Pan’sLiFEYiming Pan’s GroupSHANGHAITECH UNIVERSITY中文
LIGHT & FREE ELECTRONS / SHANGHAITECH
PINEM energy sidebands: light–electron energy exchange produces discrete sidebands separated by the photon energy

Light.
Free electrons.Quantum LiFE.

Yiming Pan · Light and Free Electrons
Exploring the interaction of light and free electrons in strong-field and quantum regimes.

Explore our research ↗
01 / RESEARCH

Shape electrons with light. Shape light with electrons.

We study controlled transfers of energy, momentum and information between electrons and light, probing the deeper structure of electromagnetic interactions. Combining theory and experiment, our work spans quantum measurement, topology, spacetime control and free-electron quantum optics.

01

Ultrafast, strong-field & free-electron quantum optics

Dielectric laser acceleration (DLA), free-electron radiation (FEL), photon-induced near-field electron microscopy (PINEM), attosecond dynamics and quantum weak measurement.

02

Topological photonics, photonic time crystals & quantum simulation

Floquet engineering, synthetic dimensions for free electrons, photonic spacetime crystals, momentum-gap solitons and nonlinear spacetime dynamics.

03

Condensed matter, quantum engineering & AI4Science

Weyl semimetals and quantum transport, quantum anomalies, free-electron condensed-matter physics, neural operators and Koopman operators.

Research themes & experimental platforms ↗
02 / RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Recent publications

All publications · 2014–2026 ↗
2026.08
Published online

Laser & Photonics Reviews, e71754 (2026)

Photon-Recycling Dielectric Laser Accelerator

Changying Li, Li Zhang, Xin-Ning Tian, Dingguo Zheng, Weishi Wan, Xiaoping Liu, Yiming Pan

Can recycling light help electrons accelerate further? This design explores how recirculating the optical field can extend the acceleration process.

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03 / NEWS & STORIES

News & Stories

All news & stories

Research milestones and the people behind them.

People & outreachShuyuan de Tiankong · Kedao College

Stories of learning, discovery and growth

From his academic journey to everyday research, Yiming Pan reflects on setbacks, perspective and growth. Alongside scientific questions, he makes room for life and encourages students to build on every research experience.

Read the story (Chinese) ↗
Yiming Pan

YIMING PAN / PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Publications & personal notes ↗
04 / GROUP LEADER

Yiming Pan

Assistant Professor · Principal Investigator · PhD Supervisor

Yiming Pan has been based at the School of Physical Science and Technology and the Center for Transformative Science, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China, since 2023. His interests include free-electron quantum optics, time-varying and topological photonics, and strong-field and quantum light–matter interactions.

Google Scholar ↗ORCID ↗ResearchGate ↗
  • 2023–presentShanghaiTech University · Assistant Professor / PI
  • 2020—2023Technion – Israel Institute of Technology · Postdoctoral Fellow
    Daniel Podolsky, Moti Segev
  • 2018—2020Weizmann Institute of Science · Postdoctoral Fellow
    Yaron Silberberg, Nir Davidson
  • 2016—2018Tel Aviv University · Postdoctoral Fellow
    Avraham Gover
  • 2010.09—2016.06Nanjing University · PhD in Theoretical Physics / Bogen Wang
  • 2006.09—2010.06Anhui University · BSc in Applied Physics

In my own words: a junior faculty member, a beginner in physics—and perhaps a flying frog in my dreams?

