PhD students

Qian Yuan, 2018-2022, now O.K. Earl Postdoctoral Fellow, Caltech

Camerian Millsaps, 2018 - present

Prachi Kar, 2022 - present

MS student

Linnea Ravacz, 2018-2022, now PhD student at University of Iceland

Postdocs

Yongming Wang, 2018-2020, now Professor at Yunnan University

Research interests

I perform geodynamic modeling experiments or computer simulations to explore the structure, dynamics, and evolution of the deep interior of the Earth. Geologic events on Earth’s surface (e.g., earthquakes, volcanoes, mountain building, plate tectonics) are controlled by processes in the deep interior. Although it remains inaccessible, Earth’s interior obeys fundamental laws of physics, such as the conservations of mass, momentum, and energy. My research incorporates these physics laws using supercomputers to simulate and decipher processes of the Earth’s interior and their influences on its surface. I also apply this tool to explore the deep interior and its surface expressions of other solar and extra-solar planets, and how they evolve differently from the Earth.

Specifically, I focus on the following research topics:
  1. Connections among mantle dynamics, surface volcanism, and plate tectonics
  2. Structure and dynamics of the solid Earth
  3. Early evolution of the Earth
  4. Structure, dynamics, and evolution of other solar and extrasolar planets
A whole list of my publication is available at Google Scholar.

I love writting codes and learning new techniques. Currently, I am developing a new mantle convection code to better simulate multiscale dynamics with more realistic rheology. I plan to use the code to study the initiation of plate tectonics. The new code uses adaptive mesh with parallel computing and support visco-elastic deformation. It is still under development. The developing version of the code is available on my Github at https://github.com/mingming-li/Mantle_Convection_Lab.git

I am also interested in Machine Learning. During my spare time, I like to learn about ML online. I hope one day I can apply this tool to my research.

I also love collaborating with researchers. If you have any idea, please feel free to contact. I always welcome students to join our group.