Bai Chunli (; born September 26, 1953) is a Chinese

physical chemist Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mech ...

, nanotechnology scientist, and

academic administrator Academic administration is a branch of university or college employees responsible for the maintenance and supervision of the institution and separate from the faculty or academics, although some personnel may have joint responsibilities. Some t ...

. He is a professor at the

Chinese Academy of Sciences The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); ), known by Academia Sinica in English until the 1980s, is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for natural sciences. It has historical origins in the Academia Sinica during the Republi ...

Institute of Chemistry and former president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He also serves as president of

The World Academy of Sciences The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) is a merit-based science academy established for developing countries, uniting 1,000 scientists in some 70 countries. Its principal aim is to promote scientific capacity and excellence for sustainable deve ...

, co-chairman of the China Association for Science and Technology, and president of the

University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences The University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS; ) is a public university for graduate education, under the direct leadership of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). The predecessors of UCAS are the Graduate University of the Chinese ...

. He is Honorary President of the

University of Science and Technology of China A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

and the

Education and early life

Bai Chunli's father was a teacher in a public elementary school before the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. When Bai was young, his father taught and explained ancient poems and their messages to Bai. In 1966, Bai Chunli went to middle school, and after only 4 years of study, he got a high school diploma. Graduating from high school during the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goa ...

, Bai joined the

Down to the Countryside Movement The Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside Movement, often known simply as the Down to the Countryside Movement, was a policy instituted in the People's Republic of China between mid 1950s and 1978. As a result of what he perceived to ...

with other young people. He worked at the

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...

production and construction corps mechanical transport company as a driver and clerical staff from September 1970 to September 1974. In 1974, after three rounds of secret balloting for the soldiers of the whole company, and later taking written examinations, Bai Chunli became an undergraduate student of Peking University as a "worker, peasant and soldier student with practical experience." In January 1978, Bai graduated from Peking University Department of Chemistry with a major in catalysis. In October 1978, He was admitted to the

Institute of Chemistry, where he received a

master of science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast t ...

in structural chemistry in 1981 and a

doctor of science Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...

in 1985.

Career

In January 1978, after graduating from the university, Bai Chunli was assigned to the Chinese Academy of Sciences' applied chemistry department, which was the beginning of his research career in the Chinese Academy of Sciences. From 1985 to 1987, he did

postdoctoral research A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to pu ...

in the

Jet Propulsion Laboratory The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center in the City of La Cañada Flintridge, California, United States. Founded in the 1930s by Caltech researchers, JPL is owned by NASA an ...

at the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

. In 1996, he was the Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; in 2011, he took over from Lu Yongxiang as sixth President of Chinese Academy of Sciences, succeeded by

Hou Jianguo Hou Jianguo (; born October 1959) is a Chinese chemist and politician. He served as party secretary of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine from 2017 to 2018. An accomplished research scientist, Hou is an ...

in December 2020. Bai is currently a part-time professor at Peking University,

Tsinghua University Tsinghua University (; abbr. THU) is a national public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education. The university is a member of the C9 League, Double First Class University Plan, Projec ...

, Nankai University, and the China University of Geosciences, and a visiting professor at

Liaoning Normal University Liaoning Normal University (LNU; ) in Dalian, Liaoning Province, China is a comprehensive university with an emphasis on teacher training. It has the largest teacher college in Liaoning Province. History Liaoning Normal University was establi ...

and

Nanjing Audit University Nanjing Audit University (NAU, ) is a public university in Nanjing, China. Focusing on audit and accounting, the university is co-sponsored by Ministry of Education, Ministry of Finance, National Audit Office, and Jiangsu Provincial People's Go ...

. He is also editor-in-chief of the journal '' National Science Review''.

Research

Bai's research is mainly in the field of nanotechnology and scanning tunneling microscopy, where his work focuses on scanning probe microscopy techniques, and molecular nano-structure, as well as nanotechnology research. He has published a large number of books in both Chinese and English. He was an alternate committee member of the 15th and the 16th CPC Central Committee, and the sixth Vice President of the China Association for Science and Technology. Bai conducted research in areas such as polymer catalyst structure and property, organic compounds of crystal structure X-ray diffraction, molecular mechanics and conductive polymers of EXAFS, etc. He has been engaged in the study of scanning tunneling microscopy, which has been a significant field in nanotechnology (NT), since the mid-1980s. Many of his works, both in Chinese and English, have been published by Germany Springer Publish Company and Scientific Company and many other publishing houses. Furthermore, he has earned many other awards such as Internationalism which is awarded by the International Chemical Industry association. Bai Chunli is one of the pioneers in the field of scanning probe microscopy. The laboratory he leads organized much wide-ranging and detailed research. Bai has made many contributions to STM study nationally and internationally. He has created a team which aims to increase cooperation between China and the United States on the issue of regularly using energy sources. Bai has also devoted himself to shortening the scientific distance between China and foreign countries. He is the editor of ''China Basic Science'' magazine, and plays an important role in the political field. In his youth, he was named the best worker around China and one of China's Top Ten Outstanding Young Persons among other distinctions. His research has been published widely in

peer review Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work ( peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer revie ...

ed journals and books.

Awards and honors

* Academician of

in 1997 * Academician of the

in 1997 * International Member of the United States National Academy of Sciences in 2006 * Honorary Fellow of the

Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society (professional association) in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the Royal Instit ...

( HonFRSC) in 2007 * Foreign Academician of the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across ...

in 2008 * Honorary Fellow of the

Indian Academy of Sciences The Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore was founded by Indian Physicist and Nobel Laureate C. V. Raman, and was registered as a society on 24 April 1934. Inaugurated on 31 July 1934, it began with 65 founding fellows. The first general meet ...

in 2009 * Corresponding Member of the Australian Academy of Science in 2013 * Honorary Member of Chinese Association for Science and Technology in 2011 * Foreign Member of the Royal Society (ForMemRS) in 2014 * Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh ( HonFRSE) in 2015 * Honorary President of the

* Honorary President of the

University of Chinese Academy of Sciences The University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS; ) is a public university for graduate education, under the direct leadership of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). The predecessors of UCAS are the Graduate University of the Chinese ...

His nomination for the Royal Society reads:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bai, Chunli 1953 births Living people Chemists from Liaoning Academic staff of China University of Geosciences Chinese physical chemists Chinese nanotechnologists Chinese Communist Party politicians from Liaoning Educators from Liaoning Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science Foreign Fellows of Pakistan Academy of Sciences Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Foreign Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences Foreign Members of the Royal Society Members of the 18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the 19th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Academic staff of Nankai University Peking University alumni Academic staff of Peking University People's Republic of China politicians from Liaoning Physicists from Liaoning Politicians from Dandong Academic staff of Tsinghua University Academic staff of the University of Science and Technology of China Chairpersons of the National People's Congress Ethnic Affairs Committee