Jianwei Wang 

Areas of Interest 

Large-scale geological processes from subduction to chemical weathering are related to physical properties and chemical reactions of the materials at the molecular scale. My research is centered on the understanding of structure and property relationships of materials and atomistic scale details of geochemical processes. Such understanding attains applications in fields of geochemistry, earth materials, nuclear materials, and contributes to solving energy and environmental problems. As a result, my research spans from mineral-fluid interactions and properties of materials at high-temperature and high-pressure to hydrogen storage and nuclear fuel and nuclear waste forms.  

Because of difficulties of directly observing the properties and processes under various conditions, computational modeling such as first-principles calculations and molecular dynamics simulations using high-performance computers are my primary tools. Scientific inquiries related to defects in crystals, grain boundaries in materials, reactions at interfaces, phase transition, speciation and structuring in liquid and amorphous materials, and equilibrium and kinetic properties of geochemical systems in confined space are intellectually intriguing and foundation to answering a myriad of geological questions. Motivated students are always welcome to contact me for opportunities.