The Materials Research Society (MRS) has named Lei Jiang, a professor at the Institute of Chemistry within the Chinese Academy of Sciences, to receive the Mid-Career Researcher Award for “establishing fundamental understanding of the interfacial properties of biological systems and transforming that insight into commercialized bioinspired materials with properties better than those of natural systems.” Jiang will present his award talk at the 2014 Materials Research Society Spring Meeting in San Francisco on April 22 at 12:45 p.m. in Salon 7 of the Marriott Marquis. The Mid-Career Researcher Award, endowed by Aldrich Materials Science, recognizes exceptional achievements in materials research made by mid-career professionals.
Jiang uses his study of the interfacial properties of biological systems to design and fabricate bioinspired systems. For example, his study of the self-cleaning behavior of fish scales moved the field of materials with special wettability from focusing on a liquid/air/solid three-phase system to a liquid/liquid/solid three-phase system, and enabled the development of next-generation superoleophobic materials. Using the strategy designed by his research group, Jiang and his colleagues were also able to generate a series of composite materials that have combinations of super-hydrophobic, hydrophilic, lipophilic, and oleophobic properties, with the switch between them triggered by light, electric charge, heat, or chemical reactions.
This work has led to commercialized technologies such as self-cleaning fabrics as well as self-cleaning coatings on large buildings, including the China National Grand Theatre, the Olympic Basketball Stadium, and Terminal 3 of Beijing International Airport.
Jiang received his BS (1987), MS (1990), and PhD (1994) degrees from Jilin University. He served as Dean of the School of Chemistry and Environment at BeiHang University. Jiang has published over 400 articles, authored books and book chapters, and holds 40 patents. He is a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a member of the World Academy of Sciences, and he is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry.