Selected PI publications
  • Zhaopin Chen, Bin Zhang, Yiming Pan*, Michael Krueger, Quantum wavefunction reconstruction by free-electron spectral shearing interferometry. Science Advances (2023)
  • Yiming Pan, Moshe-Ishay Cohen, Mordechai Segev, Superluminal k-gap solitons in photonic time-crystals with Kerr nonlinearity. PRL 130, 233801 (2023).
  • Pan, Y.†*, et al. Demonstration of weak measurements, projective measurements, and quantum-to-classical transitions in ultrafast free electron-photon interactions. Light: Science & Applications (2023)
  • Pan, Y†*, et al. Floquet gauge anomaly inflow and arbitrary fractional charge in periodically-driven topological/normal insulator heterostructures. PRL 130, 223403 (2023).
  • Q. Cheng, &Y. Pan*. Asymmetric topological pumping in nonparaxial photonics. Nat. Commun. 10.1038 (2022)
  • B. Wang, &Y. Pan*. Observation of Photonic Topological Floquet time crystals. Laser & Photon. Rev, 10.1002/lpor.202100469 (2022)
  • Y. Pan†*, and A. Gover. Beyond Fermi's Golden Rule in Free-Electron Quantum Electrodynamics: Acceleration/Radiation Correspondence. New Journal of Physics 23 (6), 063070 (2021)
  • Pan, Y.†*, et al., Weak-to-strong transition of quantum measurement in a trapped-ion system. Nat. Phys. 16(12), 1206-1210 (2020)
  • Yiming Pan†*, et al., Anomalous Photon-induced Near-field Electron Microscopy. PRL 122,183204 (2019)
  • Q. Cheng†, Y. Pan†*, et al. Observation of anomalous π modes in photonic Floquet engineering. PRL 122.173901 (2019)
  • Gover, Y. Pan*. Dimension-dependent stimulated radiative interaction of a single electron quantum wavepacket. Phys. Lett. A 382.23 (2018): 1550-1555
  • Z. Yu†, Z. Ong†, Y. Pan†, et al. Realization of Room-Temperature Phonon-limited Carrier Transport in Monolayer MoS2 by Dielectric and Carrier Screening. Adv. Mater. 28, no. 3 (2016): 547-552.
  • Q. Cheng†, Y. Pan†, et al. Topologically protected interface mode in plasmonic waveguide arrays. Laser & Photon. Rev. 10.1002/lpor.201400462(2015)
  • M. Qian, Y. Pan, et al. Tunable, Ultralow-Power Switching in Memristive Devices Enabled by a Heterogeneous Graphene–Oxide Interface. Adv. Mater. 26, 3275-3281 (2014)
  • Z. Yu†, Y. Pan†, et al. Towards Intrinsic Charge Transport in Monolayer Molybdenum Disulfide by Defect and Interface Engineering. Nat. Commun. 5, 5290 (2014)
05 / PEOPLE

Take your time. Everyone grows at their own pace.

Member information was compiled from the June 2026 group introduction and updated to reflect subsequent changes.

Alumni & former members

AlumniALUMNI

  • Chenhao Pan ↗
    PhD alumnus
    Plasma lasers, photonic time crystalsNow pursuing postdoctoral research abroad
  • Jiaxiang Sun
    Undergraduate student
    Laboratory development, quantum models of sonoluminescence
  • Zeyi Wu
    Undergraduate student
    Laboratory development, quantum-optics teaching platforms
  • Yuheng Song
    Undergraduate student
    COMSOL simulations, ultrafast electron quantum control
  • Zixuan Yue
    Undergraduate student
    Free-electron convolutional neural networks, spatiotemporal pattern generation
  • Chaoran Ji
    Undergraduate student
    PDENet database development

Former membersFORMER MEMBERS

  • Jiapeng Yang
    Former master’s student
    Transferred to another group in 2026
  • Xiangting Tan
    Former group member
    Joined in 2023; later transferred to another group
  • Wenhao Shen
    Research assistant2023.09—2024.01
    Continued graduate studies at McGill University, Canada
  • Zhiwei Fan
    Research assistant2024.02—2024.05
    Moved to a postdoctoral position at Newcastle University, UK

Collaborations include Technion, Tel Aviv University, Erlangen, the Institute of Physics (CAS), the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics (CAS), and the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology.

THE PAN’S LiFE PRINCIPLE
“Free electron and photon can exchange energy, momentum, and even information at the quantum level.”
— Yiming Pan · ShanghaiTech
06 / TEACHING & OUTREACH

Education for everyone.

To educate college students & kids: The first principle for me is to admit my stupidity in front of them.

To teach graduate students & postdocs: My job is to support them in achieving success in science and technology.

To teach the public: The most critical aspect of disseminating information to the public is determining: What is NOT science!

Equally access to education to all individuals without discrimination.

We teach and mentor undergraduate and graduate students, advise CUPT teams, serve as college mentors, and participate in campus open days. Through Bilibili videos, Zhihu columns, live science talks and science festivals, we share our curiosity about physics.

Bilibili · Physics & outreachExplore physics through video
Zhihu · Yiming Pan’s physics columns ↗
07 / JOIN PAN’S LiFE

Explore with us.
Join Pan’s LiFE.

yiming.pan@shanghaitech.edu.cn ↗

We welcome students interested in physics, optics, electronic information and engineering.

We especially welcome hands-on exploration of electron-gun photoemission, quantum-optical detection,
femtosecond pump–probe techniques, electrical control and testing.

Prospective master’s and PhD students are encouraged to contact the PI in advance.
The group typically follows a two- to three-month discussion and interview process.

School of Physical Science and Technology · ShanghaiTech University
Room 211, Building 7 · Shanghai, China
(+86) 19821952722