The one-year countdown to the centennial anniversary of the founding of the discipline of chemistry in Nankai University has started from October 16^th, and the launching ceremony for this event was held on the same day at Tiannan Joint Building on the Balitai campus.

Attendees included Academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering and President of Nankai University Cao Xuetao, Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences and Vice President of Nankai University Chen Jun, Vice President of Nankai University Li Jing, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Professor of the College of Chemistry Li Zhengming, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Professor Song Licheng, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Professor Zhou Qilin, retired teachers and alumni of the College of Chemistry, and representatives of teachers and students from the College of Chemistry.

The day on which this ceremony was held was also the eve of the 101st anniversary of Nankai University. In his speech, Cao Xuetao said that the alumni, teachers and students from the College of Chemistry spanning three generations were gathered on this occasion, which was a vivid picture showing the profound academic background of Nankai’s chemistry discipline and its vigorous enthusiasm for development. He also expressed his hope that the chemistry teachers and students in Nankai could accelerate the pace of building its chemistry discipline into a first-class program, and contribute their wisdom and strength in chemistry to Nankai’s advancement towards becoming one of the world-class universities.

The discipline of chemistry in Nankai University has enjoyed a hundred years of glory. On this occasion, Chen Jun, Zhou Qilin, and four deans of the Nankai College of Chemistry including Professor Liu Yu and Professor Zhu Shoufei of the College of Chemistry jointly launched the centennial anniversary of the founding of the discipline of chemistry in Nankai University.

In order to further carry out this commemorative event, the College of Chemistry specially invited 29 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering in Nankai’s chemistry discipline and academic leaders to set up a commemorative event advisory committee with letters of appointment delivered to each prospective attendee. Certificates were also awarded to outstanding alumni workers and volunteers at the scene as both a recognition for and an encouragement to their alumni-related works.

The Yang Shixian Scholarship is the highest honor and award established by the College of Chemistry. A donation ceremony was held at the event, where Academician Zhou Qilin donated 500,000 yuan to the Yang Shixian Scholarship from his 1 million yuan prize of the Major Achievement Award of the Nankai University Scientific Research Award this year, encouraging chemistry students of Nankai University to work even harder.

The ceremony ended with a rousing chorus of the university anthem. After the ceremony, Academician Zhou Qilin gave a lecture on “Chiral Material Chemistry”, which was also the first lecture of the “Centennial Nankai Chemistry Lecture Series”.

The chemistry discipline of Nankai University will celebrate its centennial anniversary on October 16, 2021. After the start of the commemorative event, a series of related activities will be carried out during the coming year to fully demonstrate the centennial development journey of Nankai’s chemistry discipline, displaying in full its academic achievements and contributions, summarizing its achievements in education, and pooling together its strength for further development. In the new era, it will continue to show the historical mission and social responsibility of people in Nankai and its College of Chemistry.

(Reported by Fang Lan, photographed by Qiqi Zong, Translated by Ziyu Wang, Edited by Davide Francolino and JianjingYun)