Qian Yuan
  • Assistant Professor
  • AI-Driven Planetary Geodynamics
Google Scholar Profile

Biography

Qian, 'Chan', is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Geology and Geophysics at Texas A&M. He received his PhD in Geodynamics from Arizona State University in 2022 and was later the O.K. Earl Postdoctoral Fellow at Caltech.

Qian is the PI of the IMPACT lab, which stands for Intelligent Modeling of Planetary Accretion, Convection, and Tectonics. He prioritizes interdisciplinary work as long as it incorporates his main research tools—high-performance computing, machine/deep learning, and thermodynamics—to address a central question: What makes a planet habitable?

For more information about the IMPACT lab, visit https://qianyuan-geo.weebly.com/

Job Duties

  • Teaching and Research

Research Interests

  • Data-driven and physics-based machine learning for computational fluid dynamics;
  • High performance computing;
  • Planetary geodynamics and planetary habitability;
  • Earth's interior and surface processes

Educational Background

  • Arizona State University

Certifications & Memberships

  • AGU
  • GSA

Awards & Honors

  • O.K. Earl Postdoctoral Fellow
  • Journal of the Geological Society, Top Reviewer

Selected Publications

  • Yuan, Q., Gurnis, M., Asimow, P. D., & Li, Y. (2024). A giant impact origin for the first subduction on Earth. Geophysical Research Letters, 51(9), e2023GL106723.

    Yuan, Q., Li, M., Desch, S. J., Ko, B., Deng, H., Garnero, E. J., ... & Asimow, P. D. (2023). Moon-forming impactor as a source of Earth’s basal mantle anomalies. Nature, 623(7985), 95-99.

    Yuan, Q., & Li, M. (2022). Instability of the African large low-shear-wave-velocity province due to its low intrinsic density. Nature Geoscience, 15(4), 334-339.

I am actively looking for motivated students and postdocs for joining my group!

Google Scholar Profile