College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, whose precursor was the Department of Applied Chemistry, developed from Four Major Chemical Teaching and Research Groups and Corrosion and Protection Major Teaching and Research Group in the Department of Basic Courses ofNanjing Chemical Engineering College. College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering was officially established in 1983. It started to enroll students at Corrosion and Protection Major in 1974, at Biochemical Engineering and Industrial Analysis Majors in 1985, at Applied Chemistry Major in 1989, and at Chemistry Major (College of Chemical Engineering) in 2002. In 2000, the college merged with Mathematics Teaching and Research Group and Physics Teaching and Research Group, forming the College of Science. In April 2015,theCollege of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering was organized based on Department of Applied Chemistry of College of Science and Chemistry Major of College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering.

The college has teaching units (e.g. Department of Chemistry, Department of Applied Chemistry and Chemical Teaching and Experiment Center) and research institutes (e.g. Institute of Advanced Synthesis or IAS, Water Treatment Technology Research Institute, Applied Chemistry Research Institute and Fluorine Chemistry Applied Technology Research Institute).

The college has 1First-Level Disciplinewith the Qualification for Granting Doctoral Degree (Chemistry, 2021), 1Second-Level Disciplinewith the Qualification for Granting Doctoral Degree (Applied Chemistry, 2001),1First-Level Discipline with the Qualification for Granting Master Degree (Chemistry, 2006), 3Second-Level Disciplines with the Qualification for Granting Master Degree (Applied Chemistry, 1981; Organic Chemistry, 2003; and Analytical Chemistry, 2006),1 Second-LevelDiscipline with the Qualification for Granting Professional Master Degree (Materials and Chemical Engineering, 2019), and 2undergraduatemajors (Chemistry, 2002; Applied Chemistry, 1989). Chemistry (discipline) is listed in Jiangsu Province Key (Cultivated) Disciplines in the “13th Five-Year Plan” (Excellent in the Final Assessment). Chemistry (major) is listed in National First-Class Undergraduate Majors (2020), and Applied Chemistry is listed in Characteristic Majors in Jiangsu Province (2006). Chemistry (discipline) listed in Supported and Constructed Disciplines by the College maintains top 1 ‰ in ESI (Essential Science Indicators) Rankings (In January 2021, it firstly entered top 1 ‰ in ESI Rankings and ranked the 121st in the world). It rose to the top 0.79 ‰ in ESI Rankings and ranked the 115th in the world in July 2021.

The college owns national and provincial & ministerial scientific research platforms like National Experiment & Teaching Demonstration Center Subcenter, Jiangsu Province Basic Chemistry Course Experiment & Teaching Demonstration Center, Oil and Chemical Engineering Industrial Water Treatment Chemicals Engineering Research Center, and Jiangsu Province Water Chemistry and Industrial Water Treatment Engineering Laboratory. It is also the affiliated unit of Jiangsu Provincial Agricultural Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Professional Committee and Jiangsu Provincial Water Chemistry and Water Treatment Professional Committee.

Presently, the college has 143 teaching staff and 2 foreign part-time teachers. Among them, there are 103 full-time teachers and 44 professors. 96.1% of full-time teachers hold doctoral degrees, and 79.6% of them possess overseas experiences. 2 are listed in National Talents Program, 3 in Jiangsu Province Distinguished Professors, 1 in “Jiangsu Province 100 Foreign Experts Program”, 2 in “Jiangsu Province Innovation and Entrepreneurship Talents” , 17 in “Jiangsu Province Innovation and Entrepreneurship Doctors”, 1 in National Excellent Chemical Engineering Workers, 3 in“333 High-Level Talents Training Project” in Jiangsu Province (1 in Level-2 and 2 in Level-3), 3 in “Young and Middle-Aged Academic Leading Talentsof Young Teachers Training Project in Jiangsu Province”, 1 in Jiangsu ProvinceExcellent Young Backbone Teachers, 5 in Jiangsu Province Six Peak Talent Programs, and 1 in Young and Middle-Aged Experts with Outstanding Contributions in Nanjing. In 2016, the Institute of Advanced Synthesis (IAS) was founded, which attracted outstanding scholars from global top-level universities, including Harvard University, Yale University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, New York University (the USA), University of Munich (Germany) and Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (Spain).

