The Guangdong Mechanics Society recently unveiled the list of winners of its 2023 Science and Technology Awards.

Peng YU, Associate Professor of the Department of Mechanics and Aerospace Engineering at the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), received the Excellent Teaching Award, and Xiang LI, a postdoctoral fellow in his research group, received the Youth Science and Technology Award.

Peng YU’s research primarily centers on computational fluid dynamics and numerical heat transfer. His career at SUSTech has been marked by various accolades, including the 2019 Excellent Service Award, the 2020 Excellent Teacher and the Excellent Residential College Mentor Awards, and the 2022 Excellent Residential College Mentor Award.

Having mentored nearly 120 students across practical courses, he boasts a track record with a 100% employment rate among his graduates. His academic work extends to the leadership of university-level quality engineering and education reform projects, alongside active involvement in provincial-level projects.

In the area of scientific research, Peng YU has published over 110 SCI papers (including 28 as the first author and 49 as the corresponding author), been cited about 1,800 times according to the Web of Science database, has an h-index of 23, and has been recognized as one of the Top 2% of Scientists Worldwide by Stanford University on two occasions.

Among his work, one of his papers was selected as an Essential Science Indicators (ESI) hot paper, while four others were chosen as ESI highly cited papers, and he has had seven invention patents and 23 utility model patents authorized. Additionally, he has presided over 16 projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and has served as a core member in eight projects, including for the Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory.

In addition to his role as a postdoctoral fellow at SUSTech, Xiang LI serves as the Deputy Secretary-General of the Shenzhen Postdoctoral Association. His research focuses on multi-phase complex flow experiments and numerical calculations of ferrofluids.

He has led five projects at municipal, provincial, and national levels, including the NSFC’s Youth Fund Project and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation Special Funding Project.

His academic contributions include the publication of 17 academic papers, eight of which he authored or co-authored. Among these, 13 are SCI papers, with a cumulative citation count of 344. Notably, one of his papers, in which he served as the first author, was recognized as an ESI hot paper, and four others were chosen as ESI highly cited papers. Furthermore, his research has led to the authorization of 15 invention patents and over 30 utility model patents.

Xiang LI has also served as a reviewer for international journals such as Physics of Fluids and Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials, and has been named PoF Star Reviewer for four consecutive years.

He has been acknowledged through various awards and distinctions, including the 2013 Liaoning Provincial Government Scholarship, the 2017 International Young Research Award in Fluid Physics, the 2017 National Scholarship for Master’s Students, the 2018 China Telecom Scholarship, and the 2022 Outstanding Doctoral Graduate and Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Awards from SUSTech.

The selection process for the Science and Technology Awards consists of experts, including honorary directors and council members of the Guangdong Mechanics Society, as well as academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in mechanics and related fields.

The Excellent Teaching Award recognizes educators for their commitment to mechanics education and their role in training students in mechanics and related majors. Conversely, the Youth Science and Technology Award aims to honor young scientific and technological talents who have made outstanding contributions to the basic research or engineering application of mechanics.