At the Sixth National Outstanding Professional and Technical Talents Commendation Conference held in Beijing on October 28, the College of Nano Science & Technology (CNST) of Soochow University was awarded “National Advanced Group of Professional and Technical Talents”. A total of 93 individuals and 97 research groups and institutes around the country were commended, including two collective units from Jiangsu Province, with CNST being one of them. It is also the only university from Jiangsu province to be awarded.
The commendation conference fully implemented the spirit of the Central Talent Work Conference by honoring outstanding professionals, technicians, and collective units that have made major contributions in scientific research and innovation. Chunhua Hu, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and vice premier of the State Council was present and delivered keynote speech. Prof. Liangsheng Liao of our institute attended the commendation conference on behalf of Soochow University.
The Sixth National Outstanding Professional and Technical Talents Commendation Conference
Behind the honor is more than a decade’s effort. In 2008, Prof. Shuit-Tong Lee, an internationally renowned materials scientist, member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), joined Soochow University. Under his leadership, the Institute of Functional Nano and Soft Materials (FUNSOM) was founded. Two years later, CNST, the first college to focus on training students majoring in Nano Materials and Technology in China, was established on the basis of FUNSOM in 2010.
Over the years, CNST has always been committed to driving excellence in research and talent training. With strong support from Soochow University, the college has gradually built an elite team of more than 120 existing staff with international backgrounds, including 86 faculty members (74 with senior professional titles), a CAS academician, a TWAS academician, and a foreign academician of Academia Europaea. To date, 50 citations were selected into the National Key Talent Program (including youth talent); 41 citations named as Global Highly Cited Researchers.
CNST&FUNSOM has been recognized for its outstanding achievements in research and teaching, earning a number of notable awards and honors, ranging from “National Advanced Collective in Education”, “Innovative Research Group” (bestowed by the National Natural Science Foundation of China), to “Innovation Team in Key Areas” under the “Innovative Talent Promotion Plan” (bestowed by the Ministry of Science and Technology).
Since its foundation, the college has made significant contributions to the development of China’s display and lighting industry. The flexible white OLED developed by the research group led by Prof. Lee has reached the highest efficiency level worldwide, leading to the production of white OLED panels with highest performance and largest luminous area in China.
In cooperation with the local government, our research team independently designed and successfully established the first OLED lighting G2.5 generation evaporation production line in China, making the mass production of OLED luminous panels possible. In January 2020, the production line passed the technical appraisal of the Department of Industry and Information Technology of Jiangsu Province, which marked the breakthrough of foreign technological monopoly and terminated the absence of domestic OLED production equipment in China. This effectively promoted the development and application of OLED lighting products with independent intellectual property rights in China.
OLED lighting G2.5 generation evaporation production line designed and manufactured independently
Under the leadership of Prof. Lee, CNST was designated as National Pilot College, National “Program 2011” Collaborative Innovation Center, and the construction sites of “National First-Class Discipline” (materials science and engineering) and “National First-Class Undergraduate Program” (BS, Nano Materials and Technology), bringing our college to national prominence.
CNST pursues an all-rounded development, standing out in education and scientific research, as well as discipline development. The college has always emphasized talent training. Through the exploration of a “three integration” model, we mobilized diverse resources of education and science, of different disciplines, from home and abroad, in order to better cultivate talents specialized in nanotechnology. The model won the Second Prize of National Teaching Achievement, the highest award in education, which was featured in the world top academic journalNature. In terms of scientific research, CNST&FUNSOM has obtained a total of 597 research projects, with funding of more than 870 million yuan. Our research achievements were celebrated as the “Top Ten Advances of Science in China” in 2015 and the “Top Ten Advances in Optics in China” in 2018. Our discipline of nanoscience flourished along with scientific research. In 2021, “Shanghai Ranking” listed Soochow University’s “Nanoscience and Technology” as the 5th in the world, which saw an upgrade of 19 places from the 24th in 2017.
Certificates of “2015 Top Ten Advances of Science in China” and “2018 Top Ten Advances in Optics in China”
Facing the opportunities and challenges of the new era, CNST will take the past glory as the driving force to scale new heights. In our commitment to carrying out a talent-oriented strategy, we will continue to nurture on-the-job scholars while introducing experts from outside, creating an attractive and conducive environment for researchers to thrive. Through mechanism innovation, we strive to create a nanotechnology talent highland with international competitiveness, to advance knowledge in the service of a better China, and to keep its presence at the forefront of nanotechnology in the world.
Edited by Danting Xiang, Yang Yang
Translated by Jin Wang