Newly elected members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (chemistry division) in 2023

In November 2023, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) announced the newly elected members. In this Profile column, we introduce 10 Chinese and five foreign members in the chemistry division of the CAS. Congratulations to all the elected academicians!

Junbiao Chang Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, ChinaJunbiao Chang is a Professor and the Vice President of Zhengzhou University. He obtained his Ph.D. degree in 1996 from the Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Then he conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Georgia and later at GNF (USA). Currently, he holds positions as the Director of the State Key Laboratory of Antiviral Drugs and President of the Henan Pharmaceutical Association. He has received awards including the National Natural Science Award (2nd class), the Patent Gold Award from both the World Intellectual Property Organization and the China National Intellectual Property Administration, and so on. His research interests involve designing and synthesizing new small-molecule drugs to treat viral infections, cancer, and cerebral vascular diseases. He has successfully developed several drug candidates that have advanced into clinical trials. Notably, he successfully developed a new drug called Azvudine for AIDS treatment which obtained official approval from the National Medical Products Administration for marketing purposes. Furthermore, Azvudine has been approved in China and Russia for treating coronavirus disease 2019. To date, he has published over 300 peer-reviewed papers in prestigious journals such as Science and Nature, filed more than 40 patents in China along with 8 patents in the United States and 5 patents in Europe, additionally securing multiple patents across countries including Russia and Japan.

Chunying Chen National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, ChinaChunying Chen is a Professor at the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology of China. She received her bachelor's degree in Chemistry (1991) and Ph.D. degree in Biomedical Engineering (1996) from Huazhong University of Science and Technology. Her research interests include analytical techniques for nano−protein corona and the transformation and fate of nanomaterials in biota that provided fundamental insights for the rational design of precision nanomedicine. With the development of quantitative approaches, she also contributed to the understanding of nano-bio interaction and therefore enhancing the therapeutic efficacy against malignant tumors and infectious diseases using theranostic nanomedicine and vaccine nanoadjuvant innovation. She has published over 380 peer-reviewed articles on Nat. Nanotech., Nat. Methods, Nat. Protocols, Nat. Commun., PNAS, J. Am. Chem. Soc., Angew. Chem., Anal. Chem., etc., with over 48,700 citations and an H-index of 119. She serves as Associate Editor of ACS Nano and Editorial Board Member of several peer-reviewed journals. In recognition of her contributions to science and development, she has received numerous awards, including the IUPAC Distinguished Women in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering (2023), the Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) Chemistry Award (2022), RSC Environment Prize (2021), ACS Bioconjugate Chemistry Lectureship Award (2021), the National Natural Science Award (2nd class, 1st winner, 2018 and 2nd class, 2nd winner, 2012), CAS Outstanding Female Awards (2017), and Chinese Young Female Scientists Award (2014). She was elected as a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering in 2021 and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry in 2016.

Huisheng Peng Fudan University, Shanghai, ChinaHuisheng Peng received his B.Eng. degree in Polymer Materials from Donghua University in China in 1999, M.Sc. degree in Polymer Science from Fudan University in China in 2003, and Ph.D. degree in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from Tulane University in USA in 2006. He worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory, US Department of Energy from 2006 to 2008. He has been appointed as a Professor at the Department of Macromolecular Science and Laboratory of Advanced Materials at Fudan University since 2008 and become a University Professor since 2019. He focuses on the study of fiber electronics, an interface direction of chemistry, physics, biology, energy, and engineering. He has published over 350 peer-reviewed papers and owns 98 issued patents. He contributed to Aggregate with a Review themed on carbon nanotube-based flexible sensors.^[1]

Feng-Ling Qing Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, ChinaFeng-Ling Qing obtained his Ph.D. degree in 1990 from the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences. From 1992 to 1995, he worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher at Wyeth Research in the United States. In 1997, he was promoted to Professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. From 1999 to 2009, he served as the Director of the Key Laboratory of Organofluorine Chemistry at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In 2000, he became a Professor at Donghua University. Since 2023, he has been serving as the Director of the Key Laboratory of Fluorine and Nitrogen Chemistry and Advanced Materials (Chinese Academy of Sciences). He was selected as Cheung Kong Scholar Professor by the Ministry of Education of China in 2001, received the National Science Fund of China for Distinguished Young Scholars in 2003, and was awarded the National Natural Science Award (2nd class) in 2019. His research focuses on organofluorine chemistry and fluorinated materials. Since starting independent research in 1995, he has published over 300 research papers. In 2007, he published a book on “Organic Fluorine Chemistry” and has delivered more than 80 invited lectures at international conferences on fluorine chemistry and fluorinated materials.

