The School of Materials Science and Engineering at Wuhan University of Technology traces its origin back to 1898, when Zhang Zhidong, then Governor-General of Huguang (covering present-day Hubei and Hunan Provinces), founded Hubei Academy of Industrial Arts. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the school has undergone three key stages of development: "Fifty Years of Steady Accumulation," "Ten Years of Rapid Advancement,"and "A New Journey of Striving Forward"—guided by the educational philosophy of Honoring Virtue, Fostering Knowledge, Exploring Matter, and Forging Materials. The school has achieved a series of milestones, including:
1. Two National Firsts:the first programs Silicate-related Engineering program and the first Composite Materials and Engineering program in China.
2. Three First Batches:the first batch of national key disciplines, the first batch of key disciplines under the"211 Project"in China, and the first batch of "Double First-Class Initiative"—a national strategy to develop world-class universities and academic disciplines.
3. All Eight Achieved:all eight undergraduate programs recognized as national first-class undergraduate programs, and all accredited by China Engineering Education Accreditation Association.
These achievements have laid a solid foundation for building a world-class discipline in Materials Science and Engineering.
The school offers eight national-level characteristic undergraduate programs:
1. Materials Science and Engineering
2. Inorganic Non-metallic Materials Engineering
3. Composite Materials and Engineering
4. Polymer Materials and Engineering
5. Materials Physics
6. Materials Chemistry
7. New Energy Materials and Devices
8. Materials Forming and Control Engineering
It is authorized to grant doctoral degrees in the first-level discipline of Materials Science and Engineering, and has a postdoctoral research station. It also offers doctoral programs in interdisciplinary fields such as Nanoscience and Engineering. The school has established seven major research directions, including green manufacturing of building materials and strategic emerging building materials.
Currently, the school has 211 faculty members, 2,474 undergraduate students, and 3,428 graduate students, making it one of the leading talent training bases in the materials field in China, with a industry focus.
Based on five national-level research platforms — including the State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, National Engineering Research Center for Optical Fiber Sensing Technologies and Networks, the State Key Laboratory of Silicate Science and Advanced Building Materials, the State Key Laboratory of Advanced Glass Materials, and the State Key Laboratory of High-Temperature Light Alloys and Applied Technologies—the school has made remarkable progress in national-level teaching and research platforms, namely the WUT Center for Materials Research and Analysis (National CMA), and National Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center of Materials Science and Engineering. The school has made fruitful achievements in fundamental research and engineering applications: it has won 23 national science and technology awards and over 100 major scientific and technological achievements. Breakthroughs have been made in in cutting-edge fields such as low-carbon building materials, special composite materials, and intelligent optical fiber materials, contributing significantly to national strategic initiatives such as China’s carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, marine power, and transportation power.
The school has cultivated nearly 50,000 professionals, including seven academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, such as Zhang Qingjie and Jiang Desheng, as well as leading industry figures like Zhou Yuxian and He Shuping, establishing a talent training model characterized by Academicians Leading and Talents Emerging.
Committed to the internationalization, the school has established research collaborations with nine internationally renowned universities, including the University of Oxford (UK), the University of Michigan (USA), and Tohoku University (Japan). It has co-founded two international scientific research platforms: the International Joint Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing , and the International Joint Laboratory for Eco-Friendly Building Materials. It also partners with institutions like the National University of Singapore, Monash University (Australia), and the University of Birmingham (UK) to offer high-level joint education programs such as "3+1" (three years at the home university and one year abroad) , "3+2" (three years undergraduate and two years graduate study), and "2+2" (two years at each institution). According to the latest ESI (Essential Science Indicators) ranking, our discipline of Materials Science ranks in the top 0.05% globally, placing 31th in the world.
