Xiaojie Chen, 38, of Ashland died unexpectedly Thursday Jan. 7th. Born in China, he was the only child of Liang Chen and Yuanfeng Wang. He spent his boyhood in China and moved to US in 1992 with his family. He attended New Mexico State University, University of Arizona, and received his PhD degree from Arizona State University in 2008. He worked as a research scientist with RMD Inc. in Watertown developing solid state detection systems.

He is survived by his wife Haibo Wang and their son Vincent Chen.

Calling hours will be held Tuesday, Jan. 12th from 9:00-11:00am in the Matarese Funeral Home, 325 Main St. in Ashland followed by burial in Wildwood Cemetery in Ashland.