Prof. ZHENG Quanshui, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Founding Principal of X-Institute and Professor at Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, China, delivered the 31st PAIR Distinguished Lecture titled “Reflections and suggestions from 20 years’ interdisciplinary innovative research” on 21 November 2024 on the PolyU campus. Approximately 100 participants attended the lecture in person. Meanwhile, an online viewing audience of over 11,800 from different countries and regions watched the live broadcast on multiple social media platforms, including Bilibili, WeChat, Weibo and YouTube.
Prof. Zheng kicked off his presentation by outlining the key driving forces of innovation and technology. He explained that achieving success in the “from zero to one” innovation stage and the subsequent “from one to N” stage often comes with the nearly inevitable “valley of death” period, which can last for over a decade. He then elaborated on his team’s 20 years of relentless effort in overcoming the “valleys of death”: studying structural superlubricity, building a model for talent development, and entering into the next “one-to-N” development phase. Prof. Zheng also described the key turning points in his academic and research journey and outlined the ways in which the X-Institute nurtures interdisciplinary research talents.
