I. History

In 1998, the Department of Materials Engineering was established by faculty members from the Teaching & Research Office of Polymer Materials and Engineering (founded in 1994), the Teaching & Research Office of Inorganic Non‑metallic Materials Engineering (1994), the Teaching & Research Office of Mineral Processing Engineering (1979), and part of the Teaching & Research Office of General Physics (1974). It was renamed the Department of Materials Science and Engineering in 2000, and later the College of Materials Science and Engineering in 2003.

II. Faculty

The College boasts a strong faculty team, built upon such foundations as the “Hubei Provincial Natural Science Foundation Innovation Group,” the “Hubei Provincial Department of Education Outstanding Young and Middle‑aged Innovation Team,” and the “Materials Science” academic innovation team. Currently, there are 102 full‑time faculty members, including 43 professors, 36 associate professors, 21 doctoral supervisors, and 93 master’s supervisors. Among them are:

• 1 National Outstanding Scientific and Technological Worker in Petroleum and Chemical Industry

• 1 Education Master in China’s Membrane Industry

• 1 Recipient of the Ministry of Education’s New Century Excellent Talents Support Program

• 4 Selected for Hubei Province’s New Century High‑Level Talent Project

• 4 Recipients of Hubei Province’s Distinguished Youth Fund

• 2 Experts Receiving Special Government Allowance from Hubei Province

• 6 Distinguished/Young Experts under Hubei Province’s “Relevant Talent Plan”

• 14 Appointed under the Hubei Provincial Department of Education’s “Relevant Talent Plan”

• 1 Selected for Hubei Province’s “Relevant Talent Cultivation Plan”

• 1 Leader of Hubei Province’s “Innovation and Entrepreneurship Strategy Team”

The research staff come from diverse professional backgrounds including plasma physics, plasma chemistry, condensed matter physics, inorganic non‑metallic materials, polymer physics and chemistry, materials forming and processing, and mineral processing. With an average age of 42, they form a well‑structured teaching and research team with a rational age and professional composition.

III. Discipline Development

The discipline of Materials Science and Engineering was rated as a Hubei Provincial Key First‑Level Discipline in 2006, among the first batch of Hubei Provincial First‑Level Characteristic Disciplines in 2007, a Hubei Provincial First‑Level Key Characteristic Discipline in 2012, and entered both the US News World University Subject Rankings and the ShanghaiRanking’s Global Ranking of Academic Subjects in 2018. Materials Science entered the top 1% of ESI global rankings in 2018 and reached the top 3‰ in 2024.

Disciplines with Positions under the “Provincial Department of Education Relevant Talent Plan”: Materials Physics and Chemistry, Materials Science, Materials Processing Engineering

Master’s Programs:

• First‑Level Discipline: Materials Science and Engineering (2005), which includes three second‑level disciplines: Materials Science (1999), Materials Processing Engineering, and Materials Physics and Chemistry (2003)

• Second‑Level Discipline: Polymer Chemistry and Physics

Doctoral Program:

• First‑Level Discipline: Materials Science and Engineering (2013)

Postdoctoral Research Mobile Station:

• Materials Science and Engineering (2023)

Provincial Key Laboratory:

• Hubei Provincial Key Laboratory of Plasma Chemistry and New Materials (2002)

Provincial Engineering Centers:

• Hubei Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center for Optoelectronic and New Energy Materials (2019)

• Hubei Provincial Engineering Technology Center for Environmental Materials and Membrane Technology (2017)

• Hubei Provincial University‑Enterprise Joint R&D Center for Automotive Rubber Products (2017)

• Hubei Provincial Engineering Research Center for Microwave Plasma Application Technology (2004)

Shared with Other Colleges:

Multiple national and provincial platforms, including the National Engineering Research Center for Phosphorus Resources Development and Utilization and the Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Green Chemical Engineering Process.

IV. Scientific Research Achievements

Through focused team development, the College has established stable research directions including advanced plasma technology and applications, separation membrane materials and application technology, new energy materials and devices, biomedical materials, and special polymer materials. The College emphasizes translating research outcomes into economic benefits for the nation and region, and has developed distinctive strengths in silicon carbide ceramic membrane materials, diamond film materials, new energy materials, functional polymer materials, and plasma technology, achieving domestic leadership in microwave plasma technology development and application.

