Xiangdong Ji

Xiangdong Ji is a Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland's Department of Physics. His research focuses on theoretical studies of nucleon structure within Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) and experimental dark matter detection via liquid xenon technology. He holds a B.S. from Tongji University and a Ph.D. from Drexel University (1987). Professor Ji is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and recipient of the 2003 Outstanding Overseas Young Chinese Scientist Award. His experimental collaborations include leading roles in the PandaX-4T dark matter experiment, which explores dark matter particles, neutrino interactions, and nuclear decay processes.

Research interests span QCD dynamics, parton distributions, gravitational form factors of hadrons, and precision measurements in particle astrophysics. He teaches advanced physics courses such as Physics 851 (Advanced Quantum Field Theory) and contributes to detector development for low-background experiments. Over 15+ publications in 2025 alone highlight his work on PandaX-4T's capabilities for dark matter detection, neutrino physics, and lattice QCD calculations of nucleon structure.

Awards include recognition for his contributions to theoretical and experimental particle physics. His lab and team collaborate internationally on PandaX-xT, a next-generation liquid xenon observatory targeting breakthroughs in dark matter and neutrino physics. Grants and funding support his research into QCD's foundational questions and experimental infrastructure for high-sensitivity particle detectors.