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Wenxiao Pan

Wenxiao Pan

Associate Professor
gscholar website
lab website

Prof. Pan received her training in both mechanical engineering (BS, MS) and applied mathematics (PhD). This training background grants her a unique position to interface engineering, applied mathematics, and scientific computing. Computer simulations and machine learning can enhance our fundamental understanding and make predictions before experimental realization. Motivated by the grand challenges in modeling and simulating complex fluids, soft matter, and solid materials as well as their broad applications in materials design, manufacturing, energy storage, etc., Prof. Pan and her students are dedicated to establish accurate, robust, and scalable numerical methods, data-driven model order reduction techniques, and machine learning-enhanced modeling and simulations. More information about her research group can be found in her Extended Homepage: https://pan.labs.wisc.edu/

Department

Mechanical Engineering

Contact

2242, Mechanical Engineering Bldg
1513 University Ave
Madison, WI
p: (608) 263-4447

Featured news

Researchers capture nanoparticle movements to forge new materials

June 17, 2025

  • PhD 2010, Brown University
  • MS 2007, Brown University
  • MS 2003, Peking University, China
  • BS 2000, Peking University, China

  • Machine Learning-enhanced Modeling and Simulation
  • Data-driven Model Order Reduction
  • Quantum Computing
  • Complex Fluids
  • Fluid-solid Interactions
  • Soft Matter
  • Solid Materials
  • Energy Storage
  • Manufacturing

  • 2024 University of Wisconsin-Madison, Vilas Associate Award
  • 2017 Journal of Computational Physics, Outstanding Reviewer Award
  • 2016 Co-developer for R&D 100 Awarded “Carbon Capture Simulation Initiative”
  • 2014 Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Exceptional Contribution Award
  • 2012 Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Outstanding Performance Award
  • 2009 Brown University, Simon Ostrach Dissertation Fellowship
  • 2005 Brown University, Graduate Fellowship

  • Ye, Z., & Pan, W. (2024). Discrete Variable Topology Optimization Using Multi-Cut Formulation and Adaptive Trust Regions. arXiv preprint arXiv:2406.12215.
  • Qian, C., Stanifer, E., Ma, Z., Luo, B., Liu, C., Yao, L., Pan, W., Mao, X., & Chen, Q. (2024). Nanoscale Imaging of Phonons and Reconfiguration in Topologically-Engineered, Self-Assembled Nanoparticle Lattice. arXiv preprint arXiv:2403.15627.
  • Ma, Z., & Pan, W. (2024). Shape deformation, disintegration, and coalescence of suspension drops: Efficient simulation enabled by graph neural networks. International Journal of Multiphase Flow, 176, 104845.
  • Wang, W., Ma, Z., Qing, H., Nie, C., Yang, H., Bi, L., Yang, D., & Pan, W. (2023). Experimental and Theoretical Study on CHF of a Ultra-Supercritical Circulating Fluidized Bed Boiler Water-Wall Tube at Near-Critical Pressures. Journal of Thermal Science, 32(1), 166--182.
  • Ye, Z., Qian, X., & Pan, W. (2023). Quantum topology optimization via quantum annealing. IEEE Transactions on Quantum Engineering, 4, 1--15.
  • Ye, Z., Hu, X., & Pan, W. (2022). A multigrid preconditioner for spatially adaptive high-order meshless method on fluid--solid interaction problems. Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering, 400, 115506.
  • Ma, Z., Ye, Z., & Pan, W. (2022). Fast simulation of particulate suspensions enabled by graph neural network. Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering, 400, 115496.
  • Yang, J., Rubino, V., Ma, Z., Tao, J., Yin, Y., McGhee, A., Pan, W., & Franck, C. (2022). Spatiotemporally Adaptive Quadtree mesh (STAQ) Digital Image Correlation for resolving large deformations around complex geometries and discontinuities. Experimental Mechanics, 1--25.
  • Wang, S., Ma, Z., & Pan, W. (2021). Data-driven coarse-grained modeling of non-equilibrium systems. Soft Matter, 17(26), 6404--6412.
  • Ma, Z., & Pan, W. (2021). Data-driven nonintrusive reduced order modeling for dynamical systems with moving boundaries using Gaussian process regression. Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering, 373, 113495.

  • M E 790 - Master's Research and Thesis (Spring 2025)
  • M E 890 - PhD Research and Thesis (Spring 2025)
  • M E 990 - Dissertator Research and Thesis (Spring 2025)
  • M E 363 - Fluid Dynamics (Fall 2024)
  • M E 790 - Master's Research and Thesis (Fall 2024)
  • M E 890 - PhD Research and Thesis (Fall 2024)
  • M E 964 - Special Advanced Topics in Mechanical Engineering (Fall 2024)
  • M E 990 - Dissertator Research and Thesis (Fall 2024)
  • M E 890 - PhD Research and Thesis (Summer 2024)
  • M E 990 - Dissertator Research and Thesis (Summer 2024)
  • M E 790 - Master's Research and Thesis (Spring 2024)
  • M E 890 - PhD Research and Thesis (Spring 2024)
  • M E 990 - Dissertator Research and Thesis (Spring 2024)
  • M E 699 - Advanced Independent Study (Fall 2023)
  • M E 790 - Master's Research and Thesis (Fall 2023)
  • M E 890 - PhD Research and Thesis (Fall 2023)
  • M E 990 - Dissertator Research and Thesis (Fall 2023)
  • M E 990 - Dissertator Research and Thesis (Summer 2023)