Zhiyong Tang National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, ChinaZhiyong Tang is a Professor at the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology of China. He received his B.S. (1993) and M.S. (1996) degrees from Wuhan University, China. He earned her Ph.D. degree (1999) from the Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry of Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences. After 6 years of postdoctoral research at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Oklahoma State University, and the University of Michigan, he won the 100-Talent Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and joined the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology in 2006. His research interests mainly focus on controllable synthesis, property manipulation, and practical application in energy and environment of self-assembled functional nanomaterials. His discoveries have led to more than 400 publications in Science, Nature, Nat. Nanotech., Nat. Chem., Nat. Energy, Nat. Commun., etc., with over 46,000 citations. He has received the National Natural Science Award (2nd class, 2018), and the TWAS Award in Chemistry (2019).

Ren-gen Xiong Nanchang University, Nanchang, ChinaRen-gen Xiong obtained his bachelor's degree from Jiangxi University (Nanchang University) in 1982. he earned a Ph.D. degree in engineering from Logistical Engineering College. From 1994 to 1998, he conducted Postdoctoral and Visiting Scholar Research at the Coordination Chemistry Institute of Nanjing University, the University of Puerto Rico, Brandeis University, and Boston College. From 1999 to 2006, he served as a Professor at Nanjing University. Since 2006, he has been a Professor and the Director of the Order Matter Science Research Center at Southeast University. Currently, he is the Dean of the International Institute of Orderly Matter Science Research at Nanchang University. He is a pioneer in the research of molecular ferroelectric materials and established the field of ferroelectrochemistry. As a corresponding author, he has published more than 100 papers in mainstream journals, including Science (5 papers), PNAS (1 paper), J. Am. Chem. Soc. (52 papers), Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. (22 papers), Phys. Rev. Lett. (5 papers), Natl. Sci. Rev. (2 papers), Adv. Mater. (14 papers), Nat. Commun. (6 papers), Acc. Chem. Res. (1 paper), Chem. Rev. (1 paper), Chem. Soc. Rev. (5 papers), and more. His papers have been cited more than 22,000 times, and he has an H-index of 92.

Guoan Ye China Institute of Atomic Energy, Beijing, ChinaGuoan Ye graduated from the Department of Chemistry with a major in Radiochemistry at Sichuan University in 1986. In 2002, he obtained a Ph.D. degree in Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Materials from the China Institute of Atomic Energy. Now he serves as the Chief Expert of China National Nuclear Corporation and a researcher at the China Institute of Atomic Energy. He also serves as a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency's Technical Working Group on Nuclear Fuel Cycle Options and the Chairman of the Nuclear Chemical Division of the Chinese Nuclear Society. He has been dedicated to the research of actinide chemistry and nuclear fuel reprocessing technology. Since 1986, he has led his team to complete various key research tasks including successfully addressing the separation challenges of actinide elements. In 2013, 2016, and 2020, he received the National Science and Technology Progress Award three times.

Shu-Li You Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, ChinaShu-Li You received his B.S. degree in chemistry from Nankai University (1996). He obtained his Ph.D. degree from the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry (SIOC) in 2001 under the supervision of Prof. Lixin Dai before doing postdoctoral studies with Prof. Jeffery Kelly at The Scripps Research Institute. From 2004, he worked at the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation as a Principal Investigator before returning to SIOC as a Professor in 2006. He is currently appointed as Deputy Director of SIOC. His research interests mainly focus on asymmetric C–H functionalization and catalytic asymmetric dearomatization reactions. He has published over 370 research papers in internationally peer-reviewed journals (>27,000 citations; H-index = 91, November 2023). He is the recipient of the AstraZeneca Excellence in Chemistry Award (2011), RSC Merck Award (2015), Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation Prize for Scientific and Technological Innovation (2016), National Natural Science Award (2nd class, 2017), and Xplorer Prize (2019). He has been an Associate Editor for J. Am. Chem. Soc. since January 2021.

