Welcome to the \((M)^3\) (Multiscale Molecular Modeling, pronounced Cubic) Lab @ Xi’an Jiaotong Liverpool University! We are a theoretical and computational research group led by Dr. Zhenghao Wu (吴正浩). We use and develop tools such as molecular simulations, coarse-graining methods, statistical mechanical theories, and machine learning algorithms to study the behaviors of soft matter. We are particularly interested in polymers and biomolecules. The goal of our group is to understand, predict, and rationally design macromolecular materials to fight modern “Zombies” (energy, healthcare and sustainbility questions). To achieve these, we believe advancements in the following two areas are needed:

  • To advance the multiscale simulation capabilities to understand and predict materials properties from molecular to continuum levels
  • To develop intelligent approaches for materials-by-design of functional materials under normal and extreme conditions

News

Aug 27, 2025 Welcome Yuwei Shi joining our group as Research Assistant. Yuwei is going to work on AI for polymeric materials design.
Aug 27, 2025 Dr. Wu won the NSFC Young Scholar Fund (300,000 RMB). We thank the kind support from NSFC.
Aug 01, 2025 Welcome Ruifeng Jiang to join our group as visiting PhD student from Prof. Liqun Zhang’s group at South China University of Technology.
Jul 01, 2025 Welcome Morgan Adams, Ziqing Wang, Yuxiang Chen to join our group as summer intern students.
Jun 01, 2025 Welcome Zhangtao Yi officially join the group as a PhD Student!

Selected publications

  1. JCTC
    2023-12-11-JCTC2023.png
    Structural Coarse-Graining via Multiobjective Optimization with Differentiable Simulation
    Zhenghao Wu, and Tianhang Zhou
    Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation, Mar 2024
  2. Macromolecules
    2023-03-13-Macro2023.png
    Implicit Chain Particle Model for Polymer-Grafted Nanoparticles
    Zhenghao Wu, Subhadeep Pal, and Sinan Keten
    Macromolecules, May 2023
  3. 2020-12-04-JCTC2020.png
    Combination of Hybrid Particle-Field Molecular Dynamics and Slip-Springs for the Efficient Simulation of Coarse-Grained Polymer Models: Static and Dynamic Properties of Polystyrene Melts
    Zhenghao Wu, Giuseppe Milano, and Florian Müller-Plathe
    Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation, Jan 2021