glass micro/nano manufacturing technologies for next-generation optics, semiconductors, biomedical devices, and advanced manufacturing.

Prof. Wen’s group welcomes highly motivated Ph.D. students, postdoctoral fellows, research staff, industrial collaborators, and entrepreneurial partners in areas including intelligent manufacturing, space manufacturing, additive manufacturing, laser processing, optical metrology, nanomanufacturing, robotics, materials science, and technology commercialization.

Research Interests

• Intelligent Additive Manufacturing and Digital Manufacturing
• Space Manufacturing, In-orbit Fabrication, and Commercial Space Technologies
• Glass Micro/Nano Manufacturing and High-resolution 3D Printing
• Ultrafast Laser Manufacturing and Precision Laser Processing
• Advanced Optical Metrology, Imaging, Spectroscopy, and Online Process Monitoring
• AI-enabled Process Control, Industrial Inspection, and Smart Quality Assurance
• Equipment, Materials, and Manufacturing Technologies for Optics, Electronics, Semiconductors, and Biomedical Devices
• Technology Translation, Deep-tech Entrepreneurship, and Advanced Manufacturing Commercialization

Research Highlights and Technology Translation

Prof. Wen’s research group develops frontier manufacturing technologies from scientific discovery to engineering demonstration and industrial translation. Representative directions include:

• High-resolution glass 3D printing and glass micro/nano manufacturing: Development of world-leading fused silica glass 3D printing and micro/nano fabrication technologies for micro-optics, photonics, microfluidics, mechanical metamaterials, biomedical devices, and semiconductor-related applications.
• Intelligent in-situ laser process monitoring: Development of IntraSpect™, an intelligent optical sensing and AI-enabled monitoring technology for real-time laser melt pool inspection and quality control in precision welding and advanced manufacturing.
• Space manufacturing and commercial space technologies: Development of technologies for in-orbit manufacturing, space assembly, lightweight structures, robotic manufacturing, and space optical fibre payloads through the PolyU-CSU Joint Research Center for Space Manufacturing Technologies (RCSMT).
• Cross-border technology transfer and innovation policy service: Contribution to regional innovation initiatives and technology transfer platforms, including 蘇港理智, a Jiangsu Province–approved International Cooperation Key Technology Transfer Center operated under the PolyU Wuxi Research Institute.
• Deep-tech entrepreneurship: Translation of advanced manufacturing research through ventures including IntraSpect Laser Technologies, focused on intelligent laser process monitoring, and G3D, focused on world-leading glass micro/nano manufacturing technologies.

Selected Publications

1. Xu, D., ... & Wen, X.* Mosquito-eye inspired hydrophobic metasurface enabled by nanoimprint lithography (NIL) with sub-100 nm resolution. Light: Advanced Manufacturing, 2026, in press.
2. Liu, Z., ... & Wen, X.* Modified MXene aerogel with broadband microwave absorption inspired by Melanophila acuminata beetle. Advanced Science, 2026, in press.
3. Wang, H., Gao, F., Shi, Y., Wang, K., Wei, X., Ma, C., Wen, X.*, Chen, X.*, & Li, J.* Sparse-view irradiation processing volumetric additive manufacturing. International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, 2025, 7(6), 065001.
4. Yuan, J., Hu, B., Cai, P., Sun, J., Chen, X., Wang, H., Wen, X.*, & Bai, J.* Multi-material top-down vat photopolymerization 3D printing based on liquid surface supported printing. Additive Manufacturing, 2025, 114, 105008.
5. Gao, C., Li, X., Xu, W., Chen, Y., Luo, T., Gao, R., Cui, J., Chu, X., Wen, X.*, & Zhou, W.* 3D Printing of Carbon/Ceramic Conductive Composites as Joule-heating Catalyst Support for Hydrogen Production. Additive Manufacturing, 2025, 98, 104644.
6. Li, Z., Jia, Y., Duan, K., Xiao, R., Qiao, J., Liang, S., ... & Wen, X.* One-photon three-dimensional printed fused silica glass with sub-micron features. Nature Communications, 2024, 15(1), 2689.
7. Liang, J.#, Ai, Q.#, Wen, X.#, Tang, X., Zhai, T., Xu, R., ... & Lou, J.* Strong interlayer coupling and long-lived interlayer excitons in two-dimensional perovskite derivatives and transition metal dichalcogenides van der Waals heterostructures. Materials Today, 2024, 74, 77-84.
8. Wen, X.; Zhang, B.; Wang, W.; Ye, F.; Yue, S.; Guo, H.; Gao, G.; Zhao, Y.; Fang, Q.; Nguyen, C.; Zhang, X.; Bao, J.; Robinson, J. T.*; Ajayan, P. M.*; Lou, J.*, 3D-printed silica with nanoscale resolution. Nature Materials, 2021, 1-6. (RSI highly cited)
   Highlights: Invented the world’s finest silica glass 3D printing with feature sizes smaller than 180 nm. Featured by Nat. Mat.: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41563-021-01137-
9. Wen, X.; Wang, W.; Zhang, X.; Chen, H.; Jia, S.; Gong, Y.; Chen, W.; Wang, Y.; Zhu, H.; Zheng, J.; Ajayan, P. M.*; Lou, J.*, Pathways of Exciton Triggered Hot-Carrier Injection at Plasmonic Metal–Transition Metal Dichalcogenide Interface. Advanced Optical Materials, 2022, 10(5), 2100070.
10. Wen, X.; Adhikari, S.; Cortes, C. L.; Gosztola, D. J.; Gray, S. K.; Wiederrecht, G. P.*, Ghost imaging second harmonic generation microscopy. Applied Physics Letters, 2020, 116(19), 191101.
11. Wen, X.; Chen, H.; Yu, Z.; Yang, Q.; Deng, J.; Liu, Z.; Guo, X.; Guan, J.; Zhang, X., Ultrafast probes of electron-hole transitions between two atomic layers. Nature Communications, 2018, 9(1), 1-9.
12. Chen, H.#, Wen, X.#; Zhang, J.; Wu, T.; Gong, Y.; Zhang, X.; Yuan, J.; Yi, C.; Lou, J.*; Ajayan, P. M.*, Ultrafast formation of interlayer hot excitons in atomically thin MoS2/WS2 heterostructures. Nature Communications, 2016, 7(1), 1-8. (RSI highly cited)