On September 21, the 2025 Peking University Global University Materials Science Deans Forum, themed “Twenty Years of Synergy, Gathering Global Materials Expertise,” was held at the Yingjie Exchange Center. The event was hosted by the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Peking University, co-organized by the School of Advanced Materials (SAM) at Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School and the Peking University Zhengzhou Advanced Materials Research Institute.
Event Overview
Attendees included Jin Zhang, Member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee, Executive Vice President of Peking University, Dean of the Shenzhen Graduate School, and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; Weimi Gong, Member of the Party Leadership Group and Deputy Director of the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission and Zhongguancun Science Park Management Committee; Jiarong Ren, Director of Major Project Coordination at the High-Tech Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. They delivered opening remarks. Other distinguished guests included Academician Yongjun Tian from Yanshan University, Academician Meifang Zhu from Donghua University, Academician Shou Peng, Chief Scientist of China National Building Material Group and President of the International Glass Association, Foreign Academician Lee Young-hee of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Daping Zhang, Director of Partnerships at Wiley Publishing Group, Yongxiang Cai, Director of the Beijing New Materials and New Energy Technology Development Center, Gang Liu, Director of the Institute of Metal Research at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Academician Xiaodong Chen from Nanyang Technological University, Academician Kaharudin from the University of Malaya, and Professor Âu An Bang, Vice President of the University of Natural Sciences under Hanoi National University. Over 300 participants, including deans and professors from more than 90 domestic and international universities such as Stanford University, National University of Singapore, University of Tokyo, and Tsinghua University, as well as representatives from Peking University’s administrative departments, academic units, and materials industry entrepreneurs, gathered at Peking University to discuss the future of materials science. The opening ceremony was hosted by Huanping Zhou, Vice Dean of the School of Materials Science and Engineering.
Huanping Zhou hosts
Before the forum, a promotional video showcased the 20-year history of Peking University’s materials science discipline and the five-year development of the School of Materials Science and Engineering. It highlighted the school’s distinctive disciplinary directions, faculty development, innovative talent cultivation, and achievements in technology transfer, emphasizing its mission to “promote engineering through science and shape the future with materials.”
In his welcome address, Jin Zhang outlined four expectations for the future of Peking University’s materials science discipline: (1) deepening industry-academia integration to provide strong momentum for development; (2) enhancing interdisciplinary collaboration to infuse diverse energy into the field; (3) promoting paradigm innovation to inject new vitality; and (4) expanding international cooperation to open broader opportunities.
Weimi Gong praised the strategic significance and achievements of Peking University’s materials science discipline. From the perspective of Beijing’s goal to build an international science and technology innovation center, he proposed that the discipline should “pool global wisdom through open cooperation to build an innovation community” and “leverage AI to transform materials research paradigms and seize future opportunities.”
Jiarong Ren shared insights on coordinating major projects from the perspective of national strategy and industrial development, emphasizing the need to accelerate the transition of materials science innovations from laboratories to production lines and markets.
Remarks by Jin Zhang, Weimi Gong, Jiarong Ren
The forum featured the launch ceremony of the international journal National Materials, co-led by Academician Jin Zhang and Nobel Laureate Konstantin Novoselov. The journal, supported by an international editorial board of top scholars, focuses on advanced functional and structural materials, covering the entire chain of “preparation–structure–performance–device.” It aims to create an interdisciplinary, cross-border, high-level platform for open exchange.
Launch Ceremony of National Materials International Journal
In a significant moment, Dean Ruqiang Zou of the School of Materials Science and Engineering signed strategic cooperation agreements with Shufu Li, General Manager of China Railway Construction Southern Investment Co., Ltd.; Xianrui Chen, Chairman of China Aviation Construction Group Co., Ltd.; Weiwei Chong, General Manager of Beijing Jingneng Technology Co., Ltd.; Riwu Yi, Party Secretary and Chairman of Henan Airport Investment Group; Cheng Wu, Chairman of Guocheng Holding Group Co., Ltd.; and Shuhua Wang, Chairman of Jinan Iron and Steel Group Co., Ltd. These agreements foster collaboration in talent cultivation, disciplinary development, and scientific research to advance both academia and industry.
Strategic Cooperation Signing Ceremony
Dean Ruqiang Zou delivered a keynote speech titled “Peking University’s School of Materials Science and Engineering in the Context of New Engineering.” He provided a comprehensive overview of the school’s disciplinary layout, talent cultivation, distinctive research directions, and faculty development. He also outlined Peking University’s top-level design, innovative practices, and future vision for materials science reform and development under the new engineering framework.
Keynote Speech by Dean Ruqiang Zou
During the presentation sessions, over 20 deans and professors from institutions such as Stanford University, University of Tokyo, Tsinghua University, Nanyang Technological University, Australian National University, and Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology delivered reports. They focused on cutting-edge developments in materials science, sharing insights on disciplinary construction, representative research achievements, talent cultivation models, and curriculum development.
Forum Presentations
Experts and scholars participated in roundtable discussions, engaging in lively exchanges on topics such as the integration of AI with materials science, teaching model reforms in the AI era, international evaluation system reforms, building young faculty teams, and balancing in-depth research with publication demands. The discussions yielded several points of consensus, paving the way for future collaboration.
Roundtable Discussions