Nanfeng Zheng Xiamen University, Xiamen, ChinaNanfeng Zheng received his bachelor's degree from Xiamen University in 1998. In 2005, he obtained his Ph.D. degree from the University of California-Riverside. From 2005 to 2007, he worked as a Research Associate at the University of California-Santa Barbara. In 2007, he moved to Xiamen University as a Full Professor and was appointed as a Changjiang Chair Professor in 2010. He is currently serving as the Director of the Innovation Laboratory for Sciences and Technologies of Energy Materials of Fujian Province with the mission to conduct pioneering research and facilitate the transfer of technology, with a focus on advancing new energy solutions for societal benefit. His research focuses on the surface and interface chemistry of functional materials, bridging the realms of fundamental exploration and practical applications, particularly in the fields of catalysis, energy, and environmental science. Several catalytic technologies derived from his discoveries have already been practically applied in industry. He has published more than 300 papers in journals such as Science and Nature with over 33,000 citations and obtained over 50 nationally authorized patents. He has received a number of awards including the National Natural Science Award (2nd class, 2018), National Teaching Achievement Award of China (2nd class, 2018), Ho Leung Ho Lee Science and Technology Innovation Award (2021), Xplorer Prize (2019), Chinese National Young Scientist Award (2016), and Distinguished Young Investigator Award from NNSF-China (2009). He was selected as a Chinese Chemical Society Fellow in 2022, and a New Cornerstone Investigator in 2023.

Wei-Hong Zhu East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST), Shanghai, ChinaWei-Hong Zhu received his B.S. degree in Chemistry in 1992 from Nanjing Normal University, his M.S. degree in Organic Chemistry in 1995 from Nankai University, and a Ph.D. degree in Applied Chemistry in 1999 from ECUST, China. He worked in AIST Central 5, Tsukuba (Postdoctoral Fellow, 2001.10–2003.4) and Tsukuba University (Visiting Professor, 2004.7–2005.3), Japan. He became a Full Professor in 2004. Now he is serving as the Vice President of ECUST, and the Director of the Institute of Fine Chemicals. He has published more than 340 SCI papers in international journals including Science, Nature, Nat. Photonics, J. Am. Chem. Soc., Angew. Chem. and so on, with an H-index of 82, selected as the Highly Cited Researcher in the field of Chemistry by Clarivate. He received the National Science Fund of China for Distinguished Young Scholars (2013) and was selected as a Cheung Kong Scholar Professor by the Ministry of Education of China (2015). He has received several awards, including the National Natural Science Award (2nd class, 1st winner, 2019), the Shanghai Natural Science Award (1st class, 1st winner, 2017), and the Shanghai Science and Technology Progress Award (1st class, 1st winner, 2020). He contributed to Aggregate with a Research Article themed on aggregation-induced emission.^[2] His current research interests focus on photosensitized chemical products with functional chromophores, including fluorescent sensors, photochromism, and metal-free solar cell sensitizers.

Andrew I. Cooper University of Liverpool, UKAndrew I. Cooper is a Nottingham graduate (1991), obtaining his Ph.D. degree there in 1994 with Prof. Martyn Poliakoff, FRS. Then he held an 1851 Fellowship and a Royal Society NATO Fellowship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA, working with Prof. Joseph M. DeSimone (1995–1997). He then held a Ramsay Memorial Research Fellowship at the Melville Laboratory for Polymer Synthesis in Cambridge, working with Prof. Andrew B. Holmes, FRS (1997–1999). He joined Liverpool in 1999, initially as a Royal Society University Research Fellow. He is the Founding Director of the Centre for Materials Discovery (established in 2007) and is the Academic Director of the new Materials Innovation Factory (MIF).  Previously, he was Head of Chemistry in Liverpool (2007–2009) and was the first Head of the School of Physical Sciences over the period Jan 2010–Dec 2011. He has also previously served on the University Council. In 2015, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society. His research interests are polymeric materials, porous organic cages, crystal engineering, supercritical fluids, CO₂ capture, materials for energy production, and high-throughput materials methodology.  He has been awarded the Macro Group Young Researchers Award (2002), the RSC Award in Environmentally Friendly Polymers (2005), the McBain Medal (2007), the Corday-Morgan Prize (2009), the Macro Group Award (2010), a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award, and the Tilden Prize (2014). In 2011, he was named in a Thomson Reuters list as one of the Top 100 materials scientists of the last decade. He is also listed in the 2014 Thompson Reuters Highly Cited Researcher list, one of just 13 UK researchers listed in the categories of Chemistry or Materials Science.