Over the past five years, the College has secured:

• 1 Key Special Project under the National Key R&D Program

• 2 Key Special Projects under the Ministry of Science and Technology’s Science and Technology Boosting Economy Initiative

• 28 National Natural Science Foundation projects

• 3 Hubei Provincial Key R&D Program projects

• 17 Hubei Provincial Natural Science Foundation projects

• Over 30 other ministerial/provincial‑level vertical projects

• Average annual research funding exceeding RMB 20 million

Research outputs over the past five years include:

• 1 First Prize, 2 Second Prizes, and 1 Third Prize of Hubei Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award

• 1 First Prize of Hubei Provincial Technology Invention Award

• 1 Second Prize and 2 Third Prizes of Hubei Provincial Natural Science Award

• 294 authorized national invention patents, with over 90 transferred and applied

• More than 700 SCI/EI‑indexed papers, including 428 papers in SCI Zone 2 or above, with publications in journals such as PNAS

The silicon carbide ceramic membrane research team led by Professor Xu Man has successfully industrialized its achievements, leading to the establishment of Hubei Dijie Membrane Technology Co., Ltd. The entrepreneurial team has been featured multiple times by mainstream media including CCTV Finance Channel, Xinhua News Agency, and People’s Daily. Furthermore, the College has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Xihe District People’s Government of Fuxin City, Liaoning Province, jointly establishing the Dianshi Industrial Technology Research Institute. This marks a significant step in university‑local collaboration, expands the university’s external resources, and facilitates the incubation of the College’s research outcomes.

V. Talent Cultivation

The College possesses a complete top‑level talent cultivation system for undergraduates, master’s, and doctoral students, currently with over 1,600 undergraduate students and more than 500 master’s and doctoral students. It offers five undergraduate programs: Polymer Materials and Engineering, Inorganic Non‑metallic Materials Engineering, Materials Physics, Materials Chemistry, and New Energy Materials and Devices. It also hosts the first‑level discipline master’s and doctoral programs in Materials Science and Engineering, a postdoctoral mobile station, and a second‑level discipline master’s program in Polymer Chemistry and Physics.

• Polymer Materials and Engineering is a National First‑Class Undergraduate Program, an Engineering Education Accreditation‑certified program, a National Characteristic Specialty, a Hubei Provincial Undergraduate Brand Specialty, a program under Hubei Province’s Strategic Emerging (Pillar) Industry Talent Cultivation Plan, and a Hubei Provincial Comprehensive Reform Pilot Program.

• Inorganic Non‑metallic Materials Engineering is a National First‑Class Undergraduate Program, an Engineering Education Accreditation‑certified program, a Hubei Provincial Undergraduate Brand Specialty, and a Hubei Provincial Comprehensive Reform Pilot Program.

• Materials Physics is a Hubei Provincial First‑Class Undergraduate Program and part of Hubei Province’s Strategic Emerging (Pillar) Industry Talent Cultivation Plan.

• Materials Chemistry is a Hubei Provincial First‑Class Undergraduate Program and part of Hubei Province’s “Jingchu Excellence” Collaborative Education Plan.

In recent years, the College has implemented the fundamental task of fostering virtue through education, solidly advanced the principle of “undergraduate education as the foundation” and the “Four Returns,” optimized the entire talent cultivation process with Outcome‑Based Education (OBE) concepts, emphasized student‑centeredness, outcome orientation, and continuous improvement, and carried out diversified reforms in talent cultivation models. These include:

• Top‑notch Innovative Talent Cultivation – Polymer Materials and Engineering Innovation Class

• Interdisciplinary and International Talent Cultivation – Materials Chemistry (with English Minor) Class

• Engineering‑oriented Talent Cultivation – Materials Physics Strategic Emerging (Pillar) Industry Talent Cultivation Plan, Materials Chemistry “Jingchu Excellence” Collaborative Education Plan, as well as specialized directions such as New Materials Design, Intelligent Forming, Semiconductor Chip Manufacturing, New Energy and Optoelectronic Materials, and 3D Printing Materials.

The College vigorously cultivates high‑quality engineering‑innovative talents with all‑round development in morality, intellect, physique, aesthetics, and labor, outstanding innovative spirit, and practical ability. In the past three years, students have won nearly 100 provincial‑level or above awards in competitions such as the China International College Students’ Innovation Competition, “Challenge Cup” National College Students’ Extracurricular Academic Science and Technology Works Competition, National College Students’ Energy‑Saving and Emission‑Reduction Social Practice and Science and Technology Competition, and National College Students’ Polymer Materials Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition. Undergraduate students have published over 100 papers. The postgraduate enrollment rate for undergraduates has remained stable at over 45%, and the employment rate has stayed above 95%. Graduates are highly welcomed by employers, earning the university a strong social reputation.