I. Forum Overview

The "Peking University International Forum for Outstanding Young Talents in Environmental Science" is jointly organized by the College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering and the School of Environment and Energy at the Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School. This forum aims to focus on cutting-edge academic research both domestically and internationally, fostering extensive multi-disciplinary and cross-disciplinary discussions and exchanges.The forum is now open for public registration. Candidates will be selected by respective sub-disciplines, and invited scholars will participate in the main forum. On this occasion, we cordially invite outstanding young talents from around the world to join us!

II. Forum Schedule

Format: Thematic Presentations + Discussion Sessions

December 15, 2024: Deadline for application/CV submission

December 31, 2024: Invitation letters sent via email for sub-forum participation

Early January 2025: Online sub-forum selection process

Late February 2025:Main forum hosted by the College

III. Forum Disciplines & Research Programs

Sub-disciplines: Environmental Science, Environmental Engineering,Environmental Management, Environmental Health (See the following brief introductions for details).

Research Programs : Atmospheric Complex Pollution Theory and Regional Joint Control、Water Pollution Control and Integrated Watershed Management、Environmental Pollution and Human Health、Environmental Management and Global Environmental Governance、Environmental Big Data and Intelligent Environment、Environmental Aerodynamics、Marine Environmental Science、Climate Change and Carbon Neutrality、Emerging Contaminants、Resource Recycling Theory and Technology、Novel Interdisciplinary Environmental Directions (Ongoing recruitment is available for all the research fields listed above.)

IV. Application and Logistics

Prospective applicants are requested to submit their CV, representative publications, and no fewer than three letters of recommendation via email to the respective sub-discipline contacts by December 15, 2024. Please name all application files in the format: "Name + Forum Discipline/Field". Following an initial review by the Forum Committee, selected candidates will receive formal invitations via email. Please check your inbox regularly and return the confirmation slip promptly upon receipt. For any inquiries, please feel free to contact the Forum Committee.

Committee Members and Contact Information by Sub-discipline

The School of Environmental Science and Engineering or the School of Environment and Energy at the Shenzhen Graduate School will cover the round-trip international travel expenses (economy class flights only, with a maximum reimbursement of 12,000 RMB per person) for invited scholars attending the main forum in person. The school will also arrange accommodation and meals for the invited scholars during the forum.

V. Application Requirements and Benefits

1. Application Requirements

1)Firm political stance, good professional ethics, honesty, trustworthiness, dedication and commitment, meticulous and steady work style, and a passion for education.

2)Age under 40, possessing a doctoral degree.

3)Outstanding research achievements in the relevant field, the ability to successfully fulfill teaching responsibilities, the capability or potential to lead the development of the discipline, and recognized as an excellent young talent by peers in the field.

4)After obtaining the doctoral degree, the candidate should generally have secured a formal teaching or research position in an overseas university, research institution, or corporate R&D institution, with at least 36 consecutive months of work experience. For candidates who obtained their doctoral degree overseas and demonstrate exceptionally outstanding achievements, the work experience requirement may be appropriately waived.

5)Not working full-time in China at the time of application.

6)Agree to work full-time at the university upon acceptance.

2. Compensation and Benefits

1) Positions

Teaching and Research Series: Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Full Professor;

2)Support Measures

In recent years, Peking University has been actively building a competitive compensation system with strong domestic and international standing, establishing a scientific and rational compensation model with a predictable growth mechanism, and providing comprehensive and diverse social security and welfare benefits.

The compensation and benefits for Teaching and Research Series positions at Peking University include, but are not limited to:

(1) Competitive monetary compensation. Positions in the Teaching and Research Series adopt a basic annual salary system, which consists of the following components:

Basic Annual Salary: Provided by the University according to the appointed position and its corresponding salary level.

Talent Allowance: Provided by the University at a corresponding level for those appointed through the Boya Talent Program.

School/Department Performance Allocation: Distributed autonomously by the school/department based on disciplinary competitiveness and its annual budget.

Research Performance Bonus: Individuals can receive corresponding research performance awards based on the research projects they undertake.

