Max Xu, Ph.D.

Max Xu is joining the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University as a postdoctoral researcher. Xu completed his Ph.D. at Stanford University under the supervision of professor Kannan Soundararajan and professor Jacob Fox. Prior to Stanford, Xu received a M.A. in mathematics from the University of Cambridge, where he was based at Trinity College and mentored by professor Peter Varju. Before Cambridge, Xu obtained a B.S. in mathematics from University College London where his mentor was professor Andrew Granville.

Xu is broadly interested in number theory, combinatorics, probability theory and their interactions. He has been exploring the randomness and structures in arithmetic and discrete settings and using probabilistic tools to attack problems in number theory and combinatorics. Specifically, Xu’s research directions so far include understanding random multiplicative functions and applying them to classical problems in analytic number theory; analyzing the branching random walks and log-correlated structures that appeared in probabilistic number theory; and studying the classical problems, such as the sum-product type problems, discrepancy problems and the Erdős distinct subset sums problem in arithmetic combinatorics.