HKIAS Senior Fellow Professor Jean-Marie Lehn Honoured with 2025 International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Award

12 Aug 2026

The Hong Kong Institute for Advanced Study (HKIAS) at City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) extends its warmest congratulations to HKIAS Senior Fellow Professor Jean-Marie Lehn on being honoured with the 2025 International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Award of the People's Republic of China — one of the highest honours China bestows on foreign scientists, presented to no more than ten recipients each year.

Professor Lehn, a Foreign Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and an emeritus professor at the University of Strasbourg, received the award at the State Science and Technology Awards Ceremony held in Beijing on 8 July 2026. The honour recognises his decades of distinguished contributions to China's scientific development, from advancing supramolecular chemistry research in the country to nurturing generations of young scientists and strengthening research ties between China and Europe.

 

Screenshot from the State Science and Technology Awards Ceremony: Professor Jean-Marie Lehn (third from right) with Mr Ding Xuexiang, Vice Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, and fellow recipients of the 2025 International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Award, Beijing, 8 July 2026.

 

This photo was taken at Professor Jean-Marie Lehn's HKIAS Distinguished Lecture "Steps Towards Complex Matter: From Supramolecular Chemistry Towards Adaptive Chemistry" at CityUHK on 25 November 2024. Professor Lehn's long-standing engagement with the University continues to bring fresh impetus to CityUHK's research.

Professor Lehn is one of the most influential chemists of his generation. He received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1987 for his work on molecules with structure-specific interactions of high selectivity, and is widely credited with establishing supramolecular chemistry as a distinct field. His studies of molecular recognition and self-organizing molecular systems have opened new directions in chemistry and beyond, and have brought him recognition from academies and institutions around the world.

His ties with China reach back to the 1980s. Through decades of collaboration, Professor Lehn has played a key role in raising the profile of China's research in supramolecular chemistry, helped nurture a new generation of scientists in the country, and built lasting bridges between research communities in China and Europe.

"Science serves as an indestructible bridge connecting different nations and cultures," Professor Lehn said on receiving the award, drawing an analogy between international cooperation and supramolecular chemistry itself: when diverse ideas, cultures, and wisdom interact, he explained, the resulting collective strength far exceeds the sum of their individual efforts.

About the International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Award

Established by China's State Council in 1994, the International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Award recognizes foreign individuals and organizations for their significant contributions to China's scientific and technological development — through joint research, the introduction of advanced technologies and cultivation of talent, and the promotion of international scientific exchange. No more than ten recipients are honoured each year, and since 1995 the award has been presented to 155 foreign scientists and three international organizations.

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