"Wherever I can serve China, I will do the best service for China there." On the afternoon of December 10, in an exclusive interview with Aoyi News, Li Shutang, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and dean of the School of Nanotechnology and Technology of Soochow University, laughed and said that he was an earthling, but his heart was The heart of China.
Born in the mainland, grew up in Hong Kong, and later settled in the United States, he returned when his homeland needed him. In 1994, Lee returned to Hong Kong. In 2008, he led a research team from Hong Kong to soochow University. 13 years have passed, and he has trained a batch of nano-new material talents.
As a leader in the field of nanotechnology, in 2021, Li Shutang seized the opportunity of the Hengqin Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone and led the establishment of the Macao Institute of Materials Science and Engineering (MIMSE) to devote himself to the scientific research cause in the Greater Bay Area.
"Whether it is to catch up with the frontier of science and technology, or to enter the no man's land of scientific research, we must adhere to the independent innovation of science and technology", in the nearly one-hour exchange with Aoyi News, Li Shutang repeatedly emphasized that science and technology are strong, the country will be strong; and in the development of science and technology, China must unswervingly take the road of independent innovation. At the same time, in the field of nano research and OLED technology that he is familiar with, Li Shutang also shared his own unique insights.
Talking about scientific and technological innovation:
To catch up with the frontier or step into no man's land, we must adhere to independent innovation
Aoyi News: At the recent Greater Bay Area Science and Technology Innovation Summit, the famous economist Fan Gang mentioned that "the game of great powers is the game of science and technology in the end".
Li Shutang: I think this is very correct. China's competition with the United States is ultimately a game of science and technology. Economic and military forces are supporting this competition; in turn, the development of science and technology is also feeding back economic development and military development, and if science and technology are strong, they can support economic development and further support the strength of the army. So these three aspects are cyclical, but the final foundation falls on technology.
China's historical development since ancient times also shows this point, from leading the international community to nearly 200 years of closed country, our science and technology in the same place, the country will be backward and beaten. Only when science and technology become stronger, the country will become stronger. Therefore, China must not only have a strong economy, but also a strong technology.
Thinking about the previous "Chinese and dogs are not allowed to enter", now I feel a lot, and I have a full sense of national pride. With the leadership of the CPC Central Committee, China has great prospects, and China's strength is just around the corner.
Aoyi News: The central authorities have repeatedly proposed that only innovation can we strengthen ourselves and compete for the lead, and we must unswervingly take the road of independent innovation and firmly grasp the initiative of innovation and development in our own hands. How do you understand this sentence?
Li Shutang: The central authorities have raised it very well, and I am very much in favor of the central authorities' far-sighted strategy. Every time we do a science and technology industry, we must firmly grasp this core technology, "card neck" technology, and innovative technology in our own hands, otherwise people can take it back at any time.
Similar to us doing integrated circuit chips, we can design chips, but there is no high-resolution lithography machine that manufactures chips, and the lack of this core technology is facing the problem of "card neck". For example, ZTE and Huawei, for this reason, development is hindered. Huawei has strategic foresight and has left several hands. Our high-speed rail is doing well now, otherwise it will be taken back.
I also talked about this when I gave a report on OLED technology. OLED refers to organic light-emitting diodes, simply put, "organic light-emitting displays", one of the key core technologies is manufacturing equipment, but china is still lacking.
Oyi News: Now that China emphasizes independent innovation from top to bottom, why is "autonomy" raised to a very high position?
Li Shutang: Independent innovation is very important. If it is not independent innovation, people can take it back at any time, and many core technologies he does not sell to you, such as the semiconductor chip industry. The good news is that China is now catching up. Huawei's development in recent decades is an example, but it is still a little late. If Chinese chips can catch up, it will be even more different. In the software field, the Harmony operating system is like this, and the other party did not expect that Huawei had been laid out 10 years ago.
Therefore, independent innovation has two levels of significance: when you go to the front of others, step into no man's land, no one can provide reference, you must have independent innovation; when you catch up with others, you must learn from others, in order to protect yourself, you must also leave a hand, you must adhere to independent innovation.
Talking about nano research:
If Chinese science and technology want to lead the world, we must do a good job in nanotechnology
Oichi News: You are an authoritative expert in the field of nano research. In your opinion, what is the strategic significance of nano research in the development of science and technology in China today?
Li Shutang: Nanotechnology may not be well understood. The nanometer is a unit of length, which is one billionth of a meter. Nanotechnology refers to the technology of processing and manufacturing on the size of the nanometer, making things very small. Nano is not a revolutionary technology, but a technological evolution, its field basically covers every aspect of production and life, for example, computers, mobile phones, glasses on the coating and so on.
Both cutting-edge science and emerging industrial fields are based on nanotechnology, as it covers every area of humanity and is the foundation of future strategic core innovations. China wants to be strong, to go to the forefront to lead the world, we must do a good job in nanotechnology, such as quantum communication, we are doing a good job, and the popularization of 5G networks must also use nanotechnology.
Oyi News: At present, what is the level of nano research in China in the world?
Li Shutang: Overall, China's nanotechnology research is currently catching up with the United States. We can look at this problem from many aspects, but in the end, we have to look at the market.
In terms of nanotechnology papers published, China is surpassing the United States and ranking first in the world. On the Nature Index, China also slightly surpassed the United States this year. However, in terms of patents, China is still lacking, and at the same time, it is still relatively backward in transforming the results into products and economic benefits.
