Recently, Professor Mingyuan He, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a professor at East China Normal University, was awarded the 2023 China-France Chemistry Lectureship Award. This honor was conferred following the nomination by the Chinese Chemical Society and the selection by the French Chemical Society.
Professor Mingyuan He
Professor He is a lifelong professor at East China Normal University and the former Chief Engineer at the Petrochemical Research Institute of Sinopec. He has held several key positions, including standing member and vice director of the Chemistry Division of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, as well as council member and vice president of the International Catalysis Council and the International Zeolite Molecular Sieve Association. He was elected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1995.
Professor He has made numerous innovations and inventions in the fields of refining chemical processes and catalytic materials. He has contributed significantly to solving key technical challenges in areas such as heavy oil cracking, improving catalytic cracking gasoline octane ratings, and producing new standard gasoline. Since the 1990s, he has focused on applied basic research and technology development in green chemistry and chemical engineering. In 2000, he was appointed chief scientist of the national major basic research project in the field of "Green Chemistry in Petroleum Refining and Basic Organic Chemical Synthesis," and in 2003, he established the Shanghai Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry and Chemical Process. In recent years, Professor He has advocated for the concept of green carbon science, focusing on molecular transformation rules based on carbon balance and carbon cycle research, as well as exploring the reconstruction of carbon energy systems.
Professor He has been granted over 200 patents, published more than 200 papers, and authored several books. He has received numerous awards, including the second and third-class National Invention Awards and the National Top Ten Scientific Achievements. In 2001, he received the He Liang He Li Foundation Science and Technology Progress Award, and in 2012, he was awarded the China Catalysis Achievement Award. In 2013, he was awarded the Knight of the Order of Palm Leaves by the French Ministry of Education, and in 2016, he received an honorary doctorate from the École Normale Supérieure in Lyon, France. In 2019, he received the Chinese Molecular Sieve Lifetime Achievement Award from the Chinese Chemical Society, and in 2023, he received the Chemistry Contribution Prize of Chinese Chemical Society – China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation.
Professor He has made significant contributions to Sino-French academic exchanges and cooperation. Since 2005, he has actively promoted the establishment of a joint graduate school between East China Normal University and the École Normale Supérieure in Lyon, France, and has collaborated with French scholars to guide Ph.D. students. In addition, he has facilitated the organization of China-France Green Chemistry Conferences, enhancing academic exchanges and cooperation between the two countries in the field of green chemistry. Professor He has also co-initiated and led several international collaborative projects, particularly in green carbon science and catalysis research, further strengthening scientific research cooperation and technological exchange between China and France.
The China-France Chemistry Lectureship Award, established jointly by the Chinese Chemical Society and the French Chemical Society in 2013, is awarded annually, rotating between Chinese and French chemists. Previous recipients include:
- French winners:Pierre Dixneuf (2014), Serge Cosniere (2016), Michel Che (2018), Pierre Braunstein (2020), Didier Astruc (2022).
- Chinese winners:Shigang Sun (2015), He Tian (2017), Zhigang Shuai (2019), Can Li (2021), and Mingyuan He (2023).