For more than three decades, one of the biggest obstacles to unlocking the potential of transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) nanotubes has remained unresolved: how to precisely control their chirality during synthesis.Now, an international research team led by XIANG Rong from the School of Mechanical Engineering at Zhejiang University has achieved the first preferred synthesis of TMDC nanotubes with a well-defined armchair configuration, overcoming a longstanding challenge that has limited the...

The Madagascar periwinkle is an unassuming flowering plant. Hardy, drought-tolerant and common in gardens around the world, it hardly looks like the source of one of modern medicine’s most important anticancer drugs.Yet the plant remains the only known natural source of vinblastine, a chemotherapy drug widely used to treat leukemia, lymphoma and several other cancers. The problem is that vinblastine occurs in exceedingly small amounts: producing just one gram requires roughly 2,000 kilograms of...

For decades, chemists have assumed that breaking down plastics requires powerful catalysts, high temperatures, and energy-intensive processing. A new study suggests otherwise.A research team led by WANG Yong at Zhejiang University, in collaboration with researchers from Cardiff University (UK), the University of Tokyo (Japan), Zhejiang University of Technology, China Jiliang University and other institutions, has discovered that water and oxygen alone can drive the degradation of common plastics...

At a ceremony celebrating China’s 10th National Science and Technology Workers Day, Professor HE Xiangning of Zhejiang University stepped onto the stage at Beijing’s National Communication Center for Science and Technology to receive one of China’s top honors: the National Innovation Pioneer Award.For HE Xiangning, a veteran electrical engineer who has spent four decades in research and teaching, this recognition was both personal and symbolic.“It is of course a great honor,” he says. “Mor...

On May 13, MA Yanming, President of Zhejiang University (ZJU), met with a delegation led by Lê Quân, Deputy Minister of Education and Training of Vietnam. The two sides exchanged views on student development, training for education administrators, and future cooperation between Zhejiang University and universities in Vietnam.During the meeting, MA Yanming introduced ZJU’s recent development and its growing engagement with Vietnamese partners. He noted that exchanges between ZJU and Vietnamese ...

On the evening of May 21, as twilight descended gently upon Zijingang Campus, Zhejiang University welcomed alumni home for its 129th Anniversary celebration. Faculty, students, and alumni gathered in the enduring spirit of ‘seeking truth’ to renew cherished bonds, share memories and aspirations, and look together toward the future. United by a common vision, the ZJU community is advancing steadily toward the goal of building a globally outstanding innovation-driven university and standing at t...

On May 14, a delegation led by Evânio Araújo, Vice Minister of Education of Brazil, visited Zhejiang University. GU Zhen, Associate Vice President of Zhejiang University, met with the delegation.GU Zhen extended a warm welcome to Araújo and his delegation, and briefed them on Zhejiang University’s recent developments. He also reviewed Zhejiang University’s cooperation with Brazilian universities in areas such as student exchanges, the humanities, and the arts. He said Zhejiang University loo...

As part of Zhejiang University's "Europe Year" initiative under its Global Partnership Program, Vice President ZHOU Jianghong led a delegation in the humanities and social sciences to France and the United Kingdom from April 12 to 19.During the visit, the delegation held meetings and exchanges with Aix-Marseille University, the French Academy of Overseas Sciences (Académie des Sciences d'Outre-Mer), the University of Leeds, the University of Manchester, and the University of C...

During the World Digital Education Conference held in Hangzhou in May 2026, Zhejiang University (ZJU) unveiled its Future Learning Center as part of a site visit for international guests. The new center is a major initiative under the university’s AI STEP plan and reflects ZJU’s broader effort to rethink learning in the age of artificial intelligence. The center is designed to help students grow from readers into innovators. Guided by a student-centered, competence-oriented and interest-d...

From May 11 to 12, the 2026 World Digital Education Conference was held in Hangzhou, focusing on “AI + education: Transformation, Development and Governance.” Zhejiang University took part in several major sessions of the conference, presenting how it is using artificial intelligence to reshape education and cultivate future innovators.During the conference, ZJU President MA Yanming delivered a keynote speech titled “Cultivating Innovators: Higher Education in the AI Era”.&nbs...