(2) Ample start-up research funds to create conditions for high-level research.

(3) Adequate workspace and office facilities. Faculty in the Teaching and Research Series are qualified to supervise doctoral students and can independently form their own research teams based on their research needs.

(4) Provision of a special housing subsidy or eligibility to purchase University policy-based housing.

(5)Access to high-quality educational resources, including affiliated kindergarten, elementary, and middle schools.

Introduction

School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Peking University

The environmental discipline at Peking University originated in 1972 with the establishment of its Environmental Chemistry program. As one of China's earliest institutions to engage in environmental education and research, "Peking University Environment" has been fully integrated into and has led the magnificent journey of China's environmental protection cause and the development of the environmental discipline. After over 50 years of rapid development, it has established a comprehensive leading position domestically in the environmental field, and its discipline construction level is advancing to the global forefront of environmental science. The Environment/Ecology discipline at Peking University ranks in the top 0.1‰ globally by ESI and 15th globally by QS rankings.

Building upon Peking University's traditions and practicing interdisciplinary integration, the School has constructed China's most comprehensive chain of environmental disciplines—"Science-Engineering-Health-Management." It has formed four cutting-edge research directions: Theory of Atmospheric Composite Pollution and Regional Joint Control,Water Pollution Control and Integrated River Basin Management, Environmental Pollution and Human Health,Environmental Management and Global Environmental Governance.

Responding to national needs and tackling fundamental bottlenecks, the School was the first to propose seminal scientific concepts and theoretical frameworks such as "Atmospheric Composite Pollution," "Riverine Full-material Flux," and "Environmental Civilization," which have gained widespread international recognition. These contributions have provided crucial scientific and technological support for addressing major national environmental challenges and leading international environmental conventions.

Focusing on cutting-edge and major scientific issues, the School continues to advance green technology innovation and breakthroughs in fundamental research that integrate pollution reduction, carbon mitigation, resource recycling, and intelligent regulation. Over the past decade, faculty have published over 70 papers in journals such as Science, The Lancet, and Nature series journals. Their work has supported environmental governance in key national regions like the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area, the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta, and the Chengdu-Chongqing region, as well as in major river basins such as the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers. It has also contributed to ensuring air quality for major events like the Beijing Winter Olympics, the Shanghai China International Import Expo, the Chengdu World University Games, and the Hangzhou Asian Games, and supported China's compliance with international environmental conventions. The School has led 17 projects that received awards including the National Natural Science Second Prize, provincial/ministerial-level first prizes, and were recognized among China's Top Ten Environmental Science and Technology Advances. Multiple achievements have received important instructions from national leaders.

The School currently hosts 2 national-level and 9 provincial/ministerial-level research platforms, along with the project offices for 2 international cooperation platforms. It has assembled a highly qualified faculty with international influence, primarily composed of mid-career and young scholars, led by 3 NSFC Innovative Research Groups, 2 MOST Innovation Teams in Key Fields, and 1 Ministry of Education "Huang Danian-style Teacher Team". The faculty includes 2 Academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2 Academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, 1 Counsellor of the State Council, 2 AGU Fellows, 16 recipients of national talent programs (individual instances), and 27 recipients of national young talent programs (individual instances).

To address multiple challenges and promote green development, the School will further expand its disciplinary scope, develop a new "Environment+" interdisciplinary paradigm, and enhance its capacity for societal service. It will innovate research organization models and advance self-reliance and strength in green and low-carbon science and technology. Committed to building a clean and beautiful world, the School will drive new progress in global sustainable development and the harmonious coexistence of humans and nature.

Website Link:https://cese.pku.edu.cn/

Department of Environmental Science

The Department of Environmental Science at Peking University traces its origins back to 1972, making it one of the earliest institutions in China dedicated to environmental science education and research. After more than 50 years of evolution and development, the Department is built around several core national and international platforms, including the State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, the National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Technology and Equipment of Ambient Air Pollution Detection, the National Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Ozone Pollution Prevention, and the Joint International Laboratory of Regional Pollution Control.

