Source: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
Written by: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
Translated by: Yu Jingbing

On November 9, the Lehn Institute of Functional Materials (LIFM) Inaugural Ceremony &The International Advanced Functional Materials Symposium were successfully held at the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University.

The inaugural ceremony was hosted by Professor Chen Xiaoming, Director of LIFM and academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences. Attendants of the LIFM inaugural ceremony included Professor Jean-Marie Lehn, Honorary Director of LIFM and a 1987 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, Xu Ningsheng, President of SYSU, Ding Shouqing, Deputy Director General of the Department of Education of Guangdong Province, Qin Limo, Director of the Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs of Guangdong Province, Su Caifang, Deputy Director of Foreign Affairs Office, People’s Government of Guangdong Province, Bruno Bisso, Consul-General of the French Consulate General in Guangzhou, Wolfgang Kessle, Deputy Consul-General of the German Consulate General in Guangzhou, Thomas Korytko, Director of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) in Guangzhou, Gu Xiaohong, Secretary of the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at SYSU, Dieter Fenske, Deputy Director of LIFM and professor from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany, Su Chengyong, Deputy Director of LIFM and Professor at SYSU, top scholars from the U.S., Germany, France, Switzerland, Hong Kong and mainland China, persons in charge of the departments concerned in SYSU, faculty and student representatives and members of LIFM.

Renowned scholars from around the world were invited to present 11 reports on special topics at the symposium, including Professor Marcel Mayor from the University of Basel, Professor Hansjörg Grützmacher from Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Vivian Wing-Wah Yam, an academician from the University of Hong Kong, Professor Edwin Constable from the University of Basel, Professor Nicolas Winssinger from the University of Geneva, Academician Zhang Xi from Tsinghua University, Stefan Bernhard from Carnegie Mellon University, Academician Tian Zhongqun from Xiamen University, Professor Ulrich Simon from RWTH Aachen University, Academician Gao Song from Peking University and Professor Makoto Fujita from the University of Tokyo. They probed deeply into frontier issues in the fields of supramolecular chemistry, material science and life sciences, and engaged in heated discussions with students and teachers present at the symposium. During the symposium, Guangdong government officials, the French Consulate General in Guangzhou, the German Consulate General in Guangzhou and other guests visited LIFM offices, laboratories and research instruments, and gave high praise to the efforts of SYSU in the investment and management of scientific research, recruitment of talents and provision of services.

The symposium provides an opportunity for SYSU teachers and postgraduates to conduct multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary academic exchanges with a highstarting point and a wide scope, promotes the exchange of research findings, broadens their academic horizons and arouses their enthusiasm for academic research. It also encourages SYSU’s communications with internationally advanced research institutions in the frontiers of supramolecular and material chemistry, nanomaterial, crystal engineering, energy and environmental chemistry, and molecular and supramolecular electronics, during which they could discuss latest breakthroughs in the fields of functional composite materials, analyze new opportunities for disciplinary development and new problems in cross-disciplinary studies, providing SYSU faculty and students with a better access to the latest developments abroad, promoting SYSU’s collaborations and communications with world-renowned universities and extending SYSU’s influence in international academia.