The photo on Wang Jiangtao's profile page on the MIT website. (Source: MIT website)

In the midst of the heated China-US trade war, another tech elite "returning from overseas" has emerged. After seven years of in-depth research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 34-year-old materials scientist Wang Jiangtao has chosen Peking University as the next step in his career.

According to Hong Kong's South China Morning Post, Wang Jiangtao is young and accomplished, winning numerous awards during his studies at school, and his recent scientific research achievements have been impressive. He has published nearly 30 papers in prestigious international journals and holds nearly 60 patents in both China and the United States. The report described him as a "star materials scientist" in the field of materials research.

Guancha Observer reported that data from the school's website shows that Wang Jiangtao is currently an assistant professor, researcher, and doctoral supervisor at the College of Materials Science and Engineering, Peking University. In addition, Wang Jiangtao not only collaborates with Zhang Jin, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and executive vice president of Peking University (in the direction of semiconductor carbon nanotube arrays), but also maintains independent research projects.

It was introduced that Wang Jiangtao studied in the Department of Physics at Tsinghua University from 2009 to 2013, earning a bachelor's degree, and then continued his postgraduate studies in the Department of Physics at Tsinghua University from 2013 to 2018, earning a Ph.D.

During his time at Tsinghua University, he received many honors and awards, including nomination for the New Talent Award of Tsinghua University, Outstanding Graduate of Tsinghua University, and First Prize for Excellent Doctoral Thesis of Tsinghua University. In 2024, he was selected for the National Young Talent Program, which aims to attract outstanding young scholars from overseas to return to develop in China.

This month, after completing five years of postdoctoral research and two years of research scientist work at MIT, Wang Jiangtao's name officially appeared on the Peking University website.

The South China Morning Post pointed out that Wang Jiangtao had shown his scientific talent early on, combining academic insight with solid and diligent scholarly attitude.

During his graduate studies at Tsinghua University, he focused on researching the controllable growth mechanism of carbon nanotubes (CNTs)—an area highly susceptible to environmental interference. To minimize variables, he could remain completely still and silent during overnight experiments.

While pursuing his master's degree at Tsinghua University, he published 12 papers, and after receiving honors such as the Outstanding Doctoral Thesis of Tsinghua University, Wang Jiangtao went to the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT to carry out postdoctoral and research scientist work, continuing to deepen his research in the field of carbon nanotubes.

The report stated that Wang Jiangtao made breakthroughs in semiconducting carbon nanotube vertical arrays and successfully developed nano-porous single-layer graphene membranes with precisely tunable pore size distribution.

According to Guancha Observer, in recent years, with the deterioration of the Western scientific research environment, more and more overseas scientists are choosing to take positions in China. A wave of joining by world-class top scientists has surged in Chinese universities and research institutions.

The South China Morning Post previously commented that beyond personal development opportunities, these researchers have various considerations, including a lack of belonging abroad and concerns about the U.S. political environment. However, whether they are ethnic Chinese or foreign experts, they all stated that China's continuously improving academic strength and youth talent pool are the main reasons attracting them.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7494124266519003682/

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