International Eurasian Academy of Sciences, IEAS

Academician

Lilan ZHU

Profile:

Elected Academician of the International Eurasian Academy of Sciences in 1997, Professor Lilan Zhu is a Chinese polymer chemist and science and technology administrator whose career has combined research in polymer chemistry with national science and technology policy and programme management. Born in Shanghai in August 1935, with ancestral roots in Wuxing, Zhejiang Province, she graduated from Shanghai Zhongxi Girls’ High School in 1955 and subsequently studied polymer physical chemistry at Odessa University in the Soviet Union, receiving her diploma with distinction in 1961. She returned to China that year and joined the Institute of Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, where she held successive research and administrative positions and ultimately served as Director. From 1979 to 1980, she was a visiting scholar at the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry of the University of Freiburg in Germany. Beginning in 1986, she served in senior positions at the former State Science and Technology Commission and was appointed Minister of Science and Technology in 1998, serving until 2001. She subsequently served as Vice Chairperson and Chairperson of the Education, Science, Culture and Public Health Committee of the National People’s Congress from 2001 to 2008 and has chaired the China Association of Inventions since 2005. She is currently Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Director of the Selection Committee of the Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation, as well as a Member of the Asia Pacific Academy of Materials and Honorary Professor of several universities and research institutions. Her honours include the China Materials Research Society Achievement Award, the Outstanding Service Award of the Chinese Institute of Engineers in America, the Grand Cross with Star of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, and an honorary doctorate from the University of Macau. Her career has encompassed polymer science, national science and technology administration, and

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Professor Zhu’s scientific research focused on polymer reaction kinetics, the analysis and structural characterisation of polymeric materials, and the relationships among material performance, structure, and morphology. Her research on polymer analysis and performance–structure–morphology relationships received national recognition for scientific and technological achievements, and she published a series of papers and translated works in polymer and analytical chemistry. She also authored works on high technology and science and technology development strategy, addressing the relationship between technological development, innovation policy, and national conditions. Her major contribution to China’s science and technology system has been in the organisation and management of national research and innovation programmes. As a principal architect of the National High-Technology Research and Development Programme (863 Programme), she participated in the planning of its major research fields and themes and in the organisation of its implementation. She also contributed to the formulation and implementation of national basic research and high-technology industrialisation programmes, including the Torch Programme, and promoted the use of expert-based mechanisms in the evaluation and management of research programmes. Her work in science administration further encompassed international scientific and technological cooperation and the translation of research results into industrial applications. In public service, she contributed to legislative and policy work relating to science, education, culture, and public health. Through her subsequent leadership of the Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation, she has continued to contribute to the evaluation and recognition of scientific and engineering achievements in China. Across a career spanning laboratory research, research institution leadership, and national science and technology administration, Professor Zhu has contributed to the development of polymer chemistry and to the institutional development of science, technology, and innovation management in China.