Subduction interface
mechanics
How do strong blocks and a weak matrix share stress? I use exhumed high-pressure rocks to investigate stress heterogeneity, transient coupling and the geological record of slow slip.
FIELD → INTERFACEACADEMIC PROFILE / BEIJING, CHINA
Yawei WU
Humboldt Research Fellow
武亚威Rock Rheology
& Subduction Zone Dynamics
Exploring how rocks deform and what they reveal about subduction interfaces.
Field observations.
Microstructures.
Physical mechanisms.
Academic Background
Peking University × CAGSLyon, FranceHumboldt Fellowship 202601 / ABOUTFrom outcrops
From outcrops
to mechanisms.
I investigate the connection between the structures we see in rocks and the physical processes operating deep within the Earth.
My research brings together field structural geology, metamorphic petrology, microstructural analysis and rock rheology. Working on exhumed high-pressure rocks from the North Qilian paleo-subduction interface, I explore how contrasting rock types accommodate stress and strain—and how these records may illuminate transient coupling and deep slow slip.
My doctoral research was jointly supervised at Peking University and the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences. A CSC-funded research exchange in Lyon expanded this work through international collaboration. My next research direction connects natural rock records with high-pressure, high-temperature deformation experiments.
02 / RESEARCH
Research across scales.
Connecting field evidence,
mineral fabrics and rock mechanics.
Subduction interface
Microstructures
& rock rheology
What can mineral fabrics reveal about deformation? I use EBSD and MTEX to analyze crystallographic fabrics, grain and subgrain structures, and their implications for rock rheology and deformation mechanisms.
GRAINS → DEFORMATIONShear zones
& tectonic evolution
How does oblique convergence shape an orogen? My work examines strain partitioning, transpression and the tectonic history of the Qilian–Qaidam region in northern Tibet.
STRUCTURES → TECTONICSCORE EXPERTISE
EBSD & MTEX
I specialize in electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and crystallographic analysis with MTEX, using quantitative microstructural data to investigate rock deformation.
03 / SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Research in print.
2025FEATURED
Nature Communications 16, 9116
Stress heterogeneities in exhumed high-pressure rocks shed light on deep subduction interface transient coupling
Natural rock records offer a window into heterogeneous stress and transient mechanical coupling along deep subduction interfaces.
Read paper OPEN ACCESS
2026
2024
GSA Bulletin 136, 1889–1915
Early Paleozoic oblique convergence from subduction to collision: Insights from timing and structural style of the transpressional dextral shear zone in the Qilian orogen, northern Tibet of China
Read paper First published online in 2023
04 / EDUCATION & EXPERIENCEA journey
A journey
in Earth science.
Research shaped by fieldwork,
mentorship and collaboration.
2026 AWARDED
Humboldt Research Fellowship
GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences · Potsdam, Germany
Postdoctoral fellowship awarded in July 2026. Research stay planned for December 2026, with a focus on experimental rock deformation and subduction interface mechanics.
Host: Dr. Sarah Incel · Collaboration with the group of Onno Oncken
Humboldt profile ↗SEP 2022 — JUL 2026
PhD in Structural Geology
Peking University × Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences
Joint doctoral training on stress, deformation and rheological heterogeneity in the North Qilian paleo-subduction interface.
Supervisors: Jianxin Zhang & Bo Zhang
2024 — 2025
Visiting doctoral research
Lyon, France
One-year research exchange supported by the China Scholarship Council, extending work on high-pressure rocks and deformation processes.
Supervisor: Samuel Angiboust
05 / RECOGNITION & SERVICE
Along the way.
Selected honors
- Humboldt Research Fellowship for Postdocs2026
- Chinese National Scholarship for Doctoral Students2022 · 2025
- CAGS First-Class Scholarship for Scientific & Technological Innovation
- Cheng Yuqi Outstanding Dissertation Award
- Cheng Yuqi Outstanding Graduate Student Award
Academic service
Journal peer review
Invited reviewer for Tectonophysics.
Research toolkit
Advanced expertise in EBSD & MTEX
Crystallographic fabrics · Quantitative microstructural analysis · MATLAB · Field structural analysis · Metamorphic petrology
06 / CONTACT
Good science starts
with a conversation.
For research discussions and academic correspondence.