"I use computer simulations to uncover how interactions between light, charge, spin, and atomic structure govern the fundamental processes of matter, shaping how energy and information are converted, stored, and transported."

Shuxia Tao is an Associate Professor of Intelligent Materials Theory in the Department of Applied Physics at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). Her research explores quantum phenomena in optoelectronic materials, with a particular focus on how engineered symmetry breaking gives rise to emergent electronic, optical, and spin-dependent functionality. By integrating first-principles electronic-structure theory with machine-learning approaches, she develops predictive frameworks that connect atomic-scale structure to macroscopic optoelectronic response. Her work advances the rational design of complex materials and uncovers new physical mechanisms across chiral, low-dimensional, and quantum materials platforms. Through close interaction with experiments, her research contributes to the development of materials concepts relevant to photonic, energy, and emerging quantum technologies.

Visit https://www.shuxiatao.com/ for details of her research.

Shuxia Tao received her master’s degree in Physical Chemistry from Nankai University, China. She obtained her PhD from TU/e in 2011, where her research focused on computational materials design for energy-related applications. From 2013 to 2016, she was a postdoctoral researcher at the NWO physics institute NIKHEF, working on optoelectronic materials for photodetectors. Since 2016, she has led her own research group focusing on quantum phenomena in optoelectronic materials in the Department of Applied Physics at TU/e, becoming Assistant Professor in 2018 and Associate Professor in 2023.

Shuxia has received several prestigious grants and awards, including the CSER Tenure Track Fellowship (2016), NWO START-UP (2019), NWO VIDI (2022), and an ERC Consolidator Grant (2024). She serves as Associate Editor of AI for Science (Institute of Physics Publishing) and is a member of the Editorial Board of Applied Physics Letters. In addition, she contributes to national research committees in Nano, Quantum, and Materials Physics and is a member of the NWO Round Table Physics, where she helps shape the strategic research agenda in materials physics and computational science.