Dr. Chong Xie received his BS degree in Physics from the University of Science and Technology of China in 2004, and Ph.D. degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Stanford University in 2011. He did his postdoctoral work at Harvard University in 2011-2014. Before joining Rice ECE, he was an assistant professor of the Department of Bioengineering at University of Texas at Austin in 2014-2019.
 
Dr. Xie’s laboratory is primarily interested in applying specially designed functional devices to solve key challenges in fundamental and clinical neuroscience. The general goal is to realize seamless integration of man-made electronics with the nervous system and to help us better understand, interact with, and augment to the living systems. In his Ph.D. research, Dr. Xie led the development of nanostructured electrical and optical cellular probes. His postdoctoral research includes the development of ultra-flexible nanoelectronic meshes, and their applications as novel brain probes. Since 2014, Dr. Xie started his independent research program focusing on the design and fabrication of micro/nano structures and devices, as well as their functional integration with living systems. Recently, the Xie laboratory has focused on developing a scalable, tissue-integrated electrical neural interface composed of ultraflexible nanoelectrionic threads (NETs), which promotes reliable, glial scar-free integration with the brain tissues and enables reliable chronic recording. The Xie laboratory currently focuses on further development of the ultraflexible NETs for 1) optimized strategy for stable chronic recording in clinical relevant timescales (> 1 year), 2) large-scale, high-density recordings towards complete volumetric acquisition in behaving brains, 3) intracortical microstimulation to extend the current technical limits in spatial resolution and chronic stability, and 4) applications in the peripheral nervous system.