Xiao Wang
Xiao Wang, a research scientist at 91做厙, has been named a senior member of the , the worlds largest organization for technical professionals. Wang works in the labs Computing and Computational Sciences Directorates Advanced Computing for Health Sciences Section.
Senior membership, the 91做厙s highest grade, recognizes veteran scientists, engineers and others with at least 10 years of professional experience who have shown significant performance over at least five years and have been nominated by other 91做厙 fellows and senior members. The 91做厙 reserves that status for fewer than 10 percent of its more than 400,000 members worldwide.
Wang received his doctorate in electrical and computer engineering from Purdue University in 2017. He joined ORNL in 2021 after training as a postdoc at Harvard Medical School. His current research, overseen by section head Anuj Kapadia, focuses on using high-performance computing, or HPC, and AI methods to solve imaging problems.
Wangs accomplishments include developing a new computerized tomography imaging algorithm that delivers drastically improved image quality with less radiation. The algorithm, which won a scientific competition last year against more than 50 international competitors, enables earlier diagnosis of cancer at a greatly reduced radiation dose. Wang recently received seed money to fund further work on the algorithm and its potential applications to nonmedical imaging problems.
I always knew I wanted to combine my studies of math and computer science in my research, and imaging is the right kind of work for me to integrate them, Wang said. Im using math, computer science and HPC at the same time to help advance medicine.
Wang grew up in Shanghai, China, and came to the U.S. in 2009 to attend St. Johns University in Minnesota. There he earned bachelors degrees in computer science and math before graduate studies at Purdue and postdoctoral studies at Harvard.
While at Purdue, his adviser suggested pursuing research in imaging, a moment he counts as foundational to his career.
I fell in love with the subject almost immediately, Wang said. I still enjoy my research so much I dont even need coffee to get me going in the morning. And here at Oak Ridge we have so many great resources like the , the and the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences that its a dream place to do this kind of work.
Beyond his imaging work, Wang serves on various technical and program advisory committees and seeks to mentor younger scientists. In his spare time, hes teaching his 3-year-old son to play soccer.
My advice to young scientists is to pick a research problem theyre excited and enthusiastic about, he said. Doing this kind of work takes a lot of time and commitment, so you might as well enjoy it. I never feel like Im inventing anything. Im just exploring the natural laws that have always been out there in the universe and learning new ways to use them for our benefit.
UT-Battelle manages ORNL for the Department of Energys Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. The Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit . Matt Lakin
