Xu Xu

Associate Professor

  • Phone: 919.513.7205
  • Office: 4351 Fitts-Woolard Hall

Xu Xu is an associate professor whose research mainly focuses on human motion data analysis and theoretical human biomechanical modeling with an emphasis on safety promotion. Xu’s research has been supported by the National Science Foundation (Cyberlearning, NRI, IUSE), the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health and NC State’s Research and Innovation Seed Funding. He has co-authored more than 80 journal articles and conference proceedings on the aforementioned research topics and received the C. A. Anderson Outstanding Faculty Award and Goodnight Early Career Innovator Award.

Xu teaches undergraduate and graduate courses related to human factors and ergonomics, including ISE352 (Fundamentals of Human-Machine Systems Design), ISE 541 (Occupational Safety Engineering), ISE 544 (Occupational Biomechanics) and ISE 794 (Advanced Biomechanical Modeling).

Prior to joining the NC State faculty, Xu started his career as a postdoctoral research fellow in the School of Public Health at Harvard University. From there he became a research scientist at the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety where he received a best-paper and outstanding scientific contribution awards multiple times.

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Research Interests

Xu Xu’s research interests include human factors and ergonomics engineering, occupational biomechanics, optimization-based biomechanical modelling, data mining on human motion data, occupational musculoskeletal injury prevention.

 

Education

DegreeProgramSchoolYear
Ph.D.Doctor of Philosophy in Industrial EngineeringNC State University2008
MSIEMaster of Science in Industrial EngineeringNC State University2006
BSIEBachelor of Science in Industrial EngineeringTsinghua University2004

Honors and Awards

 

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Publications

Exploring the integration of large language models in human-robot collaboration: Effects on performance, mental stress, and trust
Su, B., Cheng, F., Lu, L., Qing, L., Jung, S. H., & Xu, X. (2026, January 20), Applied Ergonomics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2026.104736
Toward a Fully Automated NIOSH Lifting Equation Using Computer Vision
Jung, S. H., Qing, L., Su, B., & Xu, X. (2026, January 28), Human Factors The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/00187208261418858
Effects of anthropomorphic features of co-robots on users’ perception and emotional responses during human–robot collaboration
Lu, L., Su, B., Jung, S., Qing, L., & Xu, X. (2025, May 2), Ergonomics, Vol. 4. https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139.2025.2497523
Enhancing Data Privacy in Human Factors Studies with Federated Learning
Su, B., Qing, L., Lu, L., Jung, S. H., Fang, X., & Xu, X. (2025, June 6), Human Factors The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, Vol. 6. https://doi.org/10.1177/00187208251348025
Leveraging Transfer Learning to Enhance Generative Postural Variability for Ergonomics
Qing, L., Jung, S., Su, B., Wan, H., & Xu, X. (2025, September 1), Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, Vol. 9. https://doi.org/10.1177/10711813251370735
Toward Full Automation of the Revised NIOSH Lifting Equation
Jung, S. H., Qing, L., Su, B., & Xu, X. (2025, August 25), Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, Vol. 8. https://doi.org/10.1177/10711813251366288
Human–Robot Collaboration in Occupational Settings : An Introduction to the Special Issue
Lim, S., Hsiao, H., & Xu, X. (2024), IISE Transactions on Occupational Ergonomics and Human Factors, 4. https://doi.org/10.1080/24725838.2023.2339620
Exploring the impact of human-robot interaction on workers' mental stress in collaborative assembly tasks
Su, B., Jung, S. H., Lu, L., Wang, H., Qing, L., & Xu, X. (2024, January 5), Applied Ergonomics, Vol. 116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2024.104224
Factors Affecting Workers’ Mental Stress in Handover Activities During Human–Robot Collaboration
Lu, L., Xie, Z., Wang, H., Su, B., Jung, S., & Xu, X. (2024, January 12), Human Factors The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, Vol. 1. https://doi.org/10.1177/00187208241226823
Learning Undergraduate Data Science Through a Mobile Device and Full Body Movements
Jung, S. H., Wang, H., Su, B., Lu, L., Qing, L., Fang, X., & Xu, X. (2024, November 27), TechTrends, Vol. 11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-024-01026-0

View all publications via NC State Libraries

Xu Xu