The Institute for Advanced Materials (IAM) is a full-time Scientific Research Institution in Jiangsu University, which was established on Oct. 27th 2011. The institute was affiliated with the College of Science and Engineering in Jiangsu University. Since its inception, IAM has always taken "the development of preponderant discipline and the cultivation of high-level innovative talents" as their guiding ideology, and aimed to "enhance innovation ability and expand public influence". To maximize the advantages of human resources at the First-level doctoral disciplines, the facilities and related scientific research in the college of Materials Science and Engineering, the institute has combined the different research platforms from Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Materials Tribology, Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Photon Production Science and Technology, Machinery Industry Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composite and Functional Materials, to conduct diversified researches for strategic reserve, frontier sciences and industrial applications. The institute is now fabricating a system from Fundamental Research to Applied Research, and from New Materials Development to New Materials Industrialization, in endeavouring to build a leading domestic base for new material research and the development of innovative talents.

Professor Yunbo Chen, from the Chinese Academy of Engineering, was appointed as the honorary president of IAM. Tenured professor Flemming Besenbacher, from Aarhus University in Denmark, membership of Danish Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences Foreign academician, was also appointed as the honorary president. Professor Kunshan Zhong, the academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering, is the director of Academic Committee in IAM. Professor Kesong Zhou, the academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering, is the deputy director of Academic Committee in IAM. Currently, IAM involves 25 faculty members with doctoral degree, including 5 PhD supervisors, 9 full professors and 3 associate professors. Amongst all, one professor was selected into Thousand Talents Program, one professor won the outstanding youth foundation of Jiangsu Province, one professor won the innovative and entrepreneurial talents of Jiangsu Province and one professor was honored with Jiangsu Specially Appointed Professor. In short, IAM is a leading scientific research team with rational knowledge and age structure, able to provide ample innovation ideas for tackling key technological problems, and undoubtedly strong comprehensive capacity for scientific research.

After three years of development, IAM has gradually formed its own distinctive research features and science preponderance. The institute has made a number of major achievements in the aerospace, ocean with major equipment structural materials, nanomaterials and biotechnology, solid lubrication and surface engineering, functional materials and devices, porous engineering materials and related applications. The institute has won plenty of awards from Chinese government and Jiangsu province, such as the Second Prize and Third Prize of Jiangsu Provincial Government, the First Prize and Second Prize (twice) of China Machinery Industry Federation, the Second Prize of National Energy Bureau, the Second Prize and Third Prize of Jiangsu Science and Technology Progress, the award for cooperative innovation of industry, teaching and research in China. Up to now, IAM has been granted extensive financial supports (30 from Chinese government and 34 from Provincial and Ministerial departments), such as 973 Program, 863 National Key Projects, the Key Projects of National Natural Science Foundation of China, and 34 -level projects. The total funding was 24.5 million RMB, in which 3.4 million were granted from industries. Thus far, IAM has published more than 100 academic papers (over 80 were included into the three retrieval systems) and has applied to more than 70 authorized patents. The construction of related research platform in IAM is also fruitful. For example, IAM has cooperated with Jiangsu Iron Anchor Glass Co. Ltd. to set up the train safety glass technology research center, established the Changsha institute of Mining and Metallurgy (Jiangsu) Advanced Materials Research Institute in cooperation with Changsha Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, set up a Sino-Danish Joint Laboratory (Jiangsu University), and a joint enterprise graduate workstations with Suzhou Huifeng Lubricant Co. Ltd. and Jiangsu Lida Stainless Steel Co. Ltd.

During the “Thirteenth Five-Year Plan” period of China, IAM plans to expand the research team with an expectation of full-time research staffs reaching 50 and over. IAM will focus on the introduction of high-level talents and leading talents with overseas study experience. The institute aims to cultivate a number of outstanding leading researchers at the national and provincial levels in order to achieve breakthrough in the Changjiang Scholars, the National Outstanding Youth foundation. IAM will continue to pursue major research achievements and make significant contributions in both academic and industry.