First annual meeting of International Advisory Committee, Department of Chemistry

On October 11 and 13, the International Advisory Committee of Department of Chemistry held the 1st annual meeting in the Chemistry Building, Tsinghua University. Hosted by Prof. Lei Liu, the Department Chair, this meeting included nearly 30 attendees:

Qionglin Liang—Secretary of the department, and Department Affairs Committee members Huaping Xu, Sanzhong Luo, Quanming Wang, Ying Yu and Hao Zhang, members of the International Advisory Committee, and representatives from every research institute of the department.

The meeting began with an introduction of the Department of Chemistry by Prof. Liu, covering the overview, students/education, faculty members and research, and current challenges. The committee members provided comments on strategic planning and academic standards, faculty recruitment and international evaluation, promotion of international reputation and recognition, and international collaboration. All attendees had a lively discussion and exchanged their ideas on the future developments of this department.

The International Advisory Committee was founded earlier this month as a practice aligned with the plan of Tsinghua University to become a world-class university. The Department Affairs Committee invited 9 world-renowned chemists as the founding committee members, including Prof. Fraser Stoddart—a Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, Prof. Takuzo Aida from the University of Tokyo, Prof. Alexis Bell from UC Berkeley, USA, Prof. Steven Boxer—Dean of the Department of Chemistry at Stanford University, Prof. Avelino Corma from Universitat Politécnica de València, Prof. Shana O. Kelley from the University of Toronto, Prof. Herbert Mayr from the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Prof. Itmar Willner from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Prof. Vivian Wing-Wah YAM from the University of Hong Kong. The committee aims to provide strategic advice and intellectual support for the development of the Chemistry Department and help it to establish an international resource network for long-term development.