Originated from tropical crops processing major founded in 1958, School of Materials Science and Engineering (abbreviated asSMSE), Hainan University,boasting a long history of running from the department of tropical crop product storage and processing, faculty of engineering, college of engineering, college of science and technology, and college of materials and chemical engineering, was established in 2019. Basing on Hainan and facing the whole country,School of Materials Science and Engineeringserves major national development strategies and local economic and social development, as well as provides talent support and intellectual support for Hainan’s deepen reform and opening-up and the construction of free trade port with Chinese characteristics.
Materials science and engineering discipline of SMSE, a key discipline of Hainan Province which ranked among the top 1% in ESI ranking globally, is a first-order discipline authorized to confer Ph.D. Degree and endowed a professional master's degree authorization category in materials and chemical engineering. SMSE has two competitive characteristic undergraduate majors in Hainan Provincial level: materials science and engineering and polymer material and engineering, among which materials science and engineering has been listed as first-class undergraduate major construction site at the provincial level.
SMSE has more than ten national and provincial teaching and scientific research platforms like State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea (co-construction), natural rubber collaborative innovation center, Key Laboratory of advanced materials from tropical island resources of Ministry of Education, Hainan Provincial Key Laboratory of Research on Utilization of Si-Zr-Ti Resources, Hainan provincial key laboratory of special glass, and Hainan provincial collaborative innovation center for the progressive utilization of quality silicon resources and special glass, etc.
Staff
SMSE has a total staff number of 60, of which 47 are full-time teachers. Among the full-time faculty, there are 37 with senior professional positions, 39 with doctoral degree, 1 winner of the National Science Foundation for Distinguished Young Scholars, 1 winner of First prize of National Science and Technology Progress Award, 3 candidates of the New Century "Hundred, Thousand and Ten Thousand Talents Project" in China, and 20 doctoral supervisors. In the past five years, it has been awarded more than 100 various scientific research projects such as the National High-tech R&D Program (863 Program) with a total fund of more than RMB 40 million yuan, and obtained more than 10 Hainan provincial scientific and technological progress awards.
Teaching and Talent Cultivation
SMSE has significantly improved its comprehensive strength, currently with 1 teaching team in provincial level, 1 excellent course in provincial level, and 4 university excellent courses. There are Hainan University science experimental class of materials science and engineering, and Ministry of Education pilot class in the program of cultivating outstanding engineers of polymer materials and engineering affiliated to SMSE. It focuses on cultivation of innovation and practical ability with a distinctive engineering cultivation mode of undergraduate education, highlighting teaching students in accordance with their aptitude. College students' science and technology innovation has become a major highlight of talent cultivation. In recent years, numerous college students have been awarded in various national science and technology innovation contests. Every year, there are outstanding undergraduate students winning various scholarships for further study abroad. Many excellent undergraduates are also recommended to further study in Tsinghua University, Peking University, Zhejiang University and other famous universities or research institutes like Chinese Academy of Sciences. In addition, outstanding undergraduates have the opportunity to be sent to the United States, Japan, Singapore, and other countries to exchange and study.
Further Studies and Employment
SMSE has holistic capability to cultivate undergraduates, master’s students and doctorate students, with a graduate enrollment rate of about 36%, among which 72% students would be enrolled by Peking University, Tsinghua university, Zhejiang university, and other famous universities or research institutes like the Chinese Academy of Sciences. As one of the universities in the Midwest of China, outstanding graduate students can be entitled exclusively to doctorate programs abroad at public expense, among which 4 candidates come from SMSE yearly. The students’employment rate of SMSE has remained above 90%, ranked in the top of Hainan university, with students working at some leading companies such as China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation, China State Construction Engineering Group Corporation Limited, China Railway Engineering Group Limited, China National Nuclear Corporation, Postal Savings Bank of China, and Foxconn Technology Group, etc.
Scientific and Technological Innovation and Social Services
SMSE features with the research of natural rubber materials. Based on the philosophy of“take root on the island and thrive in Danzhou”, it has cultivated a large number of outstanding talents for China, and supported the development of domestic natural rubber industry for decades. Based on new missions in new era, it takes initiative to adjust to national strategies and to work out solutions to Materials discipline relating to tropic, ocean and agriculture. It engages research in three scientific domains: tropical island materials, marine energy materials and ecological environment materials. With Hainan tropical characteristic materials as the object of research, SMSE has systematically carried out fundamental research and applying basic research for the development and application of relative resources, and already obtained high-level academic achievements in realizing original innovation. Hainan is the most important natural rubber resource production and research base in China. SMSE has carried out research on natural rubber processing technology and composite materials with a long history and fruitful achievements. Hainan is rich in high-quality quartz sand resources. According to local conditions, SMSE has engaged in research and development of special glass, reef restoration materials, and high-tech silicon-based ceramic materials, which have achieved remarkable economic, social and political benefits. Since tropical marine microbial corrosion on marine facilities, it is vital to develop accordingly ecological environmental materials and energy saving and environment-friendly green building materials adapting to tropical climate. SMSE has worked out the solution to relative problems in engineering material and technology during construction of tropical marine projects in South China Sea, and provided talents supports and scientific technology for the development and utilization of South China Sea.