Cenke Xu

Cenke Xu is a Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). He received his B.S. from Tsinghua University (2003) and Ph.D. from UC Berkeley (2007), advised by Joel E. Moore. After a junior fellowship at Harvard (2007-2010), he joined UCSB, rising from Assistant to Professor. His research focuses on strongly correlated quantum systems and unconventional phase transitions.

• Education:
  • B.S. (Tsinghua, 2003)
  • Ph.D. (UC Berkeley, 2007, advisor: Joel E. Moore)

Research spans quantum criticality, topological phases, and non-Fermi liquids in systems like moiré heterostructures and cold atoms. His work on deconfined criticality and symmetry-protected phases has influenced theoretical physics.

Selected publications (2013-2022) explore topics such as bosonic topological insulators, fractal order, and dualities in quantum critical points. These studies often involve collaborations with institutions like Cornell, UC Berkeley, and Technion.

• Awards:
  • Simons Investigator (2019)
  • Packard Fellowship (2012)
  • NSF Early Career Award (2012)
  • Sloan Research Fellowship (2011)
  • Overseas Chinese Physics Association Outstanding Young Researcher (2010)

His former students and postdocs (e.g., Kevin Slagle, Yichen Xu) hold academic positions at Rice, UCSD, and Cornell. Current advisees include Alex Rasmussen and Kaixiang Su.