Chen Wei-Wang, General Manager of Everlight Chemical (middle), takes a group photo with the teachers and students who won the “Everlight Green Chemistry Research Paper Award”. Picture/Provided by Chinese Chemical Society
The “Everlight Green Chemistry Research Paper Award” was awarded at Tamkang University on March 30 at the “2024 Chinese Chemistry Annual Meeting” co-organized by the Chinese Chemical Society and Tamkang University. The winners include: Mahmoud Kamal Hussien (Ma Kai), Ph.D., and his supervisory professor Chen Guixian from the Department of Applied Chemistry/Academia Sinica, Yang-Ming Jiaotong University, Dr. Raju Kumar (Kurayu) from the Institute of Chemistry, Academia Sinica, and his supervisors Zhong Bowen and Yangming Cai Xinrong, a master’s degree student from the Department of Applied Chemistry of Jiaotong University, and Hong Songfu, a supervisor.
Everlight Chemical has been committed to promoting green chemistry for a long time. All factories have implemented the “Twelve Principles of Green Chemistry”, which has been recognized by all sectors of society. Starting from 2020, Everlight is the first company to sponsor the Chinese Chemical Society to establish the “Everlight Green Chemistry Research Paper Award” in Taiwan. Each year, it provides higher bonuses of 100,000 NTD to each winning student and 50,000 NTD to the supervisor, with a total of 500,000 NTD in funding to encourage colleges and universities. Teachers and students in the university’s chemistry-related institutes are actively engaged in green chemistry research and contribute to academic and industrial applications and sustainable environment.
This year, a total of 14 papers participated in the competition. The review committee selected 3 papers to win the award based on eight aspects including green chemistry, environmental contribution and paper innovation. Chen Wei-Eang, General Manager of Everlight Chemical, presented the awards and commended the 3 winners and their supervisors, recognizing their outstanding performance in applying green chemistry to academic research.
The first winner, Ma Kai, is from Egypt and is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the National Taiwan University Condensed State Science Research Center. The winning paper is “Green Combinatory Modification Approach of Metal-Free g-C3N4-Based Photocatalysts for Solar-to-Fuels Conversion”.
In 2018, he studied under Professor Chen Gui-Xian of the Institute of Atomic and Molecular Sciences, Academia Sinica. He is mainly engaged in research projects related to metal-free green modification. Photocatalysts used for converting solar energy into fuels are of great benefit to energy and environmental sustainability. There have been many related papers were published in internationally well-known journals.
The second winner, Kurayu, is from India. He obtained a PhD in Applied Chemistry from National Yangming Jiaotong University in 2023. His supervisor, Professor Chung Bowen, praised him as a passionate and outstanding scientist. He is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Taiwan. The winning paper is “Tailoring and Exploring the Surface Chemistry of Hydrotalcite-derived Oxides: Applications in Heterogeneous Catalysis” (Tailoring and Exploring the Surface Chemistry of Hydrotalcite-derived Oxides: Applications in Heterogeneous Catalysis). The research focuses on regulating the surface physical and chemical properties of simple hydrotalcite-derived metal oxides are used as catalyst materials for converting waste biomass into biochemicals. Many relevant papers have been published in internationally influential chemical journals.
The third winner, Cai Xinrong, obtained a master’s degree from Yangming Jiaotong University in 2023. His supervisor, Hong Songfu, affirmed that he had complete material identification and analysis capabilities during the thesis research. The winning paper is “Carbon Nanofiber supported Nickel Single Atom Catalyst for the Industrial Criteria of CO2 to CO Conversion”. The research results have won many applied Chemistry Award, multiple papers published in top journals, and important contributions to sustainable chemistry.
Chen Wei-Wang thanked the teachers and students of each school who have competed for the Green Chemistry Paper Award over the past four years, and was pleased to see that more and more outstanding scientists are investing in the research field of green chemistry. He said that the contemporary mainstream chemical industry still has many processes and products that do not fully comply with the principles of green chemistry, which means there are still many opportunities for scientific research breakthroughs. Everlight Chemical promises to continue to practice green chemistry within the company and will continue to co-organize the “Green Chemistry Research Paper Award” with the Chinese Chemical Society. It is hoped that the annual bonus of 500,000 NTD will take root and sprout like a seed, driving all sectors of industry, academia and research to jointly create green chemical business opportunities.
