The Executive Committee of the IULTCS is pleased to announce that Professor Jianzhong Ma (Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, China) has been chosen as the winner of the prestigious IULTCS Merit Award for Excellence in the Leather Industry. The IULTCS Merit Award is given biennially by the IULTCS Executive to an individual, whose past or current endeavors have had an extraordinary impact on our industry and provide an example for others to follow.

Prof. Jianzhong Ma has long been committed to the development of leather technology and the improvement of technological standards in the leather industry. He has made outstanding contributions to the technological innovation of the global leather industry. Prof. Jianzhong Ma has published more than 240 academic articles on international peer-reviewed journals, such as Advanced Functional Materials, Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Green Chemistry, Carbohydrate Polymers, etc. Besides, Prof. Ma has more than 100 Chinese invention patents and 7 international invention patents. He has published 9 books, and has formulated/revised 7 National and Industrial Standards.

Prof. Jianzhong Ma is also the project leader of 973 pre-research Project of China, 863 Project of China, Key Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and National Key Research and Development Plan Project. During his career, Prof. Ma has cultivated more than 100 graduate students, who are now serving as outstanding engineers and scientists in leather industry, and he also won the 2nd Award of National Teaching Achievement of China. Moreover, Prof. Jianzhong Ma has been actively involved with the development and industrialization of new leather tanning agents, retanning agents, and other leather chemicals. His research outcome has been transferred to more than 40 enterprises globally. Based on these achievements, he also won the 2nd Award of National Technological Invention of China.

The Scientific Committee is delighted to announce that Prof. Ma has accepted the invitation to attend the award ceremony during the XXXVII IULTCS Congress in Chengdu, China. He will present a Keynote talk to share his profound expertise and vast experience with our community.

Please join us to congratulate Prof. Jianzhong Ma for the IULTCS Merit Award.