From 16th to 18th July, 2017, DICP Symposium (XLIV) on International Young Scientist Symposium on Catalytic Biomass Conversion was held in our institute. The symposium was chaired by Prof. Feng Wang from DICP and Prof. Carsten Sievers from the Georgia Institute of Technology. The vice director Rui Cai delivered a speech at the opening ceremony and briefed the research and progress in DICP. More than twenty scientists from China, the United States, Sweden, Netherland, Japan and Singapore were invited to present brilliant research reports on the symposium and had a warm discussion with the participants.

The symposium aims to promote research and development in the field of catalytic biomass conversion and focuses on a number of cutting-edge topics in this field: conversion and utilization of native biomass, production of chemicals and fuels from lignocellulose, the mechanism of biomass conversion process, spectral characterization of the catalysts, and applications of theoretical calculations in biomass conversion. The participants also visited the General Testing and Analysis group in DICP and Dalian science and technology innovation park of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and conducted in-depth discussion on international cooperation and academic exchanges.

This forum strengthens the exchange and cooperation between DICP and the relevant scientific research institutions on catalytic biomass transformation and enhances the international influence of DICP in this research area. It will also promote the development of biomass conversion in DICP. (Text by Huifang Liu, Photo by Chaofeng Zhang and Zhitong Zhao)