Introduction to the College of Chemical Engineering

The predecessor of the College of Chemical Engineering can be traced back to 1929, when Mr. Liang Xi, an outstanding Chinese forestry scientist, educator, social activist, and the first Minister of Forest Reclamation of New China, established the Forest Chemistry Laboratory at Zhejiang University and officially founded it at the former Central University. In 1952, during the nationwide adjustment of university departments, the Forest Department of the former Central University and the Forest Department of Jinling University merged to form Nanjing Forestry College. Based on the Forest Chemistry Department of the former Central University, the Forestry Chemical Industry major was established. In 1955, the Forestry Department of Huazhong Agricultural College (formed by the merger of Wuhan University, Nanchang University, and the Forestry Department of Hubei Agricultural College) was merged into Nanjing Forestry College, and the faculty of the Forestry Chemical Processing major was strengthened. In 1956, undergraduate students majoring in forestry and chemical engineering were first admitted, and in 1957, graduate students were admitted. In May 1959, the Department of Forestry Chemical Engineering was established. In 1964, the direction of wood pulping was added. In 1981, Forestry Chemical Processing Engineering became one of the first doctoral programs in China. In 1982, the major of pulp and paper was added. In 1986, two specialized majors of wood protection and modification and fragrance were added. In 1993, the undergraduate major of fine chemical engineering was established. In December of the same year, the Department of Forestry Chemical Engineering was renamed the School of Chemical Engineering. In 1999, the college established an undergraduate program in Chemical Engineering and Technology. In 2000, 2002, and 2010, it was successively approved as a second level master's program in Biochemistry, Chemical Technology, and Chemical Engineering. In 2011, it was approved as a first level master's program in Chemical Engineering and Technology. In 2008, the school adjusted its departments and established the School of Light Industry Science and Engineering by combining the majors of Light Chemical Engineering and Printing Engineering. In 2014, the School of Environmental Engineering was established as the School of Biology and Environment. The characteristic advantage discipline and supporting discipline of the college is the forestry chemical processing engineering discipline, which has been approved as one of the first batch of doctoral disciplines in China and has been rated as a national key discipline since 1989. The forestry engineering first level discipline supported by this discipline has been continuously selected for the national "Double First Class" discipline construction since 2017, and the college has become the core college supporting the construction of our university's first-class discipline.

The college has the Key Open Laboratory of Chemical Processing of Forest Products of the State Forestry Administration, the Key Laboratory of Biomass Green Fuel and Chemicals in Jiangsu Province, the cultivation site of the State Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Forestry Biomass Chemistry and Utilization in Jiangsu Universities, the Comprehensive Training Center of Biochemical Processing Discipline of Forest Resources, and the Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center of Basic Courses in Jiangsu Universities (Chemical Engineering Experiment Center); The college is a core part of the National Key Laboratory for the Mining and Utilization of Forest Food Resources, the National Engineering Research Center for the Low Carbon and Efficient Utilization of Forest Biomass (National Development and Reform Commission), the international innovation highland of forest product chemistry and materials (jointly built by the People's Government of Jiangsu Province and the Ministry of Forestry and Grassland Administration of China), and the Collaborative Innovation Center for the Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Resources in Jiangsu Province.

The college has departments of Forestry and Chemical Engineering, Fine Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering, Chemical Engineering, Pharmaceutical Engineering, and Applied Chemistry. We have a postdoctoral mobile station for forestry engineering, a doctoral degree authorization point for forestry engineering first level disciplines (forest chemical processing engineering, biomass energy science and technology, carbon neutrality science and technology), and a doctoral degree authorization point for materials and chemical engineering (professional degree); Authorization points for master's degrees in the first level disciplines of Chemical Engineering and Technology (four second level disciplines of Biochemistry, Chemical Process, Chemical Engineering, and Applied Chemistry), master's degrees in the first level disciplines of Forestry Engineering (three second level disciplines of Forest Chemical Processing Engineering, Biomass Energy Science and Technology, and Carbon Neutrality Science and Technology), and two professional master's degrees in Materials and Chemical Engineering, Biology and Medicine. The college currently offers four undergraduate majors: Forest Products Chemical Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Technology, Bioengineering, and Biopharmaceuticals. Among them, Forest Products Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering, and Chemical Engineering and Technology are national first-class majors, while Biopharmaceuticals are first-class majors in Jiangsu Province. There are over 120 doctoral students, over 600 master's students, and over 1700 undergraduate students currently enrolled.

The college currently has 136 faculty members, including 52 professors, 44 associate professors, 46 doctoral supervisors, and 52 master's supervisors. There are more than 20 national, provincial and ministerial talents, including academicians of the CAE Member, national level talents, four youth talents, double employed academicians, the second level of the "333 Project" in Jiangsu Province, and distinguished professors in Jiangsu Province. It has won 17 national awards such as the first/second prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award, the second prize of the the State Technological Innovation Award, the Liangxi Forestry Science and Technology Award, and the second prize of the Jiangsu Provincial Science and Technology Progress Award. In the past five years, the college has undertaken more than 150 important scientific research projects (projects) such as the National Key R&D Program and the National Natural Science Foundation of China. It has published over 400 SCI papers annually and authorized more than 140 invention patents annually.

The college attaches great importance to the cultivation of undergraduate innovative talents and has won national awards such as the "China International College Student Innovation Competition" and "Challenge Cup" in recent years. The college selects outstanding students every year to form the "Liangxi Class" and implements a "one-on-one" academic mentorship system for training. Excellent students are selected to participate in the college's "International Innovative Chemistry Talent" training program and have been sent to foreign universities such as the United States and the United Kingdom for short-term learning and exchange. In addition, there are undergraduate joint training programs with the University of British Columbia in Canada and the University of Strathclyde in the UK.

Updated to June 2025