On July 21, the School of Chemical and Material Engineering held the 3rd Jiangnan-University of Bristol Joint Symposium on Colloid, Soft Matter and Functional Materials. Approximately 60 faculty members and students from both universities attended the symposium. Participants included Professor Wuge Briscoe from the University of Bristol, Professor Xinhu Wu from the Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics (Chinese Academy of Sciences), Associate Researcher Gang Wang from the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering (Chinese Academy of Sciences), Professor Piming Ma (Associate Dean of the School of Chemical and Material Engineering), Professor Guanqing Sun, Professor Cheng Yang, along with key faculty members from the Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Biological Colloids (Ministry of Education) and graduate students in related fields.

At the symposium, Associate Dean Piming Ma first extended a warm welcome to the visiting professors and briefly reviewed the history of academic cooperation and exchanges between the University of Bristol and the School of Chemical and Material Engineering. The symposium was co-chaired by Associate Dean Piming Ma and Professor Wuge Briscoe. Professor Wuge Briscoe delivered a report titled"Centipede" Statistical Polymer under Nano-confinement: Surface Forces, Superlubricity, and Transient Interfacial Gels. Professor Xinhu Wu, Associate Researcher Gang Wang, Professor Guanqing Sun, Associate Professor Weijun Yang, Associate Professor Hang Jiang, Associate Professor Yuwei Zhu, and Associate Professor Binglei Song each delivered academic presentations on their respective research areas. Topics covered included ionic liquid assembly and lubrication properties, supramolecular assembly of lipopolysaccharides, behavior and stabilization mechanisms of interfacial particles, polyurethane elastomers, the behavior of microgel soft particles as emulsion interfacial switches, biointerface coatings for guided tissue regeneration, and thermothickening fluids formed by surfactants. The presentations were rich in content, and participants engaged in lively discussions and interactions. After the symposium, Professor Wuge Briscoe highly commended the event.

The University of Bristol is one of the six red brick universities in the United Kingdom and currently ranks 51st globally in the QS World University Rankings. Its chemistry discipline is ranked first in the UK. The School of Chemical and Material Engineering has signed a "3.5+0.5+1" integrated undergraduate-master's joint training agreement with the University of Bristol, promoting collaboration in undergraduate education. The successful convening of this symposium deepened mutual understanding between the two institutions and will significantly advance their cooperation in graduate education and scientific research.