Shanghai: The 5th Shanghai Master Forum on Science featured a lecture presented by Zhao Dongyuan, a leading scientist in the research and development of functional mesoporous materials, at the Xianghui Hall of Fudan University in Shanghai on Dec 28.
Zhao, who is currently the dean of the School of Chemistry and Materials at Fudan University, prepared 148 pages of slides for the 90-minute presentation, titled “Seeing through ‘holes’: The World—Endless Scientific Frontiers”. The lecture covered both the development of chemical science, innovative scientific thinking, and future subject development.
At the beginning of the lecture, Zhao introduced ancient Greek natural philosophy and shared how humans view matter from the perspective of a chemist and how to study material science from the molecular and atomic levels.
Looking back on the long history of chemical science, Zhao spoke about key figures such as Robert Boyle, the “father of chemistry” who opened the way to modern chemistry, John Dalton who founded atomic theory, Robert Burns Woodward, the “genius of organic synthesis”, and shared his thoughts on the scientific spirit.
“Chemists must be full of imagination and have the ability to be explorers,” said Zhao as he addressed the audience consisting of students from the university and nearby high schools, government officials and fellow researchers. “At the same time, chemistry is also an art of synthesis and an artistic science that needs to be inherited and innovated.”
Zhao then stressed on the scientific spirit of “love”.
“Curiosity is human instinct, and everyone has it. But to really make a difference in science, I think the most important thing is love. This love is not a simple interest, but a kind of rationality that comes from the heart. This drive is so strong that you are willing to give everything for it,” he said.
Zhao has been dedicated to the research of functional mesoporous materials for more than 20 years and had won international recognition for his achievements. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
