The State Key Laboratory of Elemento-Organic Chemistry (the “Laboratory”) convened its 2025 Academic Annual Meeting and 40^th Anniversary Conference in Tianjin on October 18-19. The event brought together nearly 500 participants, including distinguished scholars, institutional representatives, as well as faculty and students of the Laboratory.

The opening ceremony was attended by Nankai University (NKU) President Chen Yulu; Chen Jun, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and NKU Vice President; Tan Zhendong, Member of the Leadership Committee and Deputy Director of Tianjin Municipal Science and Technology Bureau, and Deputy Director of the Administrative Committee of Tiankai Higher Education Innovation Park; Tong Zhenhe and Song Licheng, both CAS Academicians and Academic Advisors of the Laboratory; Xi Zhenfeng, CAS Academician and Director of the Academic Committee; Zhou Qilin, CAS Academician and Vice-director of the Academic Committee; as well as CAS Academicians and Academic Committee Members Tu Yongqiang, Feng Xiaoming, Tang Yong, Xie Zuowei, and Wang Meixiang. The opening ceremony was presided over by Tang Pingping, Deputy Director of the Laboratory.

NKU President Chen Yulu extended a warm welcome to attending experts and guests. He remarked that elemento-organic chemistry serves as a critical bridge between fundamental science and industrial applications, and plays a vital role in China’s key national strategic priorities. He called on the Laboratory to take its 40^th anniversary as a new starting point to pioneer innovation, integrate scientific research and education, embrace the principle of open collaboration, and advance toward a world-class research hub in elemento-organic chemistry.

On behalf of the Tianjin Municipal Science and Technology Bureau, Deputy Director Tan Zhendong congratulated the Laboratory on its successful reorganisation. He emphasized that Tianjin has thoroughly implemented the important directives of President Xi Jinping, vigorously advanced revitalization through science, education, and talent development, and achieved comprehensive improvements in innovation capability and ecosystem vitality. He encouraged the Laboratory to focus on national missions, refine its operational mechanisms, and accelerate the translation of research outcomes.

This year marks the transition term for the Laboratory Academic Committee. At the opening ceremony, President Chen Yulu presented letters of appointment to the academic advisors and newly appointed members of the committee.

Academician Xi Zhenfeng delivered an address on behalf of the newly appointed Academic Committee. He noted that the Laboratory has aligned with the national missions and garnered fruitful outcomes in areas such as pesticide innovation, pharmaceutical research and development, and new energy materials over the past four decades. He affirmed that the Committee would adhere to the principle of “Upholding Legacy and Pioneering Innovation” to solidify the foundation for sustained advancement.

Cui Chunming, Director of the Laboratory, reviewed the Laboratory’s 40-year development journey. He affirmed that the Laboratory would continue to follow the guiding principles of the 20^th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, maintain equal emphasis on both basic and applied research while deepening industry-academia-research collaboration, to contribute to China’s high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-strengthening.

At the 2025 Academic Annual Meeting, Director Cui Chunming presented the annual work report. The meeting also featured keynote speeches by distinguished scholars and experts, including: Guo Zijian and Xie Zuowei, both CAS Academicians and Professors at Nanjing University; Eiichi Nakamura, Foreign Member of the Royal Society, Chair Professor at NKU, and Special-term Professor at the University of Tokyo; Frank Glorius, Member of the German National Academy of Sciences and Academia Europaea, and Professor at the University of Münster; Gong Jinlong, President of Tianjin Normal University and Professor at Tianjin University; and Tang Gongli, Researcher at Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, CAS.

Invited lectures were presented by Bi Xihe, Visiting Researcher of the Laboratory and Professor at Northeast Normal University; Prof. Huang Huanming and Prof. Yang Xiaoyu from ShanghaiTech University; Prof. Xie Weilong from Donghua University; Prof. Zhu Feng from Shanghai Jiao Tong University; Prof. He Chuan from Southern University of Science and Technology; Prof. Yang Ming from Lanzhou University; Prof. Lin Luqing from Dalian University of Technology; Prof. Wang Youliang from Xi’an Jiaotong University; Prof. Zhou Rong from Taiyuan University of Technology; Prof. Sun Huabing from Tianjin Medical University; Prof. Zhu Shifa from Zhejiang Sci-Tech University; as well as NKU faculty members—Prof. Zi Weiwei and Researcher Qiu Youai.

The State Key Laboratories Development Forum, held concurrently with the opening ceremony, brought together representatives from multiple state key laboratories for in-depth discussions centered on its theme. Participating institutions included: the State Key Laboratory of Coordination Chemistry, Nanjing University; the State Key Laboratory of Applied Organic Chemistry, Lanzhou University; the State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, Peking University; and other state key laboratories at NKU.

（Edited and translated by Nankai News Team.)