Dr. Xu is a professor and chair of the Department of Merchandising and Digital Retailing at the University of North Texas (UNT). He also has a joint appointment with UNT’s Department of Computer Science and Engineering. His investigative work focuses on digital modeling and characterization of textile materials, 3D body imaging, apparel fit and customization, made-to-measure clothing, and applications of artificial intelligence in retail. Meanwhile, he is engaged in cross-disciplinary research, such as obesity assessment and automated pavement inspection. To date, he has authored over 220 refereed journal publications, and received fundings from NSF, USDA, NIH, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, Texas Department of Transportation, Texas Food and Fiber Commission, Cotton Inc., Walmart Manufacturing Innovation Fund, Milliken, etc. He also did extensive consultative/cooperative work with P&G, Unilever, J&J, Maytag and other companies.