The 16th Graduate Forum on Solar Thermal Utilization Science and Technology was successfully held at the Xisai Science Valley in Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, from June 6 to 7, 2026. Centered on the theme of “My Research, My Innovation”, the forum was hosted by the Solar Thermal Industry Technology Innovation Strategic Alliance, and co-organized by the Huzhou Industrial Control Technology Research Institute, Zhejiang Green Storage Technology Co., Ltd., and the Zhongguancun Xinyuan Solar Thermal Utilization Technology Service Center. It attracted more than 130 representatives from over 30 universities, research institutes and enterprises across the country for academic exchanges. Led by Professor Yu Wei and Dr. Wang Debing, teachers and graduate students from the School of Energy and Materials, Shanghai Polytechnic University participated in the forum. Professor Yu Wei was invited as a commenting expert to provide academic guidance on graduate students’ presentations.
During the graduate report session, six master’s students from the school delivered oral presentations on their latest research achievements, covering cutting-edge progress in solar photothermal conversion, storage and utilization. The presenters and their report titles are as follows: Du Jiarui with High-efficiency Seasonal Solar Energy Utilization Driven by Sodium Acetate Supercooled Phase Change Materials; Zhu Fulin with High-entropy Nano-carbon Reinforced Solid-solid Phase Change Materials for Efficient Solar Thermal Energy Storage and Utilization; Wang Yiduo with Preparation of Spectrally Selective Hydrogel Materials and Their Application in Greenhouse Summer Cooling Regulation; Wang Shiyuan with Design of Three-dimensional Centrally Oriented Composite Phase Change Materials and Their Concentrated Photothermal Performance; Wang Jingchen with Study on Reverse Irradiation Induced Rayleigh-Bénard Convection for Enhancing Photothermally Activated Persulfate Efficiency; and Wang Yitao with Biomass Aerogel with Wood-like Structure for High-efficiency Solar Interfacial Evaporator: Realization of Seawater Desalination and Water Purification. In addition, Wang Jingchen was awarded the Second Prize of the “Defang Solar Thermal Utilization Scholarship” for his outstanding academic performance at the forum.
As a high-level academic exchange platform for graduate students engaged in solar thermal utilization research, the forum enabled participating teachers and students from our school to keep abreast of frontier industry trends and key technical challenges through listening to expert reports and conducting in-depth discussions with peers from other universities. Moving forward, the School of Energy and Materials will continue to deepen research and innovation in photothermal technology, accelerate the transformation of scientific research achievements into practical applications, and contribute to the high-quality development of the solar thermal utilization industry.