The Department's research is centered on the core theme of "understanding the coordinated impacts and regulatory mechanisms of environmental pollution and climate change under the 'Dual Carbon' goals." Key research areas include atmospheric chemistry and physics, water environment and marine science, regional complex pollution and global change, and regional ecological security. Building on the development of advanced environmental monitoring and analytical technologies,uncover the principles of material cycling across the atmosphere-water-soil multiple spheres, and develop mechanistic models for the transport, transformation, and removal of pollutants within these interconnected systems, identify pollution sources in complex media, and study the ecological effects and global impacts of environmental issues.

While maintaining its traditional strength in atmospheric chemistry research, the Department is proactively addressing international research frontiers and major national needs. Focusing on the transport and transformation of pollutants across various media as a core research objective, it plans to expand into emerging fields such as new pollutants, bioaerosols, and environmental big data. It is also developing interdisciplinary research directions including remote sensing and Earth system science, marine science and atmospheric science, and environmental aerodynamics. Key research priorities include the causes and integrated prevention of air pollution in the context of carbon neutrality, the interplay between air pollution and global climate change, the principles governing the trans-media migration and transformation of pollutants and their synergistic control, and biosafety and ecological health.

Department of Environmental Engineering

The Department of Environmental Engineering evolved from the Institute of Environmental Engineering at Peking University, founded in 1994. It hosts several key laboratories and platforms, including the Key Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences of the Ministry of Education, the Key Laboratory of Riverine Full-material Flux of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the Beijing Engineering Research Center of Advanced Wastewater Treatment Technologies, the National Metrology Accreditation Laboratory for Environmental Engineering, and the Peking University University-level Platform for Comprehensive Environmental Monitoring.

The Department focuses on the "full-material flux" effect and its regulation as the core for developing modern environmental engineering. Based on technological innovation and integration, it aims to achieve significant, landmark outcomes in ecological environment governance and resource recovery, making original breakthroughs in new principles, materials, technologies, and processes. Key developing interdisciplinary directions include environmental (micro)biological technologies, physicochemical technologies, environmental functional materials, environmental systems engineering, and environmental big data. The Department employs multidisciplinary approaches to systematically conduct research in areas such as watershed water pollution prevention and comprehensive management, drinking water safety assurance, source control and treatment of new pollutants, soil-groundwater pollution and remediation, and carbon capture and conversion.

Aiming to establish a distinctive "Peking University school" with the "full-material flux" label, it strives to occupy the international academic forefront. The Environmental Engineering program has been selected as a National First-Class Undergraduate Major.

The Department currently has 23 full-time faculty members, including one Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, four recipients of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, two other recipients of important national-level talent programs, nine recipients of national-level young talent programs, and one National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) Innovative Research Group.

In recent years, the Department has undertaken numerous key national projects, including those under the National Key Research and Development Program, the NSFC Innovative Research Group Project, the NSFC Major Research Plan Integration Project, and the NSFC Major International Cooperation Project. These efforts provide theoretical and technological support for national ecological civilization construction and the implementation of national environmental strategies.

Department of Environmental Management

The environmental management program at Peking University was established through the efforts of China's founding generation of environmental scientists. In 1982, the Environmental Planning and Management Teaching and Research Division was founded within the Environmental Science Center, becoming China's first teaching and research unit dedicated to this field and the earliest to enroll master's and doctoral students in environmental management. Formal postgraduate enrollment in specialties such as environmental economics, environmental management, environmental planning, and environmental impact assessment began in 1985. In 1993, Peking University established the China Center for Sustainable Development Research, pioneering sustainability research and education in China.

Guided by the core philosophy of balanced coordination among society, economy, and environment, the Department of Environmental Management emphasizes a foundation in environmental processes and environment-society interaction mechanisms. It seeks to reveal the theoretical mechanisms underlying the regulation of human environmental behavior and public management of environment and development. The Department researches the environmental behavior of various actors and social decision-making processes, promoting good environmental governance and public environmental management involving multiple stakeholders, including government, enterprises, the public, and communities.

