Dr Xiaohui Chen - successes

EU Horizon Marie Skłodowska-Curie Staff Exchange Grant (GRID Project)
As the UK coordinator, Dr Chen has been awarded the GRID (Geotechnical Resilience through Intelligent Design, website: https://sites.google.com/view/gridproj/startseite ) project and led Physics-Informed Machine Learning Working Package, funded under the Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie Staff Exchange programme. This international initiative brings together over 20 academic and industrial partners in more than 10 countries to advance data-centric approaches in geotechnical engineering, with an emphasis on AI and physics-informed modelling.

Dr Xiaohui Chen: “The GRID project showcases the University of Leeds’ and LIFD’s leadership in coupling artificial intelligence with fluid–soil interaction modelling. Through this international collaboration, we’re not only advancing physics-informed machine learning but also laying the foundations for next-generation digital twins that can improve geotechnical resilience across Europe and beyond.”

Appointment to the Board of AFBI (Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, Northern Ireland)
Dr Chen was appointed as a non-executive Board Member of AFBI recently (news: https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/news/minister-muir-makes-new-afbi-board-appointments ), where he will be contributing to shaping the Institute’s strategic direction and research governance, particularly with respect to environmental sustainability, soil health, and interdisciplinary innovation.

Dr Xiaohui Chen: “My appointment to the AFBI Board reflects a growing convergence between AI, engineering, environmental sciences, and agricultural policy. It offers a timely opportunity to build new interdisciplinary links between LIFD and one of the UK’s leading agri-environmental institutes, particularly in the areas of soil–water-agriculture dynamics, climate resilience, and sustainable land management.”