The college centers on teaching work, undertakes the basic chemistry teaching of Nanjing Tech University, strengthens the construction of teaching staff, and constantly improves the teaching level. In recent years, the college has built a series of excellent courses in Jiangsu Province like “Inorganic Chemistry and Analytical Chemistry”, instructed students in dozens of “Jiangsu Province Key (National) Open Fund for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Practice of College Students”, and edited more than 10 textbooks likeAnalytical Chemistry,Inorganic Chemistry and Analytical Chemistry,Physical Chemistry,Organic Chemistry,Micro Experiment inOrganic ChemistryandExperiments for Chemistry Majors(Bilingual Edition). It has won more than 20 awards (e.g. National Micro-lecture Teaching Competition for Colleges and Universities, National “Internet +” Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition for College Students, Jiangsu Province College Young Teacher Teaching Competition, Jiangsu Province College Micro-lecture Teaching Competition, Jiangsu Province Teaching & Research Achievements Award and Jiangsu Province Excellent Graduation Thesis), and published more than 100 papers.

The college has successively undertaken more than 200 projects like National Major Special Program, National Key R & D Program, National “863” Program, National Science and Technology Supporting Project, National Natural Science Foundation and other provincial & ministerial projects, as well as more than 700 horizontal scientific research projects, with the average annual scientific research fund exceeding 10 millionyuan. It has won 1-time Second Prize ofState Scientific and Technological Progress Award,more than 10 provincial and ministerial awards, and more than 150 authorized patents in China and the world. Additionally, it has published more than 1,000 SCI papers in academic journals at home and abroad, including more than 600 high-level papers inScience,Natureand its series,JACSandAngew. Chem. Int. Ed.andAdv. Mater.

Listed in the First-Batch “Three-Aspect Overall Development Talent Education Comprehensive Reform Demonstration College Construction Units in NTU”, the college always adheres tothe fundamental task of “education fostering virtues”, carries outthe idea of “love & services” in student’s work and the “Coordinated Development of Five-Type Education”, strenuously explores innovative talent training model, and vigorously cultivates talents in the new era who are committed to national rejuvenation. Now, there are 1,427 students in the college, including 922 undergraduates, 43 doctoral students and 462 master’s students. In recent years, the postgraduate-entrance-examination rate and employment rate of the college have reached 35% and 96% respectively. More than 140 fresh graduates pursue further studies at prestigious Chinese and foreign universities and research institutes like Tsinghua University, Fudan University, Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Arizona, University of Copenhagen and the National University of Singapore. 4 graduate theses are rated as Jiangsu Province Excellent Master and Doctoral Theses, 23 projects are funded by Jiangsu Province Graduate Innovation Fund, 12 graduate students are jointly cultivated with Kobe University in Japan, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, Boston College in the United States and Sungkyunkwan University in South Korea, and more than 120 students are rewarded in discipline competitions at or above provincial level. The college has hosted Jiangsu Zhongdan Group Innovation Cup” Experimental Skill Competition (for more than 20 years), as well as the newly-established “Alalis Cup” Water Treatment Experiment & Innovation Competition and “Persee Cup” Instrument Test Competition for College and University Students in Jiangsu Province, which have become an influential brand of scientific and technological activities for college students in Jiangsu Province.

In the future,the collegewill thoroughly implement Xi Jinping’s Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, uphold the fundamental task of “education fostering virtues”, strengthen the construction of first-class disciplines, and build into acollege with characteristic development with advanced teaching level and first-classdisciplines,by consolidating academic foundation and conducting collaborative innovation.

(By September 2021)