He graduated from the Department of Modern Physics at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in 1982.
He then went to the United States to further his studies at the University of Maryland, where he received his Ph.D. in physics in 1988.
In 1991, he joined the faculty at Oklahoma State University, where he became a full professor in 2001.
He worked to foster collaboration between physicists in China and the United States, and co-organizing a number of important international workshops and conferences.
He was appointed Vice President of the National Natural Science Foundation of China in 2018.