C-H-O-N SUPERCRITICAL FLUIDS IN EARTH’S UPPER MANTLE: FROM FIRST PRINCIPLES TO MACHINE LEARNING
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. He worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Chemistry at the University of California at Davis (2011-2014) and the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago (2014-2016) before he joined HKUST in 2016. His achievements have been recognized by multiple awards from international scientific organizations, including Croucher Innovation Award in 2018 (HK), Deep Carbon Observatory Emerging Leader Award in 2019 (US), Excellent Young Scientists Award in 2020 (Hong Kong and Macau, Natural Science Foundation of China), and HKUST School of Science Research Award in 2022. (http://angstrom.ust.hk/)
For additional information, please contact Prof. Weiran Li, weiranli@hku.hk
Carbon-rich supercritical fluids play a key role in Earth’s deep carbon cycle. While often modeled as simple mixtures, new experimental and theoretical evidence reveals complex reactions. Using first-principles simulations, we found that life-related molecules (e.g., glycine, ribose) can form in these fluids. We also explain RNA’s five-membered ribose ring structure. We further developed first-principles Markov state models to show that CO₂ reacts directly with water in bulk but forms pyrocarbonate intermediates under nanoconfinement. These insights advance understanding of deep carbon cycling and CO₂ storage. Combining quantum molecular dynamics with unsupervised learning helps uncover complex reaction pathways.
- Nore Stolte, Rui Hou, Ding Pan, Nat. Commun. 13, 5932 (2022)
- Tao Li, Nore Stolte, Renbiao Tao, Dimitri A.Sverjensky, Isabelle Daniel, Ding Pan,
Am. Chem. Soc. 146, 31240 (2024) - Chu Li, Yuan Yao, Ding Pan, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 122 (1), e2406356121 (2025)