On the morning of October 14th, Professor Pierre H. Dixneuf, former Vice President of the University of Rennes 1 in France and a member of the French University Institute, visited WYU for academic exchange. Professor Wenhua Chen, Vice President of WYU, and heads of the School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, the Department of Science and Technology, the Graduate School, and the International Affairs Office participated in the meeting.

Chen extended a warm welcome to Dixneuf and introduced the history and disciplinary characteristics of WYU, and its efforts in promoting international exchanges and cooperation. He noted that since 2014, WYU and the University of Rennes 1 have engaged in exchanges and cooperation in the field of chemistry, achieving good results. In December 2023, the two universities signed a cooperation agreement, which provides a new opportunity for deeper cooperation. He hoped that the cooperation agreement between the two universities would be implemented soon to advance practical cooperation in areas such as joint graduate student training, faculty exchanges, and scientific research.

Dixneuf expressed his gratitude for the warm reception and hoped that the two universities would quickly initiate the admission of master's students under the framework of the agreement, and enroll promising master's students from WYU for joint research through the CSC program.

Additionally, the two sides had in-depth discussions on cooperation matters such as faculty exchanges, joint graduate student programs, co-organizing seminars, and co-publishing academic papers.

During his visit, Dixneuf delivered a lecture titled "Catalysis: A Key to Polypyridines, Heterocycles, Functional Phosphines via C-H Bond Functionalization." Teachers in the field of organic synthesis from the School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering and the School of Pharmacy and Food Engineering, as well as master's students in chemical engineering and technology, materials and chemical engineering, attended the lecture.

Dixneuf is a former Vice President of the University of Rennes 1, a member of the French University Institute, and a member of the European Academy of Sciences. He has previously served as the Deputy Director of the Chemistry Department of the French National Center for Scientific Research, and the Director of the School of Chemistry at the University of Rennes 1. Dixneuf is an internationally renowned organometallic chemist who has made outstanding contributions to the fields of organometallic chemistry, homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis. He has received numerous awards, including the Humboldt Research Award in Germany, the French Science Prize, the Sacconi Medal in Italy, the Grand Prix IFP Science and Technology Award, and the "Sino-French Chemistry Lectureship Award" from the Chinese Chemical Society. In 2023, he was honored as an Honorary Fellow of the Chinese Chemical Society.