The 12th International Conference on Advanced Glass was held April 5–6 on the Songjiang Campus of Donghua University.
(Scene from the opening ceremony)
Attending the opening ceremony were Zhu Meifang, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Director of the State Key Laboratory of Advanced Fiber Materials at Donghua University; Jin Zhanping, Secretary General of The Chinese Ceramic Society (CCS); Pan Hua, Secretary General of the China National Association for Glass Industry (CNAGI); Zhang Qinghua, Vice President of Donghua University; and Shi Xun, Vice Chairman of The Shanghai Ceramic Society (SCS). The opening ceremony was presided over by Wang Hongzhi, professor at Donghua University and Vice President of Shanghai Dianji University.
On behalf of Donghua University, Zhang Qinghua extended congratulations on the convening of the conference and extended a warm welcome to the attending experts and guests. He noted that against the macro backdrop of China’s efforts to enter a new stage of development and implement a new development philosophy, seizing the historic opportunity presented by the transition from traditional to new drivers of economic growth to steer the glass industry toward a green, low-carbon and sustainable direction has become a pivotal challenge with far-reaching implications for the sector. He expressed confidence that the conference would effectively boost the development of advanced glass materials at the university and inject strong innovation into Donghua’s inorganic materials discipline.
Zhu Meifang noted that the materials science program at Donghua University is home to the Engineering Research Center of Advanced Glass Manufacturing Technology, Ministry of Education, and the Key Laboratory of Special Glass and Enamel, China National Light Industry Council, and has developed over a dozen glass-related standards, achieving significant results in glass materials research. Describing glass as an exceptionally fascinating material, she highlighted its high strength, high transparency, corrosion resistance, high temperature resistance, high electrical resistance, and radiation resistance, which endow it with promising applications in extreme environments such as deep sea, deep space, deep body, and deep blue. The materials science program has hosted the International Conference on Advanced Glass series since 2002, with this year marking the 12th edition. She expressed her hope that more universities and industry colleagues would engage in vibrant exchanges of ideas, foster enhanced cooperation, and jointly achieve fruitful outcomes through the conference.
At the opening ceremony, representatives from CCS, CNAGI, and SCS presented overviews of the glass industry’s development in China, China’s domestic glass sector, and the Shanghai region, respectively. Under the theme “Boundless Glass: Materials, Morphology, and Future Ecology”, the conference was structured around four parallel sessions: Glass Composition and Structure, Glass Processes and Equipment, Functional Glasses and Devices, and a Graduate Student Forum, alongside a session for graduate student paper presentations and a poster exhibition. The conference brought together 242 distinguished scholars, technical experts, and industry professionals from 32 universities across 12 countries and 17 research institutions.
It was reported that the conference was co-organized by the following bodies: The Chinese Ceramic Society (CCS), China National Association for Glass Industry (CNAGI), Shanghai Ceramic Society (SCS), and Donghua University. It was jointly hosted by the State Key Laboratory of Advanced Fiber Materials, the State Key Laboratory of Silicate Science and Advanced Building Materials, the State Key Laboratory of Advanced Glass Materials, the College of Materials Science and Engineering at Donghua University, the Engineering Research Center of Advanced Glass Manufacturing Technology (Ministry of Education), the Key Laboratory of Special Glass and Enamel (China National Light Industry Council), the Enamel Division of The Chinese Ceramic Society, and the Metastable Materials Research Workstation of the CAE Expert Achievements Transformation and Exhibition Center.
Concurrently, the College of Materials Science and Engineering at Donghua University hosted the 2026 Advanced Glass International Conference Exhibition and Poster Exhibition, where numerous companies displayed glass products, testing instruments, refractory materials, and specialized equipment, drawing significant attention from attendees.
(Graduate poster exhibition)
The conference concluded on April 6, with a closing ceremony that included an awards presentation for Outstanding Graduate Student Posters, presided over by Professor Wang Qingwei, Vice Director of the Engineering Research Center of Advanced Glass Manufacturing Technology, Ministry of Education, and a faculty member at the College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University. Professor Wang Hongzhi, Chair of the Conference Organizing Committee, expressed his hope that the event would serve as a catalyst to further foster innovation and open exchange in the glass industry, contributing “China’s strength” to the global glass community.