A key focus is making breakthroughs in comprehensive assessment methodologies for the environmental impacts of socioeconomic development and the socioeconomic feedback from environmental change. This work supports integrated decision-making for environmentally sustainable management and advances regional and global sustainable development. The Department plans to expand into emerging research areas such as global environmental governance, climate change economics, and smart environment.

Department of Environmental Health

Following the merger with the former Beijing Medical University in 2000, Peking University pioneered interdisciplinary research in the environment and health field in China. The Environmental Health Research Center was established in 2007, followed by the creation of the nation's first Environmental Health sub-discipline in 2015. The Department of Environmental Health was formally founded in 2021, completing Peking University's comprehensive environmental discipline framework of "Science-Engineering-Health-Management." Concurrently, these efforts contributed to the national official establishment of the Environmental Health sub-discipline in January 2024.

The Department hosts the State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environmental Exposure and Health Risk Management, and maintains advanced research platforms including an environmental exposure and metabolomics platform equipped with high-resolution mass spectrometers, an atmospheric oxidizability and mechanism analysis platform, and a high-altitude ambient air quality monitoring station.

The research team focuses on environmental exposure and human health, dedicated to elucidating the mechanisms by which environmental factors harm health and quantifying the associated health risks. Furthermore, the Department has strengthened interdisciplinary collaboration with fields including basic medicine, clinical medicine, preventive medicine, biological and analytical chemistry, social sciences, statistics, and big data, emphasizing advances in environmental exposure science, environmental epidemiology, and environmental toxicology.

By integrating exposure with technologies such as metabolomics, proteomics, epigenomics, and genomics, the Department aims to uncover the health hazard mechanisms of environmental factors like air pollution and quantify health risks, thereby developing effective prevention and intervention measures.

Looking ahead, the Department plans to expand into research areas such as global environmental change and health, environmental exposure biology, wearable devices, and organoid-based exposure assessment. Through educational reform, scientific innovation, and policy support, it aims to lead the development of the environmental health discipline nationally and globally.

School of Environment and Energy, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School

The School of Environment and Energy is part of the Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School (PKU Shenzhen). Established in 2001 through a collaboration between Peking University and the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government, PKU Shenzhen is the university's only campus outside Beijing. It integrates Peking University's academic ethos of "freedom of thought and inclusiveness" with Shenzhen's pioneering spirit of "daring to venture and experiment." Guided by the development philosophy of "Problem-Oriented, AI-Driven, North-South Collaboration, and Innovative Integration," and adhering to the educational principles of "Frontier Fields, Interdisciplinary Studies, Applied Academia, and International Standards," PKU Shenzhen aims to become a new highland for cultivating internationalized, interdisciplinary, and innovative talents.

Rooted in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, PKU Shenzhen serves as a new engine for building "Emerging Engineering" disciplines. It contributes to national efforts in tackling critical core technology "bottleneck" problems and explores new paradigms for the synergistic development of cutting-edge fields and regional industries. It is a vital strategic component of Peking University's pursuit of becoming a world-leading university.

The School of Environment and Energy collaborates with the main campus to jointly develop Peking University's first-class discipline of Environmental Science and Engineering. Addressing major strategic national needs such as ecological civilization construction, carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, and the development of the Greater Bay Area, the School is building a new model for environmental engineering. This model focuses on the continuous improvement of resource efficiency, features research on river and ocean full-material fluxes, and employs interdisciplinary integration as its pathway. The School aims to create a innovation hub for pollution reduction and carbon mitigation that integrates basic research, technological breakthroughs, market application, and support for national strategic decision-making. It prioritizes the development of key disciplinary areas including river and marine eco-environments, environmental technologies for pollution and carbon reduction, and regional prevention and control of air pollution.Currently in a new phase of innovative development, the School is deeply implementing a "Talents Strengthen the School" strategy, focusing on both attracting and cultivating top-tier talents to gather a wide pool of excellence.

Website Link:https://see.pkusz.edu.cn/