Science and technology need to conform to the market, serve the market, if there is no market, technology is difficult to exert its own value, so how to transform research results into economic benefits, is a very worthy of consideration. In this regard, China still needs to improve.
Aoyi News: At the Greater Bay Area Science Forum, Academician Bai Chunli mentioned that he hopes that the achievements of nanotechnology in Guangdong can be transformed and landed as soon as possible to form an industrial cluster.
Li Shutang: Guangdong's advantages are great. First, it is very important for the government to have courage and enthusiasm. Second, it is also important to have funds. Third, there is a market and policies that can attract elites from all over China and even international elites to come here.
How to attract talents to stay and make them feel a sense of belonging is very important. For example, many people go to Silicon Valley in the United States and don't leave. Because Silicon Valley has very good policies, there are good mechanisms, and there are also good medical care and education. Many famous schools are over there, such as UC Berkeley (University of California, Berkeley), Stanford (Stanford University) and so on. If Guangdong can give full play to its own advantages, then it is also absolutely capable and qualified to attract talents to stay.
When people ask me where I am from, I say that I am a person from the earth, my heart is the heart of China, and where I can serve China, I will do the best service for China there. I returned to Hong Kong in 1994, went to Suzhou in 2008, worked full-time in Suzhou since 2012, and then, starting this year, I took care of Suzhou and Macao at the same time, hoping to seize the opportunity of the Hengqin Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone to make some contributions to the country.
Aoyi News: Just now you mentioned that science and technology should serve the market, and we are relatively backward in transforming scientific and technological achievements into market products, so how to change? How does the government or society need to cooperate?
Li Shutang: Our government has done a good job in this regard. But freezing three feet, not a day's cold, to do this better, it will take time. Our culture and management style cannot be changed in a single sentence.
At present, There is a problem in China, that is, the review mechanism needs to be optimized. Whether an achievement is done well or not, how to evaluate it? Who's going to judge? In addition, we lack a bridge between scientific research and the market. If we want to build this bridge well, China needs to do a good job in system building and people's thinking. On the one hand, scientists, professors, and on the other side are industrialists, even craftsmen and engineers, how to "weld" them together so that the products created can adapt to the development of the market economy? However, these are all urgent and take time to perfect.
Talking about organic luminescence technology:
Guangdong is a large province in China's display field
Aoyi News: Recently, you gave a speech on "Opportunities and Challenges of OLED Technology" at the Greater Bay Area Science Forum, in your opinion, what difficulties and pain points are currently facing oled technology in the development?
Li Shutang: Organic luminescence (OLED) technology has been developed for more than 40 years, and I watched it grow and watch it grow. In 1976, I entered kodak in the United States at the same time as OLED inventor Dr. Deng Qingyun, witnessed the birth of the first olED invention patent in 1980, and began to have products in 2000, and has formed a trillion-dollar market scale so far, most of which are used for mobile phone displays, as well as smart watches, televisions, etc.
But one of the problems facing it now is that in the OLED field, the cost of buying production equipment is very high. China invests 21 production lines, all of which are imported, south Korea's production lines are not as much as China's, but it accounts for 90% of the global OLED market, and the yield rate of others is better than ours. China has done a lot of cutting-edge work in this regard, but the challenge of "card neck" is how to get the product out.
On the other hand, China's production process technology is not yet in place. The OLED industry has not been launched recently, is still growing, has great potential for development, and will have a large market space in the future to help it improve its performance. As can be seen from the product growth line, OLED is going uphill, and it will slowly push the market of liquid crystal panels (LCDs).
In contrast, LCD is already a very mature product, OLED is still young, technology needs to be optimized, acceptance should be improved, and cost performance should be improved. Although the production cost of OLED is relatively low under the same circumstances, in terms of equipment, the cost of the production line is spread out and the average cost is raised. In addition, OLED needs to improve its life expectancy, which are difficult problems, but they will certainly be solved in time.
OLED has two large markets, one is the high-resolution screen of mobile phones, this market can basically replace LCD, and OLED has accounted for more than half of the share. There is also a micro-monitor, like our common TV set 100 PPI is enough, but the micro-monitor is more than 1500 PPI, this OLED technology can do a good job. Vr and AR headsets with high pixel density will be a big market. I am optimistic about the future market of OLED in the field of display and light source.
Aoyi News: At present, from the perspective of national policies, how much support is there for the development of OLED technology? Where is Guangdong in the development of the national OLED industry?
Li Shutang: The country attaches great importance to OLED in recent years, and the "14th Five-Year Plan" new display industry planning policy should promote the industry to leap to the middle and high end of the value chain, focusing on flexible displays, micro-displays, ultra-high-definition displays and other fields.
Guangdong is a large province in China's display field, and TCL, Xinli, Royole and other enterprises are in Guangdong. This year, the "National New Display Technology Innovation Center" landed in Guangdong; in addition, in September, Guangdong also released the "Brilliant Action Plan for Display Manufacturing Equipment" focusing on the localization of display manufacturing core equipment. We have also brought two projects to Guangdong, hoping to do something for the Greater Bay Area, serving Guangdong Province on the one hand, and serving the whole of China on the other hand.
Academician Li Shutang was exclusively interviewed by Aoyi News
Coordinator: Xie Jiangtao
Written by: Aoyi News Feng Xiaohui Lin Sisi