On July 1, 2026, Hong JIANG, University Council Chairperson of the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), led a delegation to visit and extend their regards to Academicians Mingjie ZHANG and Xiaofei CHEN, who won the Fourth National Innovation Pioneer Award. SUSTech’s University Council Vice-Chairperson, Ling ZHANG; Member, University Council, Yi GONG; and others also participated in the visit.

At the School of Life Sciences, Hong JIANG and her delegation visited laboratories such as the Optical Platform. Academician Mingjie ZHANG introduced the progress of the School of Life Sciences’ research development, the recruitment of top-level talents, and the faculty team building. He said that the strong academic culture and open, inclusive atmosphere at SUSTech provides an ideal environment for teachers and students to study and conduct research, and he feels very honored to carry out research work here.

Hong JIANG congratulated Academician Mingjie ZHANG on winning the Fourth National Innovation Pioneer Award and highly praised the achievements of the School of Life Sciences in teaching and research. She said that a new research-oriented university should leave more time and resources for professors to focus on scholarship as well as to students for their growth and success. SUSTech will continue to support the school in building world-class research teams and contribute more to SUSTech’s “Double First-Class” initiative.

Afterwards, Hong JIANG and her delegation visited the College of Science and toured the Ocean Electromagnetic-Seismic Integrated Instrument Laboratory. Academician Xiaofei CHEN expressed gratitude for the care and support from the SUSTech University Council and introduced relevant research, teaching, and student development. 

Hong JIANG congratulated Academician Xiaofei CHEN on receiving the Fourth National Innovation Pioneer Award and fully recognized the related research work of the Department of Earth and Space Sciences at the College of Science. She inquired with interest about the progress of the “SUSTech-1” research project and said that SUSTech’s “SUSTech-1” satellite is an important achievement of collaborative innovation between China’s commercial aerospace and universities. She hopes the Department of Earth and Space Sciences will continue to focus on frontier areas like deep space, deep sea, and deep earth, fully leveraging the teamwork of research teams to strive for more significant scientific results. SUSTech will continue to uphold the “Four Orientations,” to deepen frontier research, and work to create a better academic and innovative environment for all kinds of talent. 

This visit is part of the “Chairperson Visits the Grassroots” series of research activities. Since the launch of the event in 2023, Chairperson Hong JIANG has continuously led teams to visit various departments and units at SUSTech and has paid visits and extended regards to SUSTech’s high-level talent representatives.