From August 11th to 17th, the 2025 "Tianzheng Design Cup" 19th National Undergraduate Chemical Engineering Design Competition National Finals were successfully held at Tianjin University. Sponsored by the Chemical Industry and Engineering Society of China and the China Association of Chemical Education, and hosted by Tianjin University, the competition brought together 73 teams (including one international team) from 72 universities, including Zhejiang University, Tianjin University, East China University of Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University and so on. After fierce competition, the "Sulfone & SynergyTeam" from our School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, with outstanding performance, won the Grand Prize of the National Finals.
Through layers of selection, the 73 teams in this finals stood out from 4,337 teams (covering more than 20,000 chemical engineering students) at 479 universities in seven regions of East China, South China, West China, North China, Central China, Northwest China and Southwest China.
"Sulfone & Synergy Team" of our university was comprised of five students in Class of 2022 from the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering: Liu Ziyan, Yang Shengkai, Wang Xin, Qian Jiasheng, and Wu Ruimin. Under the dedicated guidance of faculty members like Liu Jurong, Lu Suhong, Song Shaofu, Fan Zheng, and Ding Liang, the team won special prizes in both the Shaanxi Provincial Competition and the Northwest Regional Finals, advancing to the national finals. Facing a formidable national competition,ourstudentsstayed composed, demonstrating impressive performance in the specialized judging and on-site defense sessions. Ultimately, they triumphed over the competition, achieving a historic breakthrough for our university in this competition - winning special prize in the national finals.
In the final round, the "Sulfone & Synergy Team" completed a detailed feasibility study and preliminary design for the "Sinopec Zhenhai Refining and Chemical Company's 10,000-ton annual production of dimethyl sulfoxide" project. Their design encompassed project research and process solution comparison, process flow design and optimization, equipment design and selection, automation, workshop and plant layout, environmental safety assessment, and economic analysis. This design not only demonstrated the team members' deep understanding of dimethyl sulfoxide production technology but also showcased their ability to comprehensively apply their chemical engineering expertise. Moreover, it actively explored green chemical engineering and clean production technologies for dimethyl sulfoxide, contributing the wisdom to supporting our country to be a leading producer and technology powerhouse in this field.
The National Undergraduate Chemical Engineering Design Competition, ranked 18th in the2025 list of 84 undergraduate competitionsreleased by the Ministry of Education and the China Higher Education Teaching Association, and belongs to Category A - science and technology creation competition. Sponsored by the Chemical Industry and Engineering Society of China and the China Chemical Education Association, the competition is China's largest, highest-level and most comprehensive interdisciplinary academic competition in chemical engineering. It aims to cultivate innovative thinking, engineering skills, and teamwork among university students, enhance their engineering design and practical skills, and strengthen their core professional competitiveness. So far, it has been highly recognized within universities and the chemical industry.
Our students have also excelled in other national competitions. Here are some examples. In the 8th National Undergraduate Chemical Engineering Experiment Competition held at South China University of Technology from August 8th to 11th, our team named "Calm Response" (Class of 2022 students Guo Rongrong, Chen Junjun, and Zhang Leijie) won special award in the Northwest regional finals and second award in the national finals under the meticulous guidance of teachers Wang Jin, Hou Boli, and Fan Zheng.
In the 9th AIChE Chem-E-Car competition held at Tianjin University from August 9th to 11th, our team named "XSYU Chem Team" (Class of 2022 students Liu Yize, Ren Yong'an, Liu Jingyi, Liu Sirui, Hao Yunya, and Zhang Jiasai), under the guidance of teachers Liu Huan, Li Zhaihong, Huang Fenglin, and Fan Zheng, went through multiple rounds of tests including EDP document review and safety inspection, and finally won the second prize in the national finals performance competition.
In recent years, our School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering has consistently adhered to the teaching philosophy of "using competitions to promote learning, teaching, reform, and development." We attach great importance to cultivating the comprehensive qualities and innovative abilities of students, and actively organize students to participate in high-level academic competitions. This special award not only demonstrates the outstanding strength of our students, but also fully reflects our school's remarkable achievements in engineering practice teaching and the cultivation of innovative and application-oriented talents in chemistry and chemical engineering.
