At the age of 37, he pursued postgraduate studies, became a doctorate at 45, and at the age of 64, he became an academician. He often uses the phrase "Behind great reputation lies great responsibility" to remind himself.

By Liu Wei, Yan Dong, Zou Zheng

Li Hongzhong (1941—)

A chemist, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and researcher at the Institute of Process Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In 1960, he was admitted to the Department of Chemical Engineering at Taiyuan University of Technology (now Taiyuan University of Science and Technology), majoring in Basic Organic Synthesis. After graduation, he began working at the Shanxi Institute of Coal Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In 1978, he was admitted to the Graduate School of the University of Science and Technology of China, and in 1986, he obtained his Ph.D. degree from the Institute of Chemical Metallurgy of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (now the Institute of Process Engineering). From 1986 to 1988, he was a postdoctoral fellow and visiting scholar at the University of British Columbia in Canada. In 2005, he was elected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and in 2008, he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry of the United Kingdom.

In the 1960s, Li Hongzhong participated in the national research on neoprene rubber. As a chemist and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, this was the starting point of his research career. He did not stop studying because of his achievements. In 1978, when China resumed the entrance examination for postgraduate students, Li Hongzhong, 37 years old at the time, began to pursue a master's and doctoral degree. At the age of 45, he obtained his Ph.D. degree and then went abroad to conduct postdoctoral research. Perhaps it is because of this perseverance and tenacity that scientists of this generation have been able to achieve research results comparable to those of international counterparts.

Admitted to university with near-perfect scores

In 1965, Li Hongzhong took a photo in front of the chemical engineering laboratory at his alma mater, Taiyuan University of Science and Technology.

Li Hongzhong was born on January 21, 1941, in Bajiu Village, Xiyang County, Shanxi Province. His father had once served as the secretary of the underground anti-Japanese organization in the Xiyang West District of the Communist Party of China, mobilizing and organizing the Xiyang people to resist the aggression of the Japanese Empire.After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan, his father wrote a rap praising the land reform in the liberated areas and asked young Li Hongzhong to promote it on the streets, planting the seeds of love for the Party and the country in the young Li Hongzhong's heart. His mother was a resourceful, hardworking, and thrifty housewife. Although she had a low level of education, she attached great importance to the education of her children and made sacrifices to send all 5 of them to school. It was in this family environment that Li Hongzhong studied hard and excelled in his studies. He eventually successfully entered Taiyuan No. 5 Middle School in Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province, which was one of the best middle schools in the province.

Taiyuan No. 5 Middle School is one of the best middle schools in Shanxi Province, with a strong faculty. The teachers were competent and not only had high teaching levels but also took their teaching seriously. The rigorous geometric proofs, magical chemical experiments, and mysterious photoelectric phenomena deeply fascinated Li Hongzhong, gradually arousing his interest in science. During his time at school, Li Hongzhong consistently ranked among the top students, and his academic records are still cherished by Taiyuan No. 5 Middle School.

In 1960, Li Hongzhong was admitted to the Department of Polymer Chemistry in the Department of Engineering Mechanics at Taiyuan University of Technology, with almost perfect scores. Later, due to departmental adjustments, he became a major in Basic Organic Synthesis in the Department of Chemical Engineering. During his five years of university, he worked hard to study, achieving excellent grades in all subjects. At the same time, as a class monitor and the secretary of the Communist Youth League, he wholeheartedly served his classmates, actively applied to join the Communist Party, and was listed as a key development target by the Party branch.

Due to his outstanding performance during his studies, in 1965, Li Hongzhong was assigned to work at the Shanxi Institute of Coal Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (hereina