Prof Ding Pan obtained BS in physics in the 00 Class (SCGY) at University of Science and Technology of China in 2005, and ScD at Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2011.  During the ScD study, he was a visiting researcher at the Fritz-Haber-Institute of the Max Planck Society in Berlin, Germany and a Thomas Young Centre Junior Research Fellow at the University College London, UK. After he worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the University of California at Davis (2011-2014) and the University of Chicago (2014-2016), he joined HKUST in 2016.

Prof Pan has been developing and applying computational and numerical methods to understand and predict the properties and behavior of liquids, solids, and nanostructures from first principles. With the help of high-performance supercomputers, his group are seeking answers to the urgent and fundamental scientific questions relevant to sustainable development, e.g., water science, deep carbon cycle, and clean energy.

Representative Publications

• Shuo-Hui Li*#, Yao-Wen Zhang#, Ding Pan* Deep Generative Modeling of the Canonical Ensemble with Differentiable Thermal Properties Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 027301 (2025)

• Chu Li*, Yuan Yao, Ding Pan* Unveiling hidden reaction kinetics of carbon dioxide in supercritical aqueous solutions Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 122 (1), e2406356121 (2025)

• Tao Li, Nore Stolte, Renbiao Tao, Dimitri A.Sverjensky, Isabelle Daniel, Ding Pan* Synthesis and stability of biomolecules in C-H-O-N fluids under Earth's upper mantle conditions J. Am. Chem. Soc. 146, 45, 31240-31250 (2024)

• Nore Stolte, Rui Hou, Ding Pan* Nanoconfinement facilitates reactions of carbon dioxide in supercritical water Nat. Commun. 13, 5932 (2022)

• Ding Pan*, Giulia Galli A first principles method to determine speciation of carbonates in supercritical water Nat. Commun. 11, 421 (2020)

• Rui Hou, Yuhui Quan, Ding Pan* Communication: Dielectric constant of supercritical water in a large pressure-temperature range J. Chem. Phys. 153, 101103 (2020)

• Ding Pan, and Giulia Galli The fate of carbon dioxide in water-rich fluids under extreme conditions Science Advances 2, e1601278 (2016)

• Ding Pan, Quan Wan and Giulia Galli The refractive index and electronic gap of water and ice increase with increasing pressure Nat. Commun. 5, 3919 (2014)

• Ding Pan, Leonardo Spanu, Brandon Harrison, Dimitri A. Sverjensky and Giulia Galli Dielectric properties of water under extreme conditions and transport of carbonates in the deep Earth Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 110, 6646 (2013)

• Ding Pan, Li-Min Liu, Gareth A. Tribello, Ben Slater, Angelos Michaelides and Enge Wang Surface energy and surface proton order of ice Ih Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 155703 (2008)

Full Publication List [HKUST Scholarly Publications]