Prof. Kang Sun | Biomass Pyrolysis and Advanced Carbon Materials | Best Researcher Award

Prof. Kang Sun | Chinese Academy of Forestry | China

Prof. Kang Sun is a distinguished materials scientist specializing in biomass pyrolysis and bio-based advanced carbon materials. He earned his Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Chemical Processing Engineering of Forest Products from the Chinese Academy of Forestry and a B.Sc. in Fine Chemicals from East China University of Science and Technology. As a visiting scholar at the University of Tennessee (2017) and Tsinghua University (2023–2024), he has advanced the field of carbon-based materials for energy storage, catalysis, and high-adsorption applications. Prof. Sun has led over 20 major national R&D and foundation-funded projects, including the National Key R&D Program on advanced energy materials from lignin residues. His prolific research output includes more than 110 SCI-indexed publications, exceeding 7,000 citations with an h-index of 45, featuring in top-tier journals such as JACS, Angewandte Chemie, Energy & Environmental Science, Nature Communications, Advanced Functional Materials, and Applied Catalysis B. Recognized among the top 2% of scientists globally, he has been instrumental in establishing 8 national and industry standards and holds 22 patents, including pioneering innovations in lignin-based carbon nanosheets and activated carbon composites for supercapacitors. His contributions have earned him prestigious honors such as two National Science and Technology Progress Awards, the UNIDO Blue Sky Award, three Provincial Science and Technology Progress Awards (ranked 1st), and the Golden Bridge Award. Currently serving as Deputy Secretary-General of both the Activated Carbon Branch of the China Forest Products Industry Association and the Agricultural Power Branch of the China Energy Research Society, Prof. Sun continues to drive impactful research bridging sustainable materials innovation and industrial application.