On November 29, 2023, Professor Panče Naumov, a tenured professor of New York University Campus and Abu Dhabi Campus, the director of Advanced Materials Center of New York University Abu Dhabi, the founder and president of UAE Chemical Society and Crystallography Society, visited Fudan University and came to our group for academic exchange.

Professor Panče Naumov received his Ph. D. from Tokyo Institute of Technology in 2004 and then held research positions at the National Institute of Materials Science, Osaka University and Kyoto University in Japan. He joined New York University in 2012 and became a tenured professor at the New York University Campus and Abu Dhabi Campus. Professor Naumov has long made outstanding contributions to the research of smart materials, crystallography, bioluminescence and petroleum omics. He has published more than 270 SCI papers in high-impact journals such as Nature Chemistry, PNAS, JACS, Angewandte Chemie, and Nature Communication, and has been cited more than 10,000 times. He is also a member of the American Chemical Society, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the European Crystallographic Association, the American Crystallographic Association, the UAE National Academy of Sciences (MBRAS), and the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts (MASA). He has received the Hans and Marlies Zimmer International Scholar Award, the Humboldt Foundation Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award, the Asia and Oceania Photochemistry Association Award, and the Human Frontier Science Award Program Award, etc.

In The morning, Professor Panče Naumov gave a report on the frontiers of molecular science entitled "The dynamic future of molecular crystals: A new class of engineering materials". Molecular crystals are derived from organized molecular assemblies and have adjustable mechanical properties, responsive optical behavior and controllable electronic states. In the report, Professor Naumov started with the development history of functional materials and introduced the representative research work of his research group on multi-functional organic flexible molecular crystals, which combine both softness and structural order, exhibit unique and controllable mechanical properties, and have rapid responsive behavior to external stimuli such as light, heat and humidity. These organic crystals are excellent carriers to realize the functions of biosensing and optical signal transmission. Finally, Professor Naumov also looked forward to the prospect of molecular crystals research, looking forward to researchers will be able to propose new methods and new materials in the future. He said chemists should predict or explain the structure-property relationship in molecular crystals through the combination of experimental and theoretical calculations, and explore their deeper application potential. During the report, Professor Naumov had in-depth discussions and exchanges with the teachers and students present, and received a good response.

  In the afternoon, representatives from various research directions in our group also presented their research achievements to Professor Naumov in English. The PhD student Yanfu Tang, gave a presentation entitled "Caterpillar-inspired Liquid Crystal Elastomer Walkers with Adaptive Morphology by 4D Printing", showcasing a 4D printed liquid crystal elastomer actuator inspired by caterpillar. PhD student Lixin Jiang gave a presentation entitled "Novel Optofluidic Technology Based on Photodeformable Liquid Crystal Polymers", introducing the latest research progress on developing optofluidic technology based on photodeformable liquid crystal polymer materials. During the presentations, Professor Naumov provided professional comments and expectations for the future of these research directions, drawing on his profound knowledge in the field of smart materials.