Prof. Duan Xue,

Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 

under the Changjiang Scholars Program of the Ministry of Education,

973 Program Chief Scientist.

Professor Duan Xue was elected an Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2007. He was awarded a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Jilin University in 1982 and a Master’s degree (1984) and PhD degree (1988) from Beijing University of Chemical Technology (BUCT). Over the past 30 years has established a research program in area of the assembly by intercalation of layered materials and their production engineering. His work involves both fundamental and applied aspects and is predicated on the principles of using the intended application of a material as a guide to its structure design and synthesis process, and design of controlled intercalation processes in the light of future production processing requirements.He has developed a wide range of intercalated materials and a number of new processes, including the method of separate aging and nucleation steps (SNAS), for their preparation. Fundamental ideas developed in the laboratory have been successfully scaled up in over 20 production lines in more than 10 large-scale industrial plants involving the production of macroporous sorbents for acetylene, synthetic brake fluids and functional intercalated materials; these innovations have made significant contributions to technological process in their respective industries. He leads a large group of researchers working on both basic and applied research, with a well-established record of transforming fundamental research outputs into practical applications. Many of his former students now hold key positions in universities, research institutes and leading companies and have received national level recognition. He has published a large number of papers in leading peer-reviewed journals in both chemical engineering, including AIChE J. and Chem. Eng. Sci., and chemistry, including Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., J. Am. Chem. Soc., and Adv. Mater. He has also been the Chair of several Strategic Working Parties established by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the National Natural Science Foundation of China, including one on “Balanced Utilization of Resources in the Qinghai Salt Lakes”. He is named as the inventor in over 60 Chinese patents and five US patents. Projects for which he has been principal investigator have been awarded many prizes, including two National Scientific and Technological Innovation Prize (Second Class), and one National Scientific and Technological Progress Prize (Second Class). He has been awarded the titles ‘National Outstanding Young Scholar’, ‘State Model Worker’, and ‘Changjiang Foundation Invited Research Professor’ and has received numerous other awards. He has served on many national committees including the State Council Committee on Curriculum Assessment and Validation, the National Natural Science Foundation of China Advisory Committee on Chemistry, the National Natural Science Foundation of China Chemical Engineering Review Group (as Chair), the National State Education Curriculum Advisory Committee, and the National Committee of Experts on Production Safety. He was the inaugural Director of State Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering Laboratory. He is currently a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Academic Assessment Committee, and the Ministry of Education Science and Technology Committee Chemistry Sub-Group. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, a member of the Editorial Board of Structure and Bonding and Vice-Chair of the Academic Degrees Committee of BUCT.