He received his BS degree in Physics from the Department of Intensive Instruction at Nanjing University (NJU) in 1997. After two years as a graduate student in the Physics Department of NJU, he joined the Center for Polymer Studies at Boston University and obtained his PhD in Physics in January 2004, under the supervision of Prof. Eugene Stanley. From 2004 to 2012, Dr. Ding worked with Prof. Nikolay Dokholyan at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a postdoctoral fellow (2004-2006), research associate (2006-2008), and later research assistant professor (2008-2012). Dr. Ding joined Clemson in August 2012.