Curriculum Vitae
Geodynamicist working at the interface of mantle convection, subduction, and plate tectonics — I build global geodynamic models with data assimilation and test them against the geological and geophysical record.
d3peng@ucsd.edu) and UIUC (dp6@illinois.edu) emails are no longer active.
Education
Ph.D. in Geology — University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)
Thesis: Quantifying slab evolution and mantle flow using global subduction models with data assimilation.
M.S. in Geophysics — University of Science and Technology of China (USTC)
Thesis: Geodynamic modeling of the evolution around the southeastern Tibetan Plateau.
B.S. in Geophysics — School of the Gifted Young, USTC
Thesis: A preliminary dynamical simulation for the evolution of the Tibetan Plateau.
Research Experience
Independent Researcher / Full-time Parent
- Stepped away from a full-time academic appointment to be a full-time father.
- Remain active in the research community and available to review manuscripts for journals in geodynamics, tectonics, and mantle dynamics.
Postdoctoral Scholar — Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego
- Modeled the Tonga subduction zone with mantle convection simulations.
- Investigated the formation of Large Low-Shear-Velocity Provinces (LLSVPs) and mantle plumes.
- Studied plume–slab interactions and their geological implications.
Graduate Research Assistant — UIUC
- Developed global and regional mantle convection models with data assimilation.
- Investigated the formation of unusual slabs worldwide and their surface expressions.
- Studied seismic anisotropy and the migration of slab material with mantle flow.
Graduate Research Assistant — USTC
- Studied the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau and its steep margins.
- Analyzed crustal channel flow using analytical and numerical methods.
Undergraduate Research Assistant — USTC
- Explored the evolution of the Tibetan Plateau with numerical models.
- Studied the thermal structure of the continental lithosphere from heat-flow data.
Research Interests
- Developing and applying novel numerical-modeling techniques.
- The interplay between mantle dynamics and tectonic plates.
- The diverse range of subduction processes and their mechanisms.
- The formation, evolution, and dynamics of Large Low-Shear-Velocity Provinces and mantle plumes.
- Plume–slab interactions and the resulting lithospheric deformation and volcanism.
- Using geophysical, geochemical, and geological data to constrain mantle dynamics and lithospheric structure.
Publications
See my full list of publications or my Google Scholar profile.
Honors & Awards
Cecil H. and Ida M. Green Postdoctoral Fellowship (IGPP, Scripps, UC San Diego), $138k
Bluestem Fellowship (UIUC)
Graduate Student First-Class Academic Scholarship (USTC)
Outstanding Student Paper Award (CGU)
National Encouragement Scholarship (USTC)
Outstanding Student Scholarship (USTC)
Outstanding Freshman Scholarship (USTC)
Grants & Computing Allocations
Simulating slab–plume interaction with realistic mantle convection models (PI: Dave Stegman)
TACC Frontera allocations: 224,640 SUs (12.6 M core-hours) in 2025, 230,520 SUs (12.9 M) in 2024, and 225,000 SUs (12.6 M) in 2023. I contributed to the scientific justification, the usage plan, and the proposal, and carried out the computations on Frontera.
NSF EAR 2244660 — Investigating formation of stagnant slabs and implications for subduction dynamics ($333,141; PI: Lijun Liu and Craig Lundstrom)
Contributed to the scientific justification and figures.
NSF OAC 2031704 — NSF Frontera Allocation Travel Grant ($10,000; PI: Lijun Liu)
Contributed to the scientific justification and figures.
Teaching & Mentoring
Mentoring
- Yiming Liu (visiting graduate student) — guided research led to a publication in Earth and Planetary Science Letters.
- Yanchong Li (graduate student) — guided research led to publications in Earth-Science Reviews and Nature Communications.
Teaching assistant
- GEOL 104 — Geology of the National Parks (Spring 2021)
- GEOL 117 — The Oceans (Fall 2018, Fall 2020)
Teaching assistant
- Introduction to Earth Science (Fall 2016)
Fieldwork
R/V Thomas G. Thompson cruise — South Pacific Ocean
- Installed and deployed ocean-bottom seismometers (OBS) near the Lau Basin and the Samoa Hotspot to collect seismic data.
- Conducted dredging near the Samoa Hotspot and the Cook Islands to collect rock samples, and cut, classified, and described samples on board.
Field work in Baraboo, Wisconsin
Field work in Kentland and Williamsport, Indiana
Field work in Sugar Creek, Indiana
Field work in Chaohu, Anhui, China
Service
- Manuscript reviewer for Geophysical Research Letters, Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, Geology, Tectonophysics, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems (G-Cubed), Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, Geoscience Letters, Proceedings of the Royal Society A, PNAS Nexus, and Scientific Reports. I continue to welcome review invitations in geodynamics, tectonics, and mantle dynamics.
- Department colloquium coordinator, UIUC (Fall 2018).
- Volunteer, Engineering Open House, UIUC.
Invited Talks
University of South Florida — Where the mantle wind blows
Nanjing University — Applications of mantle convection models across diverse subduction zones, and insights into overriding-plate deformation
Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) — Studying subduction-zone dynamics using numerical models of different dimensions
Chinese University of Hong Kong — Studying circum-Pacific subduction zones with geodynamic models
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego — IGPP Seminar Series