Developer Profile
From a young age, I was deeply fascinated by numbers and geometric forms. This early interest laied the foundation for my later journey. I recieved both my Bachelor’s (2010) and Ph.D. (2017) degrees in Macromolecular Science from Fudan University. After completing my academic training, I transitioned into the field of scientific visualization, where I focus primarily on chemistry and materials science. My work aims to bridge the gap between complex scientific structures and intuitive visual representation, making the invisible world more accessible and understandable.
Since 2017, I have authored over a thousand tutorials on scientific visualization using 3ds Max and Cinema 4D, with all of this work dedicated to exploring how traditional 3D software can serve as a powerful medium for representing scientific data. In 2023, I further expanded my expertise by delving into Blender and its associated development techniques, opening up new possibilities for creating interactive and customizable visualization tools.
ChemBlender marked my first attempt at developing a scientific visualization tool. Throughout its development, I revisited numerous core aspects of scientific visualization, which allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of the mapping and transformation relationships between scientific data and computer graphics data. Molecular structure visualization, as a representative case, became the central focus of this exploration, and I provided an in-depth analysis of this topic in the ChemBlender_alpha version.
I am currently a reseacher at the Art and Science Research Center at the University of Science and Techonlogy of China (click), where my work continues to focus on molecular structure visualization and tool development. In addition, I have also explored the visualization of micro- and nanostructures and am actively developing tools in this field. I hope you find my work engaging and offer your support.
What inspired ChemBlender from the start?
From 2018 to 2024, I was part of Hangzhou Sphere Studio, where I successfully established and led a scientific visualization team. During this period, my colleagues and I produced numerous high-quality, artistic scientific images. This experience provided me with valuable insights into the development trends of scientific visualization and best practices for collaborating with researchers. Above are some of our works. For more, please visit Gallery-Hangzhou Sphere Studio.
In our work, we frequently need to create 3D models of molecules, crystals, and other micro- or nanoscale materials. This is especially true for crystal structures and proteins. The conventional approach typically involves building models in specialized scientific software, exporting them to standard 3D file formats, and then importing those into general-purpose 3D software. However, this workflow often results in the loss of structural information, significant increases in file size, and difficulties in subsequent editing—ultimately limiting overall efficiency. The idea of directly generating 3D structures from raw scientific data within Blender emerged in response to these challenges.
To build a truly professional tool for scientific visulization, I revisited core knowledge in cheminformatics, structural biology, and related disciplines. Drawing on years of experience with computer graphics software, I’ve developed a clearer sense of how raw scientific data transforms into visual narratives across time and space. This journey has shown me that beyond chemistry and materials science, certain visual algorithms offer a window into the very logic of nature.
ChemBlender is only the beginning.