Dr. Binbin Pan is an associate professor at Shanghai Ocean University (SHOU), and deputy director of SHOU’s Hadal Science and Technology Research Center (HAST). He received his BSc from the Department of Engineering Mechanics at Tsinghua University in 2006 and his PhD from the China Ship Scientific Research Center (CSSRC) in 2013. From 2014 to 2016, he pursued post-doctoral research at the Oceanlab, University of Aberdeen, Scotland. At HAST, he is currently the leader of the Lander Team (LT), which focuses on the customization of landers for scientists and developing a new generation of deep-sea actuators and other devices based on smart materials and new technologies. He is interested in Multidisciplinary Design Optimization (MDO) theory and related algorithms. He is also interested in new methods and materials in the development of underwater engineering, especially deep-sea engineering.Dr. Weicheng Cui is currently a chair professor at Westlake University and an adjunct professor at Shanghai Ocean University. He is the dean of the Hadal Science and Technology Research Center (HAST) of Westlake University and Shanghai Ocean University. He received his BSc from the Department of Engineering Mechanics at Tsinghua University in 1986 and his PhD from the University of Bristol, England in 1990. From 1990 to 1993, he pursued post-doctoral research at the Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Bristol. He was the project leader and first deputy chief designer of the Jiaolong deep manned submersible. He has published more than 400 papers in various technical journals and conference proceedings. He was awarded the title of one of eight national “deep-diving heroes” in 2013 by the Chinese government and selected as one of ten “Science Stars of China” in 2016 by Nature. His Rainbowfish Challenging the Challenger Deep Project has received substantial media attention, e.g. from Nature magazine and the BBC.