Klaus Müllen Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, GermanKlaus Müllen is the Director at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research and is continuing research at the Universities of Heidelberg and Cologne. His broad research interests range from new polymer-forming reactions to the chemistry and physics of single molecules as well as graphene, dendrimers, and biosynthetic hybrids. He has published about 2000 papers. He has received many awards, honorary doctorates, and honorary professorships and he is a member of national and international academies. From 2008 to 2009, he served as president of the German Chemical Society. In 2013–2014, he was president of the German Association for the Advancement of Science and Medicine. In 2010, he won an ERC Advanced Grant for his work on nanographene. He was an Associate Editor of J. Am. Chem. Soc.

Konstantin Novoselov Foreign Associate of the National Academy of Sciences, USAProf. Sir Konstantin ‘Kostya’ Novoselov FRS graduated from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and undertook his Ph.D. studies at the University of Nijmegen in the Netherlands before moving to the University of Manchester in 2001. Later, he joined the National University of Singapore in 2019. He is a Director of the Institute of Functional Intelligent Materials and holds the position of a Tan Chin Tuan Centennial Professor at the National University of Singapore. He is also a part-time Langworthy Professor of Physics and the Royal Society Research Professor at the University of Manchester. He has published more than 400 peer-reviewed research papers. He is best known for isolating graphene at the University of Manchester in 2004 and is an expert in condensed matter physics, mesoscopic physics, and nanotechnology. Every year since 2014, he has been included in the list of the most highly cited researchers in the world. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2010 for his achievements with graphene. He was awarded numerous prizes, including the Nicholas Kurti Prize (2007), the International Union of Pure and Applied Science Prize (2008), the MIT Technology Review Young Innovator (2008), the Europhysics Prize (2008), Bragg Lecture Prize from the Union of Crystallography (2011), the Kohn Award Lecture (2012), Leverhulme Medal from the Royal Society (2013), Onsager medal (2014), Carbon medal (2016), Dalton medal (2016), Otto Warburg Prize (2019), and John von Neumann Professor from the John von Neumann Computer Society (2022) among many others. He was knighted in the 2012 New Year Honors.

Martyn Poliakoff University of Nottingham, UKProf. Sir Martyn Poliakoff CBE FREng FRS is a Research Professor of Chemistry at the University of Nottingham, UK. He studied at King's College, Cambridge, Ph.D. (1973) under the supervision of J. J. Turner FRS on the Matrix Isolation of Large Molecules. In 1972, he was appointed Research Officer in the Department of Inorganic Chemistry of the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. In 1979, he moved to Nottingham. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society (2002), of the RSC (2002), and of the IChemE (2004). He was awarded CBE (2008) for “Services to Sciences” and knighted in 2015 for “Services to the Chemical Sciences”. He was made an Honorary Member of the Chemical Society of Ethiopia (2008), a Foreign Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences (2011), and an Honorary Fellow of the Chinese Chemical Society (2015). He was elected a Fellow of the Academia Europaea (2012) and Associate Fellow of TWAS (2013), the World Academy of Science and Associate Member of the Ethiopian Academy of Sciences (2014), Honorary Fellow of the RSC (2015), Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2016) and Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (2017). He was Foreign Secretary and Vice-President of the Royal Society (2011–2016). He was appointed Honorary Professor at Beijing University of Chemical Technology (2018) and was awarded the International Science and Technology Cooperation Award of the People's Republic of China (2019). He has received honorary doctorates from the New University of Lisbon (2019), Newcastle University (2022), and Warwick University (2023). His research interests focus on supercritical fluids, continuous reactions, and their applications to Green and Sustainable Chemistry. Since 2008, he and his colleagues have collaborated with video maker Brady Haran to make chemistry videos for the YouTube channel Periodic Videos.

Jonathan L. Sessler University of Texas, USAJonathan L. Sessler received a B.S. degree (with highest honors) in Chemistry in 1977 from the University of California, Berkeley. He obtained a Ph.D. degree in Organic Chemistry from Stanford University in 1982 (Supervisor: Professor James P. Collman). He was an NSF-CNRS and NSF-NATO Postdoctoral Fellow with Professor Jean-Marie Lehn at Louis Pasteur de Strasbourg, France. He was then a JSPS Visiting Scientist in Professor Tabushi's group in Kyoto, Japan. In 1984, he accepted a position as Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the University of Texas at Austin. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 1989 and promoted to Full Professor in 1992. He has authored or co-authored over 200 research publications, written one book (with Dr. Steven J. Weghorn), and been an inventor of record on almost 60 issued or allowed US Patents. He is also a co-founder (with Dr. Richard A. Miller) of Pharmacyclics, Inc., a publicly traded company dedicated to developing various biomedical applications of expanded porphyrins. He has won numerous awards for both his teaching and research and was recently named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.