“We look forward to the three newly elected academicians leading the development of their disciplines with vision and insight, gathering talent from around the world with their outstanding influence, and jointly composing a new chapter of high-quality development for the university.” On December 1, the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) held an Academician and Expert Symposium at the Faculty and Staff Activity Center to congratulate Haiping XIA, Weiping LIU, and Jun LI on their election as academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and to discuss the construction and development of the university’s high-level talent teams. University Council Chairperson Hong JIANG, President Qikun XUE, and university leaders Ling ZHANG, Wensheng YAO, Xiaodong HAN, along with representatives of the academicians, attended the event. The symposium was hosted by Academician Xueming YANG.

At the beginning of the meeting, student representatives presented flowers to Academicians Haiping XIA, Weiping LIU, and Jun LI, while Hong JIANG and Qikun XUE offered their best wishes to the three academicians.

Qikun XUE introduced the academic achievements of the three newly elected academicians and reported on the overall situation of this year’s nationwide selection of academicians. He stated that the outstanding accomplishments of the three academicians highlight China’s cutting-edge strength and broad prospects in the fields of chemistry and nuclear energy. Being elected as academicians is a high recognition of their personal academic contributions and will also inject new momentum into the research work of the university and the country. He hopes that the three academicians will take this as a new starting point, look to the future, set higher goals, and continue to make profound contributions in talent cultivation, discipline development, and other areas, contributing more wisdom and strength to the development of SUSTech as well as to scientific progress in China and the world.

During the free exchange session, the three newly elected academicians each delivered a speech.

Academician Haiping XIA stated that the title of academician is a profound trust, and even more, a brand new responsibility. He will take this as an opportunity to continue delving into scientific research, nurturing talented individuals, and actively participating in the development of the school’s disciplines and talent teams.

Academician Weiping LIU stated that being elected as an academician is not the end, but should be seen as a new starting point in his academic journey. He deeply feels a “great responsibility and an honorable mission,” and will actively promote the development of the university, the construction of the Greater Bay Area, and the advancement of atomic energy science, striving to serve social development through the power of science and technology.

Academician Jun LI expressed that he is very honored to work side by side with colleagues at SUSTech and grow together with them. He looks forward to further advancing the leapfrogging development of basic research in the future and deepening the application of quantum chemistry in areas such as rare earth materials and single-atom catalysis.

“We look forward to the three academicians achieving extraordinary accomplishments at SUSTech, driving the development of our departments.” “We hope the university continues to prosper and look forward to more teachers becoming new stars in academia.” “We are thrilled by the election of the three academicians and feel proud to be part of this outstanding university ourselves.” … Academicians Shuhong YU, Zhemanov, and Si LE, among others, expressed their appreciation during the exchange for the three newly elected academicians’ years of dedication and contributions in the field of scientific research. They hope that they will continue to play a leading role academically and together create an even more brilliant future at SUSTech.