Tianjin University deepens basic research following Xi Jinping reply letter
The initiative follows a reply letter sent last year by President Xi Jinping to the university's faculty and students during its 130th-anniversary celebration, which emphasized strengthening basic research and technological breakthroughs.
Simulating Tidal Soil Dynamics
Inside a row of laboratory culture bottles, researchers study mud collected from the Bohai coastal region mixed with varying proportions of calcium and magnesium elements. Regular seawater flushing simulates how different soil compositions affect carbon sequestration under tidal action.
The critical zone concept originated with the U.S. Researchers expect to build an initial coastal Earth critical zone large model next year, followed by decades of continuous study to clarify carbon and nitrogen elemental cycles around the Bohai Sea region.
Establishing Research Guarantees
The policy aligns with directives from the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Science and Technology. It establishes a triple-guarantee system covering funding, evaluation, and ecological support.
The university selects 20 research projects annually based on national strategic requirements. It deploys a long-cycle research mechanism using a “one team, one policy” framework. This approach provides academician teams with extended timeframes to explore different technical pathways and encourages researchers to tackle complex scientific problems.
Integrating Industrial Innovation
Academician Yuan Yingjin and his team entered the synthetic biology field over twenty years ago when the discipline was in its early stages domestically.
Municipal departments including the Education Commission, Science and Technology Bureau, and Industry and Information Technology Bureau recently matched nearly ten foundational research achievements with industrial enterprises as part of municipal talent and economic initiatives. The university’s School of Synthetic Biology has initiated industrialization in green petrochemicals and biomedicine to support economic development and public health.
The university aims to orient its engineering strengths toward world scientific frontiers, economic battlefields, national economic needs, and people’s health. These efforts establish a solid source foundation for high-level technological self-reliance.