Our School’s Cutting and Tool Technology Team Holds 90th Birthday for Professor Li Zhenjia and Initiates Academic Inheritance Symposium.-Harbin University of Science and Technology

Our School’s Cutting and Tool Technology Team Holds 90th Birthday for Professor Li Zhenjia and Initiates Academic Inheritance Symposium.

In acknowledgment of Professor Li Zhenjia’s outstanding contributions in the fields of chip breakage mechanism, chip groove type and its expert system, as well as heavy-duty cutting theory and tool development research, and to promote his spirit of patriotism, perseverance, talent nurturing, equanimity, and pioneering, a symposium was held in the multifunctional hall of Building 1 in the West Campus of our university on October 15th to celebrate Professor Li Zhenjia’s 90th birthday and to discuss the inheritance of his academic legacy and talent cultivation. Zhao Lin, Secretary of the University Party Committee, Vice Presidents Yang Zhongxue and Lin Yi, Former Vice President Zhao Hong, Rong Yiming, Director of the Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering at Southern University of Science and Technology, Dong Xiren, former Deputy Director of the Heilongjiang Provincial Association of Staff Technical, Zhao Hong, former Deputy General Manager of the Aerospace Science and Technology Holding Group Co., Ltd., and Sun Hongyi, Vice President of Harbin Institute, as well as leaders from the retired cadre department, labor union, and the leadership team of the School of Mechanical Engineering, attended the symposium. More than 200 people, including family members, old colleagues, friends, disciples of Professor Li Zhenjia, and teachers and graduate students from the high-efficiency cutting tool research team, participated in the symposium. The theme of the symposium was“Aspiration, Perseverance, Struggle, Dedication- Experiencing Professor Li Zhenjia's work, study, life attitude, and scholarly style”. The symposium was hosted by Professor Zhang Taili, a student of Professor Li Zhenjia.

In his speech at the symposium, Zhao Lin extended birthday wishes to Professor Li Zhenjia on his 90th birthday and thanked Professor Li for his outstanding contributions to the development of our university over the years, nurturing generations of outstanding talents, and wished Professor Li Zhenjia and his wife Ms. Huang Liyuan good health and longevity. Zhao Lin pointed out that Professor Li has been unremitting in his cultivation and has remarkable achievements, considering academic research as his duty and taking education as his responsibility. He has supported and guided the young and fostered the apprentices. Professor Li’s character and knowledge are examples for us, and his achievements and contributions are precious wealth of Harbin Institute of Technology. He hoped that through this event, we could comprehensively discuss and summarize Professor Li’s academic thoughts, talent cultivation experience, and noble character, promote his valuable spirit of dedication to research, overcoming difficulties, and integrity, and encourage all faculty and students to take Professor Li Zhenjia as a role model, inherit the spirit of their predecessors, and achieve remarkable achievements.

Liu Xianli, director of the key laboratory of the Ministry of Education at Harbin Institute of Technology, as a representative of the disciples, delivered the first speech, reviewing Professor Li Zhenjia’s achievements in scientific research, discipline construction, and talent cultivation. Liu Xianli summarized the work of Professor Li Zhenjia as injecting four genes into team development, including regularly visiting enterprises and being good at finding topics from production sites, innovation spirit, courage and determination to take on challenges, and the awareness and spirit of making work a career. Liu Xianli encouraged the young teachers and graduate students present at the symposium to build on the achievements of Professor Li and the older generation, fulfill their mission, take responsibility, and strive for the construction of a strong school and a strong department.

Zhang Yuan, Dean of the School of Mechanical and Power Engineering, on behalf of all the faculty and students of the school, offered birthday wishes to Professor Li Zhenjia and expressed that Professor Li Zhenjia has devoted his lifetime energy to the development of the tool industry in China within the framework of the national innovation and development strategy, as the founder of the cutting theory and chip control technology in China, he enjoys the reputation of“King of Tools”in the industry, and has led Harbin Institute of Technology to a leading position in the industry. He called on the next generation to carry forward the spirit of their predecessors and create a bright future, and extended profound respect and good wishes to Professor Li Zhenjia for his selfless dedication to the development of the mechanical manufacturing profession at our university.

During the symposium, Jiang Bin, Party Secretary of the School of Mechanical Engineering, Zhang Jun, director of the retired cadre department, Wang Liming, Deputy Chairman of the University Labor Union, student representatives Sun Hongyi and Cheng Yaonan, and others successively presented gifts to Professor Li Zhenjia on behalf of their departments or teams.

At the symposium, Professor Yang Shucai of the School of Mechanical Engineering read out congratulatory letters from the China Machine Tool Industry Association and the Harbin Measuring & Cutting Tool Co., Ltd. of the General Technology Group. Professor Yang Shucai also read congratulatory letters from Li Dayong, former President of Harbin Institute of Technology, and Professor Chen Yuquan, former head of the mechanical engineering department of Harbin Institute of Technology. They thanked Professor Li for his outstanding contributions and wished him good health and longevity.

During the symposium, old leaders and old colleagues of Professor Li Zhenjia delivered speeches and reviewed their experiences working with him. They expressed deep respect for Professor Li’s noble character and his spirit of detachment from fame and fortune, rigorous scholarship, dedication to science, and continuous self-improvement.

Following Professor Li Zhenjia’s academic philosophy of“inviting in”experts from the industry and“going out”for young teachers to engage in external exchanges, the School of Mechanical Engineering has actively created a new phase of international cooperation. Team representatives from the faculty, including Zhang Huiping, Yue Caixu, Zhao Peiyi, Liu Qiang, and Fu Xiangfu, and student representatives such as Zhang Lei and Zhou Jiaqi, talked about the progress made by strengthening domestic and international academic exchanges and recited poems to sincerely wish Professor Li and his team.

Professor Li Zhenjia, with a humorous and down-to-earth attitude, vividly recounted his unwavering dedication, ideals, beliefs, and aspirations for more than half a century, regardless of prosperity or adversity. He expressed gratitude to the motherland for nurturing him, and thanked the school, family, friends, colleagues, peers, and students for their support. At the same time, Professor Li’s wife, Ms. Huang Liyuan, expressed her gratitude to the university, her gratitude to the students who had come from afar, and her best wishes for the university’s continuous development.

The deeds of Professor Li Zhenjia deeply infected the guests and teachers and students at the symposium. Professor Li’s masterful style, profound knowledge, and approachable personal charm are deeply admired and respected.“Spring breeze four times to silk, several times of autumn rain to wash the Honggou. The spring sows peaches and plums in three thousand gardens, and in autumn, the harvest fills the land”is a true portrayal of Professor Li Zhenjia’s life attitude and work achievements.

Under the inspiriting force of Professor Li Zhenjia’s spirit, the School of Mechanical Engineering and the Cutting and Tool Technology team have always attached importance to discipline planning, team construction, and academic inheritance. In the future, under the correct leadership of the university’s Party Committee, they will carry forward the spirit of craftsmanship, root themselves in Heilongjiang, take it as their duty to serve the country and the development of the equipment manufacturing industry in Heilongjiang Province, and continue to make greater contributions to the high-quality development of the mechanical engineering discipline at our university in terms of high-level research platform construction, innovative talent cultivation, key technology research and development, and technology transformation (Photography: Xu Heyang, Videography: Peng Qiwei).