National Institute of Advanced Materials

Technology is the foundation of a nation’s prosperity; innovation is the soul of a country’s development. On the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering in June 2014, President Xi Jinping emphasized that to follow the strategy of innovation as an impetus for development, independent innovation should be the essence of this strategy and the most urgent thing to do is to eliminate the system and mechanism obstacles so as to free up the huge potentials of science and technology as the primary force of productivity.

After reaching an agreement with companies and local government, depending on technological and talent advantages of Nankai University as well as the investment and industrial demand of companies and local government, National Institute of Advanced Materials of Nankai University was founded. It aims at combining the demands of both the government and the market, taking “innovation as an impetus for development” as purpose, and discovering the innovative system of “arranging innovative chain around industrial chain; improving capital chain around innovative chain”, to establish an advanced material technology research base with international level.

In fund raising, the Institute will cooperate with Zhongzhi Enterprise Group (ZEG) and local government, bringing in investment for research. At present, the cooperation agreement with ZEG has already been signed on 11 May 2015. According to the agreement, ZEG will donate 50 million yuan to Nankai University in five years for co-establishing National Institute of Advanced Materials. 15 million yuan, as a down payment, is already received.

Advanced material is not only scientific frontier researching subject, but also the foundation of advanced manufacturing industry, which is an indispensable pillar industry in national economy and defense security. Materials Genome Initiative (MGI) promoted and implemented by the government will change the traditional mode of material research and development and its industrialization. Shortening the period of putting the advanced materials from the laboratory to the market is a significant strategic transformation of advanced material research. Clean energy is an important pivot in energy structure reform as well as the whole economic structure reform, and also an essential approach to energy saving, emission reduction and air pollution controlling. Therefore, advanced material and clean energy are key science and technology confronting with national important strategic demand and economic requirement in solving energy crisis, resource shortage, environmental pollution, etc.

To implement the national developmental strategy “Promote energy system reformation” and master the strategic commanding point of energy technology, the Institute is planning to build a research system depending on advanced materials. Combining with MGI and taking clean energy as the direction, the Institute puts its position on the research on the foundation and application of advanced materials as well as the development of clean and new alternative energy to promote the transformation of advanced materials’ technological results and cultivate scientific talents in advanced materials. The Institute is going to open to the whole world, becoming a research institute of strategic importance in the area of the world.

Talent is the most pivotal factor of technological innovation. To appeal technological innovative talents, the Institute is planning to recruit world-class prominent scientists, leading personnel and youth talents in the area of advanced material and energy all over the world to build a technological team of advanced material and energy research with a reasonable structure. Moreover, to adapt the requirements of innovative system, the Institute will discover and establish a new management and operation system or competition system. Representatives of the government, the University and enterprises constitute the Council; and top-level Chinese and foreign experts constitute the Academic Council. Two Councils systematically arrange the research direction and core teams. Carrying out Tenure track as personnel system, the Institute adopts the elimination system. The Institute signs salary agreements with core faculties and adjusts according to periodical assessment in order to build a highly open, mobile and international system.

National Institute of Advanced Materials of Nankai University was founded to adapt to the new trend of national innovation and development as well as the strategic and economic demand in advanced material and energy. The Institute will be promote constructing new scientific innovative system, gathering talents and releasing new innovative energy. The Institute will also make the innovative breakthrough by discovering the technological frontier of advanced material and energy and seize the opportunity of future development.