At the invitation of the Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IMR, CAS), Prof. Qingping Sun from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), the 2026 Lee Hsun Lecture Award recipient, visited IMR from April 26 to 30, 2026.

Prof. Sun delivered a lecture titled “Shape memory alloys and elastocaloric green refrigeration” to IMR researchers and graduate students. In his lecture, Prof. Sun detailed the latest progress and remaining challenges in elastocaloric cooling, with a focus on how the development of high-performance thermal materials is shaping this emerging field.

During his visit, he also held academic discussions with research groups in Magnetic and Thermal Functional Materials Division, exploring future trends in the application of ceramics in structural and functional devices.

Prof. Sun received his Ph.D. in solid mechanics from Tsinghua University in 1989. He is a Chair Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at HKUST, Director of the Center for Integrated Microsystems, and Director of the Laboratory for Solid-State Refrigeration Materials and Technologies. He has published over 200 papers in journals including Nature, Nature Energy, Nature Nanotechnology, Nature Communications, Joule and Science Advances.