College of Chemistry

The Department of Chemistry at Beijing Normal University (BNU) was established in 1923, which was one of the earliest Departments of Chemistry in all the universities in China. Its predecessor can be traced back to the Division of Physics and Chemistry established in 1913 at Faculty of Education, Capital Metropolitan University. The history of the department is near 100 years. In 1952, during the adjustments of the universities in China, the Department of Chemistry at National Fu Jen University joined the Department of Chemistry at BNU. In September 2005, the Department of Chemistry was renamed as the College of Chemistry.

The College of Chemistry at BNU has long and brilliant history. Many famous and outstanding chemists and chemistry educators had (or have) been working and studying here, such as Professor Chen Yuguang who was one of the establishers of Chinese Chemical Society (CCS), and the 1st -4th president of CCS, and the Dean of the Department of Chemistry at BNU, the acting president of BNU, and the first Chinese president of tens Christian Universities in Old China; Professor Wu Chengluo who also was one of the establishers of CCS, and the 1st -4th Secretary General of CCS, and the Chair and Director of the Council of CCS for 6 times, and worked as a Secretary in Charge and Secretary for 10 years; Academician Xing Qiyi; Professor Yang Baochang; Professor Yan Meihe; Professor Lu Baozhong; Professor Chen Guangxu; Academician Jiang Lijin; Academician Dong Shaojun who is the Academician of the Third World Academy of Sciences; Academician Liu Ruzhuang; Academcian Liu Boli and Professor Liu Zhixin, et al. With the hard work of several generations of scientists, faculties, staffs, and students, especially in the last 30 years since China began the Reform and Opening up, the College of Chemistry has formed a reasonable distribution of subjects, with the characteristics of teaching and scientific research system. It has a high-quality teaching and scientific research team, and has made great achievements in education and scientific research, also trained a large number of talents for China. Now the college becomes a solid institute having a major impact on the chemical education and research in China, and is an important base for training high-level research scientists.

The College of Chemistry is employing 101 faculty, including 29 professors (all of them are advisers of Ph.D. students), 28 associate professors (3 of them are Ph.D. advisers), 1 academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Professor Ruzhuang Liu), 1 academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering (Professor Boli Liu), 1 chief expert of 973 project, 1 Cheung Kong Scholar, 2 New Century Bai Qianwan talent project “state level candidates”, 2 national winners of the Outstanding Youth Fund, 4 winners of the Next Century-the New Century Talent Projects, and 3 members of the division of the Steering Committee of the University Teaching of the Ministry of Education.

The College of Chemistry is comprised of 7 institutes: Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, Institute of Analytical Chemistry, Institute of Organic Chemistry, Institute of Theoretical and Physical Chemistry, Institute of the Polymer Chemistry and Physics, Institute of Applied Chemistry, and Institute of Chemical Education; 3 departments: Department of Material Chemistry, Department of Chemical Biology, and Department of Medical Chemistry; Chemical Experimental Teaching Center, Key Laboratory of Radiopharmaceuticals of the Ministry of Education, and Shihong Drug Research Center.

The College of Chemistry has one Postdoctoral station (established in 2001). It can authorize doctoral degree in Chemistry; Inorganic Chemistry (1986), Analytical Chemistry (2007), Organic Chemistry (1981), Physical Chemistry (1981) and Polymer Chemistry and Physics (2008) can authorize doctoral degree within the Secondary Subject of chemistry. Inorganic Chemistry (1981), Analytical Chemistry (1984), Organic Chemistry (1981), Physical Chemistry (1981) and Polymer Chemistry and Physics (1990) can also authorize master degree within the Secondary Subject of chemistry. Medical Chemistry (self-setting in 2005) authorizes master degree. Chemical Education also has authority of master (1981) and doctoral (1998) degree. Physics Chemical is the national key discipline. Inorganic Chemistry and Organic Chemistry are Beijing key disciplines. We have 1 Key Laboratory of Radiopharmaceuticals of the Ministry of Education, 5 Key Laboratory of the University, and 1 innovation team of the Ministry in Education in Quantum Chemical Biology. The College of Chemistry at BNU is the anchored unit of Chemical Education Committee of Chinese Chemical Society, Beijing Chemical Society, the Association of Asia Radiation Curing, and the Journal of Chemical Education of CCS.

The college of Chemistry has fruitful achievement in scientific research. A large number of high qualified articles are published in various famous international journals. The amount of the paper published in SCI core journals with the college of Chemistry ranks the first in Beijing Normal University in recent years. The faculty of the college won several national and local awards, such as the State Scientific and Technological Progress Second Prize. They are taking on more than 50 research projects, including 973 projects, 863 projects, projects from National Natural Foundation of Science in China (NSFC) and Outstanding Youth Fund. 17 and 16 projects from NSFC were issued in 2006 and 2007, respectively. The number of projects and the amount of the grant both rank No.1 in the whole university. In the last three years, more than 12 million￥ fund is gained in each year.

The college is paying a great attention on the foresting of talents, especially the undergraduate teaching which is one of two centres of the development of the college. We actively carry out educational reforms, combine the scientific research and teaching, and already obtain a number of achievements. Some excellent achievements in education research and practice have been widely promoted in other universities. In the last ten years, we won one secondary national award in education and teaching, two first and one secondary Beijing award in education and teaching. We also take on 1 national key project and, 3 national normal projects, 2 Beijing projects, and more than 30 projects from BNU (including 10 projects of university quality courses) on education and teaching reform. The college has 3 Beijing quality courses. One professor won the Award of Beijing Outstanding Teacher in education and teaching. There are more than 30 textbooks, including 4 textbooks for the 21th century, 3 textbooks of the 10th Five-Year Plan, 6 textbooks of the11the Five-Year Plan and 4 Beijing Quality Textbooks. There are also 6 projects on Beijing Quality Textbooks in 2007. The Chemical Experimental Teaching Centre passed the evaluation in 2001, and became the Beijing Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center in Aug. 2006 and the National Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center for Developing in Dec. 2007.

The College of Chemistry recruits about 120 undergraduate students, 88 master graduate students, and 35 Ph.D. students. It has also mission in adult education and high school teacher training. In 2007, the college started to recruit free-education students who will become high school teacher after graduating. Now it has formed a complete system on the education of undergraduate students, master students, Ph.D. students and Post doctors.

In the last years, more than half of the undergraduate students went to graduate school, for example, it is 58% in 2006, and 53% in 2007. More than 90% undergraduate students are employed after graduation. It is 98% in 2007. Our graduates are welcomed by the employers and the society.

All this maps out the level and quality of our century-old Beijing Normal University and nearly a century old College of Chemistry!