70th Anniversary of the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Lanzhou University
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“In the autumn of 70 years ago, the first pioneers arrived in Lanzhou, located in the desolate, isolated, poor and underdeveloped interior of the West, and established the Department of Chemistry at the National Lanzhou University at Cuiyingmen. At that time, there were just over 10 faculty members; the equipment was rudimentary, with a shortage of instruments and reagents. When there were no lights, they generated power on their own, and when there was no water, they carried it from the Yellow River by hand. When no equipment was available, they made it themselves, overcoming numerous difficulties that would be hard for ordinary people to imagine. ”On October 16, Liang Yongmin, Dean of the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Lanzhou University, delivered a speech titled \"Moving Forward with Determination to Achieve Further Success\" in Lanzhou, recounting the university’s 70-year development history. On that day, a celebration ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Lanzhou University, as well as the 30th anniversary of the founding of the **Key Laboratory of Functional Organic Molecular Chemistry, was held at Lanzhou University. More than 900 people attended the celebration, including leaders and guests from 98 sister institutions across the country, heads of various departments and schools at Lanzhou University, representatives of alumni from all levels and generations of the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, current faculty and staff, retired faculty and staff, as well as student representatives.
Liang Yongmin said that over 70 years of development, the institution has received various awards and honors, “the teaching staff, students and alumni, and the institutional spirit are our three most important assets.” Over 70 years of dedicated effort in nurturing talent and providing education, we have trained 9,536 undergraduates, 1,511 master’s students, 870 doctoral students, and more than 2,400 participants in various continuing education programs. Especially since the reform and opening up, 4 of our alumni have been elected as academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and 38 alumni have received the **Outstanding Young Scientist Fund, placing us among the top universities of this kind in the country. “In the future, our goal is to develop the chemistry discipline at Lanzhou University into a world-class discipline that remains at the forefront of academic research. ”Liang Yongmin said that the hospital will continue to implement its international cooperation strategy. To date, the institute has established close ties with over 40 internationally renowned universities, chemical research institutions, and enterprises in more than 10 countries and regions. In the future, efforts will be made to deepen and expand substantive cooperation and exchanges with world-class disciplines and research institutions. This includes inviting outstanding overseas faculty members to give lectures at the university, fostering international research collaborations among young teachers, organizing international academic conferences, increasing the proportion of students participating in short-term exchange programs, and attracting more international students to study here. This will help bring Lanzhou University’s chemistry discipline to the global stage, as well as enable the world to engage with this discipline at Lanzhou University.
In his speech, Wang Cheng, the president of Lanzhou University, said that he hopes the chemistry discipline will closely integrate with the university’s various initiatives aimed at achieving the \"Double First-Class\" status. It is necessary to develop a strategic plan for the development of this discipline, to plan the talent pool in a scientific manner based on the needs of discipline development, to focus equally on both attracting talent and training existing staff, to provide good working conditions and continuous support in terms of resources, and to stimulate the enthusiasm and creative potential of young teachers, thereby creating an academic hierarchy with a more rational structure and clearer levels. Wang Cheng also said that he hopes the field of chemistry will continue to uphold its fundamental role in talent cultivation, further develop an educational philosophy that integrates scientific research with the training of innovative talents, actively promote interdisciplinary collaboration, and foster a positive interaction between teaching and research aimed at joint talent development. This will enable the training of more high-quality professionals in chemistry and chemical engineering, especially top-tier innovative talents with an international perspective who are capable of competing on the global stage. It is hoped that the field of chemistry will remain at the forefront of global scientific and technological development, focus on fundamental research, promote original innovation, and strive to produce groundbreaking achievements that can make a significant contribution to the progress of human civilization ； At the same time, it is necessary to focus on **strategic needs, accelerate the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, serve the main frontiers of economic and social development, and support the construction of innovation systems at the institutional, industry, and regional levels.
It is reported that chemistry is a traditional strength of Lanzhou University, tracing its origins back to the Department of Chemistry at the National Lanzhou University established in 1946. After 70 years of development, the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Lanzhou University, along with its Key Laboratory of Functional Organic Molecular Chemistry, has now become a teaching and research team with strong capabilities and a high standard of professionalism. It is renowned both domestically and internationally for cultivating high-quality talents and producing cutting-edge research results, serving as an important hub for the training of advanced professionals in chemistry and chemical engineering in the western region.