In the afternoon of October 6, the 70th anniversary of the founding of the School of Materials Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), was held online and offline at the same time. Xu Yeqin, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission of the university, academician Ding Han, academician Zhang Qingjie and academician Chen Guang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, alumnus Yang Zefa, Vice Mayor of Wuhan, alumnus Li Qiang, former Deputy Director of Wuhan People's Congress, alumnus He Weijun, Secretary of the Party Committee of Three Gorges University, all leader group of the School, chairman of the labor union, veteran leaders, representatives of faculty and students, representatives of retired teachers and alumni, etc. attended the conference.

The conference kicked off with the majestic national anthem, and Li Yi, Secretary of the Party Committee of the School, delivered a welcome speech. On behalf of the Party Committee of the School, she extended a warm welcome to all the guests who came to the conference, paid high tribute to the seniors who contributed to the development of the School, and expressed her heartfelt thanks to all the faculty and staff, students, alumni who watched the live broadcast on site and online, and units and individuals who supported the construction and development of the School. She would like to thank those who sent their congratulatory videos and letters for the anniversary, and the faculty and students of the conference team for their careful planning and hard work.

Entrusted by Party Secretary Li Yuanyuan and President You Zheng, Xu Yeqin delivered a speech on behalf of the university. He said that in the past 70 years, the School of Materials Science and Engineering has been striving for self-improvement and has taken moral education as its foundation, which is a vivid interpretation of the development model of HUST; The School has passed on its tradition from generation to generation, and a large number of advanced models and typical deeds have emerged. The School has made outstanding contributions to the development of material disciplines and the progress of the industry in China by providing tens of thousands of outstanding talents for the modernization of the country. He sincerely hopes that the School will always bear in mind the original intention of cultivating people with virtue, and strive to cultivate more talents of the times who will take up the responsibility of national rejuvenation; attract and nurture the people to build the highland of materials disciplines, and provide stronger support for the construction of first-class disciplines and the cultivation of outstanding talents; strive to achieve major breakthroughs in forward-looking basic research and leading original achievements, and make greater contributions to the realization of high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-improvement.

Academician Ding Han mentioned in his speech that in the past ten years, the School has made a great impact in the industry in terms of basic theories, key technologies and core equipment, and the self-developed industrial software and core equipment have been verified and applied in many large enterprises in the country. Remarkable achievements have been made in materials science, and the materials team of the School is growing rapidly. The faculty and students of the School are practical and have a good atmosphere, forming a fine tradition of passing on their experiences. I hope that the School will strive to become a pacesetter in materials science and technology in China, and make the voice on the domestic and world academic stage.

Academician Zhang Qingjie was proud of the achievements of his alma mater and deeply moved by the support provided by alumni for the School. He recalled the deep affection between himself and the School and he has got great support from a large number of teachers such as Academician Cui Kun and Professor Xie Changsheng during his years of work. He hoped that the School and the university would have better development in the future, cultivate a number of outstanding scientists and industrial talents, produce scientific research results with international reputation.

Academician Chen Guang firstly thanked his alma mater and the School for the kindness of his training and education, and bowed deeply in gratitude. He listed out the fruitful achievements of the School in platform construction, discipline construction and scientific research results, and expressed his warm congratulations to the teachers and students of the School for their achievements and his high respect to the School staff who have been forging ahead for generations. He recalled the selfless guidance from his mentor Xiong Guoqing and other professors when he studied in HUST. He said that HUST was the place where he learned to do scientific research and guide graduate students. The "spirit of HUST" has been deeply integrated into his blood and practiced in his teaching, scientific research and professional construction. He hoped that the School would take up a big responsibility and climb to the top, and help China develop from a big materials country to a strong materials country.

Professor Zhou Huamin, Dean of the School, gave a report on the 70th anniversary. In the past seventy years, under the leadership of the Party and the care of the University, the School has achieved a leap-forward development from scratch to prosperity. He reviewed the major leaders of the School, the changes of the research and learning environment, the research spirit of Cui Kun, the "Iron and Steel Academician", and President Huang Shuhuai, and the development of the State Key Laboratory. The School has cultivated advanced individuals and collectives, significantly improved the reputation of the discipline, built a high-level scientific and educational platform group, and created a number of international high-level nurturing resources, with high-level results in talent training and scientific research achieved. In the next step, the School has set its goal to build a first-class talent training base, a highland of innovation research and an international discipline exchange center, carry out the excellent engineer training program with the help of craftsmanship, focus on six key development directions of disciplines, and continue to promote the internationalization construction.

Professor Li Jianjun, representative of the faculty thanked many old professors of the School for their careful guidance on his way of study. Their exemplary style and noble character of teaching and educating others deeply infected him, and prompted him to stay in school and gradually grow from assistant professor to professor, and took over the responsibility of the director of the State Key Laboratory. The care and encouragement of the leaders, the teaching and cultivation of the predecessors, the selfless help and support of his colleagues and friends, and the fellowship with his classmates made him feel the spiritual culture of the School of Materials, and wished the School to achieve greater glory in the next 70 years.

Li Qiang, a representative of the alumnus, reviewed his schooling experience and express his gratitude to HUST. He said that the School has made him establish a correct outlook on career, life and values, and develop the habit of diligent learning and lifelong learning. He hopes that students can cherish the time, aspire to become a useful person, set great ambitions and do great things. They should never cut corners and should cultivate interests, maintain the drive for progress, love public welfare, promote traditional virtues, do more exercise, improve its cultivation and build up its physique. He called on the students to stay in Wuhan after graduation and contribute to scientific and technological innovation for rejuvenating the country, province and city through science and education.

Liu Yan, a representative of the Greater Bay Area Alumni Association of the School, made a video speech in which he wished the School a happy 70th birthday on behalf of the Bay Area Alumni Association and was deeply proud of the many achievements made by the School in its seventy years of construction. The alumni of the Bay Area Materials Association will pour the spirit of the School into their will, forge the mission of strengthening the country with materials on their backbone, and should be as united as they are welded together, using drawing geometry to draw the blueprint of their career, referring to the metallographic structure to analyze the heavy resistance on the way forward, and striving to achieve their goals in life with the consistent force of plastic forming to serve the motherland, their alma mater and the School, convinced that the School will definitely have a more brilliant tomorrow!

Chen Dan, a student representative, talked about her 8 years of study in the School, she participated in many national key R&D projects and joint projects of the university and enterprises, published many SCI papers, and was awarded the "Star of Self-improvement of Chinese University Students". She summarized "four insistences": insist on starting from reality, insist on innovative technology breakthroughs, insist on long-term efforts, and insist on focusing on major needs. The teachers' instruction made the students understand how to behave and learn, and the alumni's example inspired the students to continue to carry forward the material spirit of truth-seeking and pragmatic, and to contribute to the future of the School.

At the meeting, all the participants watched the official promotional video of the School in 2022 - "A New Era in Materials Science and Technology". 8 students from the presenter team of the School presented a poem recitation with music "70 Years of Greatness and Dreams", expressing their deep affection for the country, the nation, the university and the School. 4 teachers and students of the School presented the male chorus "Never Forget the Beginning", expressing their love and attachment to the School.

70 years of joint efforts working together, bring materials science into a new era. The college will inherit the college culture of "diligent and seeking truth, unity and innovation, persevering in action", intensify the construction of disciplines, improve the quality of personnel training, and build a world-class materials discipline as soon as possible.