Dr. Xiaoyong Chen PhD work was advised by Drs. Derek Eamus and Lindsay Hutley, focused on carbon cycling in Australian savannas: spatial-temporal distribution, wet-dry seasonal variation, annual input-output budget, NPP-NEP calculation and sink-source convention. This study has been widely recognized as a pioneer work in Australia and makes breakthrough contribution to the carbon-issue research. He completed a postdoctoral training at the University of Toronto for modeling hydrological processes using remote senses in regional scales and another postdoctoral work at the University of British Columbia examining biogeochemistry cycling of lager woody debris in watershed scales. Before joining the GSU in 2006, He has spent over ten years working as an Assistant Professor/Associate Professor/Professor at the Departments of Forestry, Central South Forestry University in China (1985-1996). He won several innovation awards, including the First-Class Award of the Scientific and Technological Advancement from the Ministry of Forestry of China in 1991, the Third-Class Award of the Scientific and Technological Advancement of China in 1993, State Council Special Allowance of China in 1994, and Who's Who in America in 2009. He published over 50 peer-reviewed research articles. He serves as a reviewer for over twenty national and international grants and peer-reviewed scientific journals.

As a plant eco-physiologist, he studies how natural disturbance and human management affect biological and ecological processes of terrestrial ecosystems. He is particularly interested in forest ecosystems, which play a critical function role in climate change and ecosystem service. His research scales from individual to ecosystem level, and combines tools in forest ecology, plant physiology, forest hydrology, biogeochemistry and ecosystem ecology to improve our better understanding of structure, function, productivity and dynamics of plant ecosystems.