Professor Mohammed is a Professor at KAUST. His research focuses on advanced optoelectronic materials and devices, including solar cells, light-emitting diodes, and X-ray imaging scintillators, supported by ultrafast laser spectroscopy, 4D electron imaging, and computational materials science.

In his lecture, Professor Mohammed introduced recent advances in glassy scintillator materials for X-ray imaging. Conventional crystalline scintillators have long dominated the field owing to their high efficiency. However, their high-temperature fabrication, limited formability, challenges in large-area processing, and relatively high cost have restricted their broader application in next-generation imaging screens.To address these limitations, Professor Mohammed presented a new class of high-performance copper iodide cluster glass scintillators, including mixed-metal Mn–Cu halide glasses. He discussed their scalable fabrication strategies, optical and imaging performance, and the potential advantages of glassy materials in large-area device preparation. The lecture also highlighted ongoing efforts to scale up fabrication and promote industry collaboration, aiming to benchmark material performance and advance these scintillators toward commercial validation.

Professor Lehn reviewed the evolution of chemistry from molecular chemistry to supramolecular and adaptive chemistry. He first highlighted how molecular chemistry enables the construction of increasingly complex molecules through precise control of covalent bonds. He then introduced supramolecular chemistry, in which molecular components are organized through non-covalent interactions to achieve functions such as molecular recognition, catalysis, transport and self-assembly.

A central theme of the lecture was the role of molecular information. Professor Lehn explained that chemical information can be encoded in molecular structures and expressed at the supramolecular level through specific interaction patterns. This perspective allows chemistry to be viewed as a science of informed matter.

He further discussed constitutional dynamic chemistry, which involves reversible molecular and supramolecular systems capable of exchanging components and reorganizing their structures. Such dynamic diversity enables chemical systems to respond to internal or external stimuli, undergo selection, and display adaptive behavior.

The lecture provided a broad and forward-looking perspective on the development of modern chemistry. By connecting molecular construction, supramolecular organization and dynamic adaptation, Professor Lehn offered valuable insights into the design of increasingly complex, responsive and potentially evolutive chemical systems.

Following the lecture, Professor Xi Zhang presented Professor Lehn with the Centennial Celebration Academic Forum Invited Lectureship certificate.

Prof. Jonathan Nitschke received his bachelor’s degree from Williams College (USA) in 1995 and his doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley in 2001 under the supervision of T. DonTilley. He then undertook postdoctoral studies with Jean-MarieLehn in Strasbourg under the auspices of a US NSF fellowship, and in 2003 he started his independent research career as a Maitre-assistant (fixed-term independent PI) in the Organic Chemistry Department of the University of Geneva. In 2007 he was appointed University Lecturer at Cambridge, where he now holds a Professorship. His research program investigates the self-assembly of complex, functional structures from simple organic precursorsand metal ions.

Fellow is the highest membership grade of the Chinese Chemical Society, awarded to distinguished members who have made systematic and creative achievements as well as significant contributions to chemistry and related fields. Since the establishment of the Fellow system in 2019, no more than 50 Fellows have been elected each year, and there are 346 Fellows to date.

Warm congratulations to Prof. Xu!

The symposium provided a valuable platform for academic exchange and fostered further collaboration between the two universities in the field of chemistry.