From May 9 to 12, 2025, the 1st National Conference on Surface and Interface Science of the Chinese Chemical Society was grandly held at the Tianfu International Conference Center in Chengdu, Sichuan. The team led by Professor Cai Jinming from the Advanced Low-Dimensional Materials and Devices Laboratory (ALMD) of Kunming University of Science and Technology was invited to attend the conference. As a member of the Academic Committee and Chairman of the 17th Sub-Conference "Atomic-Level Design and Manufacturing," Professor Cai Jinming deeply participated in academic organization and exchanges. He delivered a keynote speech titled "Atomic Manufacturing of Graphene and Its Application in Thermal Management of Power Devices."

During the conference, the Professional Committee of Surface Physical Chemistry of the Chinese Chemical Society was established. Through secret ballot, Professor Cai Jinming was elected as a member of the committee. ALMDL specially invited Professor Karl-Heinz Ernst, a senior scientist from the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa), to attend the "International Forum on Surface Molecular Research" and deliver an invited talk on "Molecular Chirality and Surface Self-Assembly," injecting an international cutting-edge academic perspective into the conference.

Professor Lu Jianchen and Associate Professor Gao Lei of the laboratory delivered invited talks in sub-venues, sharing the latest progress in surface and interface regulation of low-dimensional materials. Doctors Sun Shijie, Zhang Yong, and Xue Yufei showcased the team's breakthrough research in graphene atomic manufacturing and theoretical calculations through flash presentations. Notably, Associate Professor Gao Lei was awarded the ACS Publication Surface and Interface Women Scientists Award for her outstanding contributions in the field of surface and interface science. Doctoral student Zhang Yi received the Best Poster Award from ACS Nano.

Professor Cai Jinming exchanges and takes a group photo with attending colleagues

Hosted by the Physical Chemistry Discipline Committee of the Chinese Chemical Society and undertaken by the Key Laboratory of Nano-Device Physics and Chemistry (Ministry of Education) at Peking University, the conference focused on core topics such as surface/interface construction, characterization, energy, and catalysis. Surface and interface science spans multiple basic disciplines including matter, energy, and information, serving as a common scientific foundation for national strategic needs such as catalysis, superconductivity, and semiconductors. The conference set up 22 sub-conferences covering themes like surface/interface construction, characterization, theory, device interfaces, energy interfaces, and catalytic interfaces, alongside the "International Forum on Surface Molecular Research," "Forum on Women Scientists in Surface and Interface Science," and "Doctoral Forum on Surface and Interface Science."

The 17th Sub-Conference explored the application of atomic-level precision material design and manufacturing technologies in surface and interface science, with a particular focus on cutting-edge advances in graphene-based composites for thermal management and nanodevices—highly aligned with ALMDL’s research direction of "developing multifunctional graphene composite materials."

Focused on the deep integration of surface and interface science with national strategic needs in catalysis, superconductivity, and semiconductors, ALMDL further consolidated its leading position in the field of low-dimensional material surface and interface science through high-level academic outputs and international collaboration. In the future, the team will continue to leverage atomic-level manufacturing technology as its core to promote the transformation of basic research into new quality productivity and contribute to China’s scientific and technological self-reliance.