Dr Zekun Wang
UKRI Fellow, Ichno Terri
Summary
I am currently working at the interface between computational mechanics and paleontology, based on my previous and ongoing research on the modelling & analyses of particulate flows with coupled CFD-DEM. My knowledge in mechanics and mathematics helps me reproduce the formation of trace fossils dating back to Ediacaran, giving hints to the early complex animals' diversification and evolution of mobility. My skillsets in fluid dynamics also facilitate the research on the evolution of mechanical functional organs.
Qualifications
Degrees
- PhD., Peking University, China, 2017 - 2022
- B.S., Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, China, 2013 - 2017
Certifications
- Best Student Presentation Award, 13th OpenFOAM Workshop
- Student Award for Excellence in Research, The International Association of Applied Mechanics
- Emerald Literati Award, Highly Commended Papers, Emerald Group Publishing (United Kingdom), Bingley, United Kingdom
- Membership, The Chemical Industry and Engineering Society of China
- Best Student Presentation Award, 3rd International Symposium on Computational Particle Technology
- Top Cited Article in Palaeontology, Wiley Publishing
- Membership, The International Association of Applied Mechanics
- Membership, The Palaeontological Association
Academic
- UKRI-MSCA Research Fellow, Natural History Museum (UK), Department of Earth Sciences, United Kingdom, 2025 - 2027
- NIF Research Fellow, Natural History Museum (UK), Department of Earth Sciences, United Kingdom, 2023 - 2025
- Assistant Research Fellow, Peking University, College of Engineering & Nanchang Innovation Research Institute, China, 2022 - 2023
Highlighted publications
- Wang Z, Shi T (2026) Trace fossils constrain the perceptual ranges of the earliest motile animals. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 123, doi: 10.1073/pnas.2609730123
- Wang Z, Rindsberg AK, Miguez-Salas O (2026) The epistemic architecture of palaeontological reasoning: trace fossil studies as an example. Earth-Science Reviews 105668 - 105668. doi: 10.1016/j.earscirev.2026.105668
- Wang Z, Miguez-Salas O (2025) Quantitative decoding of Ediacaran locomotory trace fossil morphologies: Evidence for the emergence of slender anterior-posterior body profiles. Geology 53, 732 - 736. doi: 10.1130/g53332.1
- Wang Z, Mangano MG, Buatois LA, Hang N (2025) Smoothness analyses of trace fossils: expanding quantitative toolkits to unravel bilaterian movement ecology during the Ediacaran–Cambrian transition. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 292, doi: 10.1098/rspb.2025.0889
- Wang Z, Davies NS, Liu AG, Minter NJ, Rahman IA (2024) Identifying signatures of the earliest benthic bulldozers in emergent subaerial conditions during the colonization of land by animals. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 291, doi: 10.1098/rspb.2024.1629
- Wang Z, Rahman I, Zhang L-J (2024) Quantifying the rise of animals during the Ediacaran–Cambrian using ichnodissimilarity. Paleobiology 50, 532 - 532. doi: 10.1017/pab.2024.40
- Wang Z, Rahman IA (2023) Quantitative ichnology: a novel framework to determine the producers of locomotory trace fossils with the ichnogenus <i>Gordia</i> as a case study. Palaeontology 66, doi: 10.1111/pala.12686
- Wang Z, Teng Y, Liu M (2019) A semi-resolved CFD–DEM approach for particulate flows with kernel based approximation and Hilbert curve based searching strategy. Journal of Computational Physics 384, 151 - 169. doi: 10.1016/j.jcp.2019.01.017
Highlighted publications
- Wang Z, Shi T (2026) Trace fossils constrain the perceptual ranges of the earliest motile animals. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 123, doi: 10.1073/pnas.2609730123
- Wang Z, Rindsberg AK, Miguez-Salas O (2026) The epistemic architecture of palaeontological reasoning: trace fossil studies as an example. Earth-Science Reviews 105668 - 105668. doi: 10.1016/j.earscirev.2026.105668
- Wang Z, Miguez-Salas O (2025) Quantitative decoding of Ediacaran locomotory trace fossil morphologies: Evidence for the emergence of slender anterior-posterior body profiles. Geology 53, 732 - 736. doi: 10.1130/g53332.1
- Wang Z, Mangano MG, Buatois LA, Hang N (2025) Smoothness analyses of trace fossils: expanding quantitative toolkits to unravel bilaterian movement ecology during the Ediacaran–Cambrian transition. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 292, doi: 10.1098/rspb.2025.0889
- Wang Z, Davies NS, Liu AG, Minter NJ, Rahman IA (2024) Identifying signatures of the earliest benthic bulldozers in emergent subaerial conditions during the colonization of land by animals. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 291, doi: 10.1098/rspb.2024.1629
- Wang Z, Rahman I, Zhang L-J (2024) Quantifying the rise of animals during the Ediacaran–Cambrian using ichnodissimilarity. Paleobiology 50, 532 - 532. doi: 10.1017/pab.2024.40
- Wang Z, Rahman IA (2023) Quantitative ichnology: a novel framework to determine the producers of locomotory trace fossils with the ichnogenus <i>Gordia</i> as a case study. Palaeontology 66, doi: 10.1111/pala.12686
- Wang Z, Teng Y, Liu M (2019) A semi-resolved CFD–DEM approach for particulate flows with kernel based approximation and Hilbert curve based searching strategy. Journal of Computational Physics 384, 151 - 169. doi: 10.1016/j.jcp.2019.01.017