On March 24th, Prof. Jiang Lei, Dean of the School of Chemistry, was given the Humboldt Research Award in Bamberg by Prof. Hans-Christian Pape, President of Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in recognition of his achievements in the field of bionic interface and his lead in the development of Materials Chemistry in Asia. Prof. Markus Antonietti, Head of Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, evaluated Prof. Jiang’s achievements in this way: “His work contributed directly to the renaissance of colloid and interface chemistry”.
Prof. Jiang was receiving the award presented by Prof. Hans-Christian Pape
Certificate of the Humboldt Research Award
Prof. Jiang Lei is an inorganic chemist, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a foreign member of the National Academy of Engineering and a fellow of the World Academy of Sciences for the advancement of science in developing countries. His main achievement is the design and synthesis of surface material system with superwettability. Starting from the self-cleaning characteristic of lotus, Prof. Jiang found out that in some organisms’ two-dimensional planes, water-drop will transport in the form of self-moving. Then he developed a series of liquid transporting techniques for practical production and application in bionic way. What’s more, Prof. Jiang designed bionic nanochannels to obtain “blue energy”, the salinity energy. He also paid attention to the applications of his research products, like using superwettable equipment to achieve energy transformation, water purification and water collection in the desert area, which have produced huge social and economic benefits. The combination of bionic method and nanostructure is regarded as one of the most valuable fields in practical science.
Established in 1972, Humboldt Research Award is an award to outstanding scientists in the world except Germany in recognition of their great achievements. Until now, more than 40 Nobel Prize winners have been awarded this prize. According to the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, candidates should have original theories, findings or inventions in their research fields and contribute a lot to the developments of these fields. In addition, candidates should be recommended by four famous scholars in the field. This prize is the highest honor of Alexander von Humboldt Foundation given to foreign scholars and has a high international reputation.
Edited by Shi Yue
Translated by Liu Xinrui
