Dr. Hongliang Xu received Ph.D. from SUNY, University at Buffalo. He is currently working as a professor in Buffalo State, The State University of New York. Hongliang Xu's research interests lie in the interface of Mathematics and Biomedical Sciences. His expertise is in the areas of mathematical and computational crystallography, especially the development of novel mathematical models and optimal procedures for determining three-dimensional crystal structures from X-ray, neutron or powder diffraction data. The so-called “phase problem” in crystallography is the problem of determining the phase angles of the diffracted rays. The phase information, which is lost in the diffraction experiment, is in fact recoverable from the measurable intensities alone. Xu is currently investigating novel procedures that combine the necessary complementary backgrounds from mathematical optimization and powder diffraction data from micro-crystalline samples. Specifically, he is developing mathematical optimization algorithms to solve the crystallographic phase problem in a reliable and efficient way. His work will lay the foundations of a new generation of crystallographic computing systems that will reveal structures important in the understanding of life, material science, and drug design. Xu is a Graduate Faculty for the Applied and Computational Mathematics program at Buffalo State. He also serves as an adjunct Senior Research Scientist at the Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute.

Mathematical and computational crystallography, especially the development of novel mathematical models and optimal procedures for determining three-dimensional crystal structures from X-ray, neutron or powder diffraction data.