The School of Chemical & Material Engineering at Jiangnan University was founded in 1958, which originates from the Department of Chemical Engineering at Wuxi Institute of Light Industry. For a long-term goal, we try to meet the urgent need of national, industrial and regional economic development and insist on the objective of “industry oriented, collaborative innovation and characteristic development”. We are engaged in in-depth research on frontier scientific issues and key technologies in the fields of fine chemistry, material science and engineering. We pay attention to interdisciplinary research, cultivating innovative talents and building first-class research platforms. We have made a number of research achievements with original innovation in recent years and the School has developed to a high-level research platform in the fields of colloid/interface chemistry, surfactants, cosmetics, new catalytic technologies, functional materials and coatings etc., playing a leading role in China and also showing a remarkable impact internationally. In the ESI global university disciplines ranking of USA, two disciplines relating to our School, chemistry science entered into top ranking of 0.13%, material science entered into top ranking of 0.27%.

1．Research Platform

The School of Chemical & Material Engineering is composed of the Department of Chemical Engineering, the Department of Material Science & Engineering and the Department of Applied Chemistry, which correspondingly administrates National Featured Specialties of Chemical Engineering & Technology and Polymer Material & Engineering, Jiangsu Province Featured Specialty of Applied Chemistry for undergraduates, respectively. The School has been authorized to award Ph. D. degrees in Chemical Engineering & Technology and Leather Chemistry & Engineering, MS degrees in Chemical Engineering & Technology, Polymer Material & Engineering and Leather Chemistry & Engineering, Professional MS degrees in Chemical Engineering and Material Engineering. Most of the disciplines are financially supported by the "211 Project" of China. The School also hosts a number of national and regional research platforms including the Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Biological Colloids (Ministry of Education), International Research Center for Photosensitive Functional Molecular Materials, the “Formulation of Functional Molecules, Aggregates and Devices” supported by 111 Project, Postdoctoral Research Center of Chemical Engineering & Technology, and Research Center of Industrial Chromatographic Separation Engineering & Technology of Jiangsu Province. We also set up a series of joint research centers collaborating with some famous domestic or global enterprises and research institutions.

2．Research Activities

Research activities in our School are subdivided into 2 main clusters including Chemical Engineering and Materials Science & Engineering. We have various research groups specialized in the following fields:

Chemical Engineering:

(1)Colloid and Interface Chemistry. In-depth researches on basic theory, molecular design and synthetic techniques of novel functional surfactants.

(2) Functional Materials Chemistry. Design and applications of various frontier functional materials such as light responsive molecular materials, advanced carbon nanomaterials, polymeric membrane materials and composite materials.

(3) Industrial Catalysts and Additives. Integrated researches on design, synthesis and industrial assessment of catalysts and additives relating to fine chemicals such as environment-friendly plasticizers, heat stabilizers and high-purity chemicals.

(4) Cosmetic Science and Technology. Develop new generation cosmetics and spices with the conception of “green, natural and safety”. We also provide advanced management and technical services to many cosmetics enterprises.

(5) Separation Technology and Engineering. Develop new separation methods, materials and scale-up solutions to solve the technique problems in industrial chromatography and membrane separation.

Materials Science & Engineering:

(1)Functional materials. Design, synthesis and application of novel functional optoelectronic materials by various means of structure screening, molecular modification and system optimization.

(2) Macromolecular colloid and coating materials. Structure design, synthesis and self-assembly of amphiphilic macromolecules and multicomponent hybrids toward their applications in functional coatings.

(3) Green polymers. Functionalization, application and performance enhancement of green polymers such as degradable polymers, biologic materials and biomedical polymers.

(4) Polymer molding process. Develop new techniques for polymer modification, nano-composition, molding technology and performance regulation of polymer materials, based on in-depth research on structure-property relationship of polymers.

3、Faculties and Students

The School has a strong teaching and research team consisting of 191 faculties, including 43 professors and 87 associate professors; 33 doctoral supervisors and 113 master supervisors; 93.33% of the teachers have Ph.D. degrees. The School has 1 awardees of “Recruitment Program of Foreign Experts”, 2 awardee of “Hundred-Talent Program” (Chinese Academy of Science), 5 awardee of “New Century Talents Project” (State-level), 5 awardees of “New Century Excellent Talents” (Ministry of Education), 9 awardees of “Six type of Talent Project of Jiangsu Province”, 7 academic leaders in “Qing Lan Project”, 9 awardees of “333 High-level Talents Project”. Furthermore, several high-level research groups have been set up, including the “Innovative Teams in Key Fields” (Ministry of Science and Technology), the “nonlinear optical functional molecular materials” (Ministry of Science and Technology), the “innovative team development plan” (Ministry of Education), and the “Excellent Scientific Innovation Team at Universities in Jiangsu”.

Based on the emphasis on the international development strategy and personnel training system, the School established international and domestic joint platforms of cooperation and communication, and developed extensive connection with universities and research institutes in USA, France, Germany, UK, Japan, Singapore, Korea, Malaysia and many other countries and regions. We also have various students exchange program and scholarships or research grants supported by enterprises to help students evolved in many research activities. Nowadays, many outstanding managers, researchers and engineers in chemical industry in China are emerged from our School, promoting the social impact of our School.

As the saying goes, still water will run deep, our School is aiming at absolute perfection. The School is planning new development strategy to adapt to the new age. All the faculties and students are sparing their effort to build a famous and distinctive School domestically and globally.

(Updated in March 2023)