Xi Shao received his B.S. degree in space physics from the University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China, in 1996; his Ph.D. degree in astronomy with a space physics major in 2001; and his M.S. degree in electrical engineering with a microelectronics major in 2004, both from the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA. He is a research scientist at CISESS/ESSIC, University of Maryland. He has worked in research areas such as space weather-related research, current and future space-borne visible/infrared imaging sensor (Visible Infrared-Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI), and upcoming METimage) calibration and validation, small-satellite-based microwave and radio occultation sensor (COSMIC-2, GeoOptics and Spire) calibration and validation, laser proton accelerator design, and novel Radio Frequency (RF) transceiver design. He has designed antennas for various RF communication applications. He also worked on various plasma physics-related projects, such as space weather modeling and prediction, satellite protection through radiation belt remediation, ionosphere heating experiment and modeling, and laser proton accelerator design.