Prof. Kaiwen Xia's research is focused on earthquake mechanics, rock dynamics, geological storage of CO₂ and safety monitoring of geotechnical engineering structures using DAS. His academic contributions include the discovery of supershear earthquakes in the laboratory, the systematic study of spontaneous fractures and the development of a series of dynamic testing methods for rocks. He has published more than 100 papers in SCI journals, including two first-authored papers published in Science. He was the chair of the Commission on Rock Dynamics of the International Society for Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering (ISRM). He completed two ISRM suggested dynamic rock testing method and eight Chinese association standards for dynamic testing methods for rocks, which significantly promoted the standardization of the measurement methods for dynamic rock properties.