Li Jinghai, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was invited to ShanghaiTech to give the ShanghaiTech Lecture on “Mesoscience: Exploring Mesoscale of Different-Level Mesoarea.”Hosted by President Jiang Mianheng, more than 300 teachers and students, including 2018 new graduate students, attended the lecture.
Li Jinghai first reviewed the history of chemical engineering science, and also the evolution of chemical engineering research and development. He then introduced the basis concept of mesoscience, the common principle of the mesoscale, and how to solve the competitive coordination issue of the multiple dominant factors in the mesoscale based on the model of Energy Minimization Multi-Scale (EMMS), which enables accurate prediction of the actual process. Li pointed out that the development of mesoscience requires the joint efforts of different disciplines, especially the accumulation of existing knowledge, the identification and expression of different control mechanisms, and the generalization of common laws from different instances. On the other hand, the involvement of mathematics and physics, especially computing science, will play an important role in the development of mesoscience.
The breakthrough of mesoscience will drive the development of the chemical research from empirical model to quantitative model, and finally realize the virtual reality of the chemical process. Mesoscience has the potential to play a role in the integration of accumulated knowledge in existing branches, and will lay the foundation for breaking through problems with high complexity and diversity.
In the interactive session, teachers and students had a chance to ask questions and Li had a deep discussion and exchange with the audience. After the lecture, President Jiang, on behalf of ShanghaiTech University, thanked Li for his wonderful speech and gave him a commemorative ShanghaiTech Lecture plaque. Afterwards students said that this wonderful talk not only enabled them to understand the research and development of mesoscience and its significant impact on the future chemical industry, but also inspired them to think and locate scientific issues.
As a researcher and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Li Jinghai’s research topics deal with quantitative design and amplification of two-phase system of granular fluids. He has proposed EMMS model. In addition, he has also proposed and developed multi-scale calculation mode and mesoscale science, which are widely used in simulation of complex systems and industrial process simulation. He is the vice chairman of China Association for Science and Technology, vice chairman of the International Science Council (ISC), editor of the international journal Particuology and editorial board or international consultant of several journals. He is the foreign academician of Third World Academy of Sciences, Swiss Academy of Engineering, Royal Academy of Engineering and Australian Academy of Engineering. He served as the former deputy dean of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the director of Institute of Process Engineering of Chinese Academy of Sciences and the chairman of The Association of Academies of Sciences in Asia.
