On November 20th, the National Natural Science Foundation of China unveiled the recipients of the 2023 Regional Innovation and Development Joint Fund. A pioneering project spearheaded by Professor Zhang Daohong of School of Chemistry and Material Science, in collaboration with Huazhong University of Science and Technology and Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, was among the awarded. The project, “Preparation, Performance Tuning, and High-Value Recycling Mechanisms of Carbon Fiber-Biobased Epoxy Resin Composite Materials”, garnered a grant of 2.51 million yuan in direct funding from the prestigious fund.

The Regional Innovation and Development Joint Fund, a collaborative venture of the National Natural Science Foundation Committee and regional governments, seeks to harness top-tier scientific talent to address pressing regional economic and social developmental needs. The fund champions both fundamental and applied research targeting critical scientific challenges in regional development, fostering inter-regional and inter-sectoral innovation, and bolstering local autonomous innovative capabilities.

Professor Zhang Daohong’s team, recognized as a Hubei Provincial Natural Science Innovation Group, National Ethnic Affairs Commission Innovation Team, and Hubei Provincial Innovation and Entrepreneurship Strategy Team, has notably advanced the field of hyperbranched polymers. Leading 15 National Natural Science Foundation projects and over 30 major provincial and corporate-funded projects, they’ve published in leading journals including Nat Sustain, Adv Mater, Chem Soc Rev, and Angew Chem, securing over 70 international and national patents. Their industrial achievements include developing a range of hyperbranched polymer products and establishing the largest annual production line for these polymers, supplying over 200 educational and research institutions nationwide and providing high-performance, energy-efficient processing aids and key technologies to both domestic and international engineering plastic manufacturers. The team’s innovations have earned them two top prizes from the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation and a first prize in the Hubei Provincial Science and Technology Invention Awards.

To date in 2023, SCMU has successfully obtained 23 National Natural Science Foundation projects, encompassing one key project in the Regional Innovation and Development Joint Fund, 17 general projects, and five youth science fund projects.

2023 National Natural Science Foundation Project Approval List for SCMU:

Edited by Liu Qiong,  Reviewed by Lei Changsheng