Recently, on the occasion of the 76th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Awarding Ceremony of“Honorary Citizen of Shandong Province”2025 was held with great pomp. Leading officials of Shandong Province, including Lin Wu, Secretary of Shandong Provincial Committee of the CPC, and Zhou Naixiang, Vice Secretary of Shandong Provincial Committee of the CPC and Governor of Shandong Province, attended the event. Professor Svetlana Mintova Lazarova, a foreign expert and an internationally renowned scholar from the College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering of China University of Petroleum (East China), was conferred the title of“Honorary Citizen of Shandong Province”and delivered a speech as the sole representative at the event. Lin Wu presented her with the certificate of honor.
Professor Mintova delivers a speech
Professor Mintova is a Chief Scientist at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and currently serves as the President of the International Zeolite Association (IZA). She has published 427 papers in top journals such as Science and Nature Materials, with a total citation count over 20,819 and an H-index of 72. Her research results were once selected as one of the “Top 10 Scientific Breakthroughs of the Year”by Science, and she has also won significant awards including the Donald Breck Award, the highest honor in the international zeolite field. Recently, approved by the decree of the President of France, Professor Mintova was awarded Chevalier order of Legion of Honourin recognition of her outstanding academic achievements and contributions to international exchanges.
Appointed as a foreign expert at UPC in 2017, Professor Mintova has been closely tracking international frontiers, focusing on the green synthesis of zeolite porous materials, advanced characterization techniques, as well as the fundamental and applied research in fields such as catalysis, adsorption, separation, chemical sensing, and biomedicine. She has significantly contributed to the construction of interdisciplinary research platforms at our university. Leveraging her extensive international academic influence, she has recommended a number of top overseas experts to UPC, effectively facilitating exchanges and interactions between our university and world-class research institutions abroad. These efforts have significantly enhanced the international reputation and competitiveness of UPC and Shandong Province in relevant fields.
As the highest honor granted by the People’s Government of Shandong Province to foreign friends, the“Honorary Citizen of Shandong Province”aims to honor those foreign friends who have maintained long-standing friendly relations with China and made outstanding contributions to the economic and social development of Shandong Province as well as its international exchange and cooperation. UPC will actively align with the national strategic needs and the requirements for high-quality development of Shandong Province, continuously refine its internationalized innovation ecosystem, optimize the international academic environment and support, and more effectively empower the university’s international scientific research cooperation and efforts in attracting overseas talent and intelligence.
Translated: Sun Yuqi
Reviewed: Xu Xiaoyan
Updated: 2025-10-16
