On November 21st, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering announced newly elected academicians, with 11 experts from Hubei successfully elected. This marks the highest number of new academicians from Hubei in history, ranking second nationwide. With these additions, the total number of academicians from Hubei has exceeded 90.
Among them are experts who started from scratch to tackle the challenges of “lack of chips and displays,” helping high-end chips and new display manufacturing equipment achieve “overtaking on new tracks.” Some experts have spent forty years developing the “10,000 Fish Genomes Project,” quietly changing the global landscape of fish research. Others have pioneered improvements to BeiDou’s positioning accuracy to millimeter level… They embody the spirit of serving the nation, scaling new heights, pursuing innovation, and driving development, vividly demonstrating the exemplary power and mission of scientists in the new era.
“This is the best time to do scientific research!” said Yin Zhouping, professor at Huazhong University of Science and Technology’s School of Mechanical Science and Engineering, upon being elected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Facing this honor, he calmly stated that this represents a new starting point for participating in great endeavors and a new mission to support high-level technological self-reliance.
For over twenty years, he has focused deeply on solving the “lack of chips and displays” problem, helping high-end chips and new display manufacturing equipment achieve “overtaking on new tracks.” Through more than two decades of overcoming difficulties, he has received four National Science and Technology Awards, achieving systematic innovation from theory to technology, equipment, and application, promoting deep integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation.
After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in 1994, Yin Zhouping studied under Professor Xiong Youlun, a mechanical engineering expert. “Professor Xiong often said that research must target directions needed by the nation.” His mentor’s patriotic spirit deeply influenced him. After completing postdoctoral research in 2002, Yin remained at the university as an associate professor. Since then, he has closely linked his career to the nation’s future, focusing on breaking through more key core technologies and striving to keep innovation and development initiatives firmly in domestic hands.
At that time, China’s display industry production equipment long relied on imports. Yin Zhouping led his team to tackle the localization of key equipment for new display panels.
Starting from scratch was not easy! Lacking equipment, materials, and technology, traditional display screen manufacturing processes like evaporation had low material utilization rates and required high-standard working environments. Yin’s team relied on self-reliance and faced challenges head-on, spending several years to develop new display printing technology that achieved 90% material utilization, with material costs only one-third of traditional processes. The equipment operates at room temperature and pressure, without limitations on screen size.
These achievements have been applied to leading global display companies including TCL China Star Optoelectronics, pioneering international printed display manufacturing technology.
In 2020, the first 200-type inkjet printing equipment successfully passed acceptance. In 2022, China’s first G4.5 high-resolution new display printing equipment entered the pilot production line at Wuhan TCL China Star Optoelectronics, using全新的”printing” technology to produce display panels. This year, G6 full-size new display inkjet printing complete equipment was successfully assembled in Wuhan, precisely controlling the ejection of hundreds of millions of ink droplets and substrate movement to achieve micron-level accurate printing of massive droplets, putting Chinese “screens” at the forefront of global competition.
To solve the “chip shortage” problem, Yin Zhouping led his team into the chip manufacturing equipment field where China had been dependent on foreign technology.
The team proposed modeling and performance control methods for ultra-thin chip bonding interfaces, overcoming vision-guided precision placement technology, achieving leaps in bonding technology from single-chip level to wafer-level and square-meter level, enhancing China’s core competitiveness in chip stacking manufacturing technology. The results have accumulated over one hundred intellectual property rights related to high-performance bonding, supporting the establishment of 12-inch multi-wafer hybrid bonding process production lines, achieving domestic control over key equipment in
