Professor Ben Zhong Tang, Hong Kong University of Science & Technology (HKUST) celebrates his 60th birthday on February 6, 2017.

Tang has made significant achievements in developing new polymerization reactions and synthesizing novel functional polymeric materials. He is also known as the pioneer of aggregation-induced emission, an unusual photophysical phenomenon that has found applications in many fields.

Ben Zhong Tang, born on February 6, 1957 in Hubei, China, studied polymer science at and received his bachelor’s degree from South China University of Technology, Guangzhou. He then continued his graduate study at Kyoto University, Japan, where he obtained his Master’s and Ph.D. degrees. After postdoctoral research at University of Toronto, Canada, Professor Tang joined HKUST as an Assistant Professor in 1994, where he currently holds the Stephen K. C. Cheong Professorship of Science, as well as the Chair Professorship of Chemistry.

Tang is the recipient of many prestigious awards honors, including Chinese Government Natural Science Award and Croucher Senior Research Fellowship Award. He was elected to member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) in 2009 and 2013, respectively.

The Journal of Polymer Science Part A: Polymer Chemistry dedicates its 4th issue of 2017 to its Editorial Board member Professor Tang. Guest-edited by Professors Zhen Li, Wuhan University, China, and Seth Marder, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA, the issue consists of 24 contributions from Tang’s friends, former students, and colleagues from across the world. They cover a broad range of topics in polymer chemistry, with focuses on the chemical design and synthesis of polymeric materials for energy and healthcare applications.

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• Special Issue: Ben Zhong Tang Tribute Special Issue,
  J. Polymer Sci. A: Polymer Chem. 2017, 55(4).

 

Selected Publications

• Circularly Polarized Luminescence and a Reflective Photoluminescent Chiral Nematic Liquid Crystal Display Based on an Aggregation-Induced Emission Luminogen,
  Zhao, Dongyu; He, Hexiang; Gu, Xinggui; Guo, Lin ; Wong, Kam Sing; Lam, Wing Yip; Tang, Benzhong,
  Adv. Optical Mater. 2016, 4(4), 534–539.
  DOI: 10.1002/adom.201500646
• Aggregation-Induced Emission Active Probe for Light-Up Detection of Anionic Surfactants and Wash-Free Bacterial Imaging,
  Meng Gao, Luochao Wang, Junjian Chen, Shiwu Li, Guanhai Lu, Lin Wang, Yingjun Wang, Li Ren, An-jun Qin, Benzhong Tang,
  Chem. Europ. J. 2016, 22(15), 5107–5112.
  DOI: 10.1002/chem.201505202
• Recent advances in AIE polymers,
  Rongrong Hu, Yuan Kang, Ben Zhong Tang,
  Polymer J. 2016, 48, 359–370.
  DOI: 10.1038/pj.2016.1
• Homopolycyclotrimerization of A₄-type tetrayne: A new approach for the creation of a soluble hyperbranched poly(tetraphenylethene) with multifunctionalities,
  Rongrong Hu, Jacky W. Y. Lam, Min Li, Haiqin Deng, Jie Li, Ben Zhong Tang,
  J. Polymer Sci. A: Polymer Chem. 2013, 51(22), 4752–4764.
  DOI: 10.1002/pola.26897