Recently, Dr. Xu Ruren, an outstanding alumnus from the Class of 1952 of the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Fourth Chinese Chemical Society for his remarkable contributions to the development of molecular sieve and porous materials chemistry in China and internationally.

The Chinese Chemical Society Lifetime Achievement Award, established in 2017, honors senior chemists who have made significant and outstanding contributions to the research of chemistry in China and to the development of the Chinese Chemical Society. The award is presented biennially, with 1-2 recipients per session.

Dr. Xu Ruren, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and an inorganic chemist, is internationally renowned for his work in molecular sieves and porous materials. He is credited as the founder and pioneer of "inorganic synthesis chemistry" in China, and a pioneer in hydrothermal synthesis chemistry. Over the past 40 years, he has pioneered new synthetic routes, challenged traditional concepts of microporous crystal structure types, framework elements, and basic structural units in molecular sieve chemistry. He led the third milestone in the history of molecular sieve chemistry, proposing innovative structural design methods and directed synthesis routes internationally, making outstanding contributions to the scientific development and applications of molecular sieves and porous materials.

Dr. Xu also introduced the scientific systems of "modern inorganic synthesis chemistry" and "condensed state chemistry" internationally for the first time, and was invited by Elsevier to publish the monograph "Introduction to Condensed Matter Chemistry."

He founded the Ministry of Education's "Hydrothermal Synthesis Open Research Laboratory" and served as its first director, which later developed into the National Key Laboratory of Inorganic Synthesis and Preparation Chemistry. In 2003, he was elected as a Fellow of the Third World Academy of Sciences. Dr. Xu has been awarded the National Natural Science Award four times, the National Education Commission and Ministry of Education First Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress three times, the Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation Scientific and Technological Progress Chemistry Award in 1995, and was honored as a model worker and model teacher in the national education system in 1998. In 2017, he received the inaugural "China Molecular Sieve Lifetime Achievement Award."

Dr. Xu has trained a large number of outstanding talents in the field of inorganic synthesis chemistry, including three academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and two national-level teaching masters.

In 2017, after nearly a decade of contemplation, Dr. Xu first proposed the strategic idea of ​​constructing a condensed state chemistry scientific system internationally, and has since made significant achievements.

Dr. Xu Ruren has long been concerned with the development of his alma mater, making multiple return visits to deliver lectures, donate manuscripts, and establish the "School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Alumni Scholarship" at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, encouraging students to "remember their roots and love their country and alma mater." In 2010, Dr. Xu Ruren was awarded the "Outstanding Alumni Award" by Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

On June 30, 2017, Dr. Xu Ruren generously donated a collection of correspondence manuscripts exchanged with Academician Gu Yidong on scientific research to his alma mater. Reflecting deeply on the historical background of the donation of these manuscripts, Dr. Xu said, "During my studies at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, I received Professor Gu Yidong's kind guidance, which benefited me for life. Throughout my academic career, I have always adhered to the spirit and courage of 'advancing with the times and daring to be the first' of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, as well as the character and responsibility of 'remembering one's roots, loving one's country, and honoring one's alma mater.'"

On the same day, Dr. Xu Ruren chaired a condensed state chemistry seminar, starting from the condensed state concept of physics and discussing the proposal of condensed state thinking in the discipline of chemistry, sharing his thoughts on the future development of chemistry with faculty and students of the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

In 2022, Dr. Xu Ruren generously donated and established the "School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Alumni Scholarship" to reward outstanding undergraduate students in the school, encouraging them to strive for continuous improvement.