The list of 2021 MIT Technology Review Innovators Under 35 (MIT TR 35) in China was released on 22 January. JLU Prof. Ma Zhichao of the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering was on the list.

As the technical mainstay of the national special project on major scientific instrument and equipment development, Prof. Ma Zhichao engaged in the development of the world’s first in situ test instrument for multi-load and multi-physical field coupling, and revealed the correlation between material mechanical behaviors and microstructure evolution under mechanical-electro-thermal-magnetic coupling conditions, providing technical support for the manufacturing process improvement and quality control of the material. So far, relevant technologies and instruments have been used in Peking University, Zhejiang University, Central Iron & Steel Research Institute, AVIC Chengdu Aircraft Industrial (Group) Co., Ltd., Zhongjie Machine Tool, Northeast Light Alloy Co., Ltd., etc. He was successively selected as the Young Scholar of Major Talent Program by the Ministry of Education (MOE) and into the Young Talent Support Program by the China Association for Science and Technology. In addition, he was awarded the first prize (ranking second) of the Technology Invention Award by the MOE, the first prize (ranking second) of the Technology Invention Award by Jilin Province, the Young Technological Talent Award of the China Instrument and Control Society, and Youth Science and Technology Award by the Jilin Province.

MIT TR 35 list is recognized as one of the most authoritative young talent lists in science and technology, with more than 20 years of history. Every year, it selects 35 worldwide leading innovators under 35 years old who are committed to the development and application of emerging science and technology and have exerted a profound influence on technological development in the future. These areas include but are not limited to biotechnology, energy materials, artificial intelligence, information technology, intelligent manufacturing, and other emerging technology areas. In 2017, the list was launched in China for the first time, aiming at cultivating rising and emerging forces for the development of China’s science and technology.

In 2021, the TR 35 attracted young scientists from 126 prestigious universities around the world to apply. Some of them come from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Cornell University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Sydney, Tsinghua University, Peking University, and the City University of Hong Kong. More than 150 Chinese and foreign academicians joined in the work of nomination or recommendation. And there were 144 reputed judges from 47 well-known universities or colleges in the world, 27 of whom are among the top 100 in the QS World University Rankings.