Title: Dynamic Interfacial Electronics: Triboelectric Nanogenerators
Speaker: Academician Wang Zhonglin
Time: Saturday, October 31, 16:00–17:30 (Admission from 15:40, 20 minutes in advance)
Venue: Main Building M101, Xueyuan Road Campus
Organized by: School of Integrated Circuit Science and Engineering, Beihang University
Registration:
Students: Please register via the Boya platform.
Faculty and Staff: Please scan the QR code to register.
Abstract:
Dynamic Interfacial Electronics (DIFE) is an interdisciplinary field dedicated to investigating and harnessing the coupling between mechanical dynamics and electronic phenomena at interfaces. Built upon two fundamental physical mechanisms — contact electrification and piezoelectric effect — it aims to uncover new physics and chemistry, and establish new principles and technologies for generating, controlling, transporting and utilizing electronic signals as well as energy conversion via dynamic interfaces. Rooted in the pioneering discoveries of nanogenerators and piezotronics, these breakthroughs serve as two cornerstones for DIFE.
Contact electrification, commonly known as triboelectrification, is a classic interfacial phenomenon in nature. Recognized by humans for more than 2,600 years, it is ubiquitous in daily life and natural environments. Nevertheless, its profound scientific and technological implications have only been fully revealed and greatly expanded over the past two decades through the development of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs). Invented by Wang Zhonglin's team in 2012, TENGs operate based on the coupling of triboelectrification and electrostatic induction to convert mechanical energy into electricity.
Today, TENG technology plays an indispensable role in distributed energy harvesting and self-powered systems, with wide applications spanning the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, environmental and infrastructure monitoring, medical science, environmental science, security and other key areas. Notably, TENGs exhibit unparalleled advantages in harvesting high-entropy energy — random, low-density, low-grade mechanical energy that is widely and pervasively available in living surroundings and nature. The rapid growth of this field is reflected by active participation from over 30,000 researchers across more than 100 countries and regions, who have jointly published more than 15,000 scientific papers.
This lecture will first highlight the fundamental scientific advances driven by TENGs within the framework of Dynamic Interfacial Electronics, with a special focus on emerging findings in fundamental physics, chemistry, energy and sensing technologies. It will then delve into the broader industrial impacts of TENGs and their remarkable contributions to sustainable development and the progress of human society.
About the Speaker:
Academician Wang Zhonglin is Director of the Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and former Regents' Professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, USA. He is the recipient of three top international awards: the Global Energy Prize (2023), the Albert Einstein World Award of Science (2019), and the ENI Award (2018, known as the "Nobel Prize" for energy). He also received the International Science and Technology Cooperation Award of the People's Republic of China (2013) and the Beijing Zhongguancun Outstanding Contribution Award (2026).
He is an International Fellow of the CAS, Royal Academy of Engineering (UK), National Academy of Inventors (USA), European Academy of Sciences, and Canadian Academy of Engineering. He is the founding Editor-in-Chief of the renowned international journal Nano Energy. He currently serves as the founding Editor-in-Chief of SmartSys, MedMat, Ocean, and Electromagnetic Information Engineering. He is also a Visiting Chair Professor at the School of Materials Science and Engineering, Peking University, and Director of the Advanced Materials and Intelligent Manufacturing Committee of the Chinese Association of Development Strategy Studies.
Wang's academic influence extends globally. According to the World's Top 2% Scientists 2025 released by Elsevier and Stanford University, he ranks No. 1 worldwide in both the "Career-Long Impact" and "Single-Year Impact" categories. This marks the sixth consecutive year that he has topped the Single-Year Impact ranking. His Google Scholar citations exceed 560,000 with an h-index of 354. His research outcomes boast extensive industrial applications. He has initiated and incubated seven companies.
Editor: Liu Tingting
