The project “Snowfield Shield: Long-Life and Resilient Technology for the Strategic Qinghai-Tibet Highway Corridor” led by Prof. Zhen Leng, Professor of CEE and Associate Director of the Research Centre for Resources Engineering towards Carbon Neutrality (RCRE), along with a core team including Dr Chengdong Xia, Postdoctoral Fellow of CEE, and Prof. Songtao Lv, Professor of Changsha University of Science and Technology, has distinguished itself from over 8,000 competing projects to win a Gold Award at the 3rd National Postdoctoral Innovation & Entrepreneurship Competition, bringing honor to the Department and the University.
The award-winning project innovatively proposed an integrated novel preparation method of “ultrasonic dispersion of nanomaterials + polymer grafting reactive extrusion”, developing a new asphalt modifier with chemically toughened microinterfaces. It achieves the simultaneous improvement of pavement materials’ high-temperature resistance, anti-instability, and anti-brittle fracture properties. Widely acclaimed by experts and scholars worldwide, the project offers extensive reference value for the international development of green infrastructure, fully demonstrating PolyU’s scientific research and innovation capabilities in serving the national “Transportation Power” strategy.
The National Postdoctoral Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition is the largest, highest-level, and most wide-ranging nationwide event for postdoctoral researchers since the establishment of China’s postdoctoral system. This year’s competition consists of four divisions: Innovation Competition, Entrepreneurship Competition, Overseas Competition (including the Belt and Road category), and Challenge Competition. A total of 8,006 projects and 36,000 participants registered for the competition, both reaching record highs. After intense competition, more than 1,700 projects advanced to the national finals, ultimately resulting in 63 Gold Awards, 133 Silver Awards, and 198 Bronze Awards.
