Topic: Three Levels and Eight Approaches to Original Research Topic Selection

Speaker: Prof. Lei JIANG

Date: Tuesday, August 27, 2024

Time: 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Venue: Room W201, West Wing, Administration Building

Registration: Please scan the QR code below

Zoom: 

https://cuhk-edu-cn.zoom.us/j/95767438545?pwd=7dSRneyp4xrTIN9KJMemqESgft4JUz.1

Meeting ID: 957 6743 8545

Passcode: 746369

Abstract: 

Inspired by nature, we have discovered and established the basic principles of superwetting interface material systems and successfully applied them innovatively. By studying the superhydrophobicity of lotus leaves and the superhydrophilicity of corneas, we discovered the principle of enhancing interfacial wettability through micro/nano-structures. Through the study of the formation process of nanocrystals composed of shells and teeth, it was discovered that the mechanism of dewetting confined crystallization. Through the study of spider silk, cactus, and biological ion/molecular channels on the directional transport of liquids, it was found that asymmetric structure/chemical composition charge distribution can achieve high-throughput and high selectivity liquid transport mechanisms. Based on these principles, 64 combination schemes of superwetting interface material systems have been established and extended to 13 liquid systems with different pressure and temperature ranges. Among them, more than 10 super wetting interface material system schemes have been applied in fields such as energy, environment, agriculture, resources, and information. I will start from my own research and analyze the three levels and eight approaches of original research topic selection. Through this report, I encourage young researchers to actively choose original research topics that are suitable for themselves, leverage their strengths, and promote scientific development and technological innovation.

Speaker Profile:

Lei JIANG graduated from the Department of Physics of Jilin University with a major in solid state physics in 1987, and obtained a master's degree in physical chemistry from the Department of Chemistry of the same university in 1990. From 1992 to 1994, he studied in the University of Tokyo, Japan as a joint doctoral student of China and Japan (co-supervisors: Professor Tiejin Li and Professor Akira Fujishima), and returned to China to obtain a doctorate degree. From 1994 to 1996, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Tokyo, Japan. From 1996 to 1999, he worked as a researcher at the Kanagawa Institute of Science in Japan. In 1998, he was selected into the "Hundred Talents Program" of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. From 1999 to 2015, he was a researcher at the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences. In 2001, he was funded by the National Outstanding Young Scientist Fund. In 2004, he served as the chief scientist of the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology. From 2008 to 2019, he served as the dean of the School of Chemistry of Beihang University. From 2015 to present, he has been a professor at the Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Since 2016, he has served as the dean of the School of Future Technology of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences. Since 2022, he has served as the dean of the School of Nanoscience and Technology at the University of Science and Technology of China. He was elected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2009; elected as an academician of the Third World Academy of Sciences in 2012; elected as a foreign academician of the U.S. Academy of Engineering in 2016; elected as a foreign academician of the Australian Academy of Sciences in 2022; elected as a foreign academician of the Academia Europaea in 2023; and elected as a foreign academician of the European Academy of Engineering in 2024.

His main academic contribution is to establish super-wetting interface materials and super-wetting interface chemical systems through learning from nature, leading and promoting the development of this field globally, and successfully realizing the technological transformation of many achievements. In 2021, super-wetting technology was selected as one of the top ten emerging technologies in the field of chemistry by IUPAC. In 2022, he was selected as a representative of Chinese scientists from the top five countries in the Nature Index (USA, China, Germany, Japan, and France). So far, he has published more than 800 SCI papers, with a total citation of more than 212,000 times and an H-factor of 215. He serves as an editorial board member and advisory editorial board member of many academic journals at home and abroad. Awards received include: the "Third World Academy of Sciences Chemistry Award" in 2011; the "Ho Leung Ho Lee Science and Technology Award" in 2013; the "Outstanding Scientific and Technological Achievement Award of the Chinese Academy of Sciences" in 2014; in 2014, he became the first winner from mainland China to receive the "MRS Mid-Career Researcher Award" from the American Materials Society; in 2016, he won the UNESCO "Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Development Contribution Award"; in the same year, he won the "Nikkei Asia Award"; in 2017, he won the "German Humboldt Research Award"; in 2018, he won the "Qiushi Outstanding Scientist Award"; "Nano Research Award"; in 2020, he won the "ACS Nano Lectureship Award"; in 2022, he won the "Tan Kah Kee Science Award".