Chia-Hao (Timothy) Liu obtained his B.S. degree in Physics from the National Taiwan Normal University (Taipei, Taiwan) and now he is working towards his doctoral degree in Applied Physics at Columbia University. Prior to joining the Billinge group, he focused on theoretical/numerical problems in optics, ranging from highly structured beams to energy harvesting using hyperbolic metamaterials. His ongoing research in the Billinge group will be about complex modeling of material structure—applying both mathematical aspects and numerical approaches to solve inverse problems in x-ray diffraction and to gain a better understanding of material properties on the nano scale. He is also a big fan of photography, wine, tennis and basketball.