On the morning of July 8, the National Science and Technology Award Conference, the joint conference of academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and the 11th National Congress of the China Association for Science and Technology were jointly convened in Beijing. General Secretary Xi Jinping presented awards to the recipients of the State Preeminent Science and Technology Award and delivered an important speech. Five achievements from SDUST received second prizes of the National Science and Technology Progress Award — the largest number in the University's history.
Of these, "Key Technologies and Engineering Demonstration for High-Quality Development and Utilization of Coal Mining Subsidence Areas," led by Professor Chen Shaojie with Professor Jiang Ning as a co-investigator, was completed with SDUST as the first affiliation. "Technological Innovation and Engineering Application in Respirable Dust Control and Early Warning of Pneumoconiosis in Large Coal Mines," involving Professors Cheng Weimin and Wang Gang, and "Theory, Precision Detection Technology and Application for Delineating Complex Geographical Entities in the Deep Sea," involving Professor Yang Fanlin, were completed with SDUST as the second affiliation. "Key Technologies and Engineering Applications for Green and Efficient Mining, Processing and Backfilling in Underground Coal Mines," involving Professor Tan Yunliang, and "Key Technologies and Applications of High-Energy-Field Casting for Large, Complex, High-End Components," involving Professor Song Qiang, were completed with SDUST as the fifth affiliation.
In recent years SDUST has firmly shouldered its mission of achieving high-level scientific and technological self-reliance. Guided by the "Four Orientations" — toward the frontiers of world science and technology, the main economic battlefield, the major needs of the country, and the life and health of the people — it has strengthened organized research and supported innovation through high-level platforms, high-value services to industry, and high-quality research results. The University was approved to build the National Key Laboratory of Disaster Prevention and Ecological Protection for Open-Pit Coal Mines; it made a breakthrough in major projects under the Joint Fund of the National Natural Science Foundation of China; it signed nearly 20 enterprise-commissioned projects each worth tens of millions of yuan; annual research funding topped 1 billion yuan (about US$140 million); and it received more than ten high-level research awards. SDUST is now underpinning its push to join the ranks of world-class universities with national-level innovation platforms, services to strategic industries, and landmark results, and is contributing its strength to China's drive to become a leading country in education and to building a modern, strong Shandong in the new era.
