On June 25, TDLI Class of 2026 Gratuate Commencement and Degree Conferment Ceremony was held in at N400 Meeting Room, TDLI, SJTU. Jie Zhang, Director of TDLI and CAS Academician; Jinfeng Jia , T. D. Lee Chair Professor and CAS Academician; Zhe Chen, Secretary of CPC TDLI Committee;Xiaohu Yang, Deputy Director and Distinguished Fellow; Shushu Li, Deputy Secretary of CPC TDLI Committee; Rongrong Zhang and Shao-Feng Ge, Assistant to the Director; faculty and class advisor representatives, Administration representatives, the graduates of the Class2026, and their relatives and friends attended together to witness this solemn and warm moment in life. The ceremony was hosted by Zhe Chen.
Speech by TDLI’s Director
Jie Zhang delivered a speech titled "Challenge and Legacy" at the commencement, offering heartfelt words to the graduates. 2026 marks the 10th anniversary of TDLI. As a young basic research institution, TDLI and its graduates have intersected in their respective development trajectories, witnessing and advancing alongside each other.
He sent three expectations to the graduates: First, stay true to your original aspiration, always maintain a genuine love for science, and keep moving forward on the path of seeking truth; Second, push beyond your limits and sustain the enterprising spirit that dares to take on challenges, constantly expanding the frontiers of knowledge; Third, carry the torch forward by embodying Professor T.D. Lee‘s scientific spirit and devotion to the nation, keeping the flame of science alive. He encouraged all graduates, as a new generation of explorers in basic science ,to always hold the ambition of climbing the peaks of science and technology, and to forge ahead with confidence and vision on their journey into the unknown.
Speech by Faculty Representative
Tenured Fellow Qingdong Jiang delivered a speech as the faculty representative. He congratulated all the graduates who successfully completed their studies and shared three lessons from three Nobel Prize laureates: take a risk, but do not risk it all; work hard, but do not hit the wall; and dream big, but always start small. He encouraged graduates to find balance among career, life, and themselves, calmly cope with life's ups and downs, and move forward steadily.
Speeches by Graduate Representatives
Wenlian Li, a Shanghai Municipal Outstanding Graduate, and Akhil Uniyal, a nominee for SJTU's Academic Star Award and the first international PhD graduate of TDLI, delivered speeches as graduate representatives. Wenlian Li looked back on her experience of participating in TRIDENT project and overcoming difficulties through repeated equipment debugging, while Akhil Uniyal shared his daily research life at TDLI of immersing in experiments, debugging code, and polishing papers. They expressed their sincere gratitude to the supervisors for their careful guidance in research, the administrative team for fully guaranteeing their research life, and their relatives and friends for their support. They also expressed that as youths of the new era, they will deeply cultivate basic research with the passion for knowledge and academic confidence endowed by TDLI, and wished for TDLI to continue exploring the frontiers and write a new chapter in science.
Degree Conferment Ceremony
In the Degree Conferment Ceremony, all graduates went on stage. Faculty representatives Jinfeng Jia , Xiaogang He, Michael Ramsey-Musolf, Xiaohu Yang, Hao Zheng, Qingdong Jiang, Ruidan Zhong, and Hao Zhou turned the tassels and awarded degree certificates to the graduates, together witnessing the important moment of the graduates successfully completing their studies.
Outstanding Graduate Awards
In the Outstanding Graduate Awards segment, Xiaohu Yang presented the honor certificates and souvenirs to Shanghai Municipal Outstanding Graduates Wenlian Li and Hongxuan Jiang, as well as SJTU Outstanding Graduates Yuan Li, Shuai Shao, and Chang Yang. He fully affirmed the excellent performances of the award-winning graduates during their time at TDLI and encouraged everyone to continue forging ahead and create new achievements in their new journey.
Appointment of Graduate Alumni Directors
Shushu Li issued letters of appointment to the Class of 2026 Alumni Council members Yanda Wu, Yuan Li, and Shuai Shao. She expressed the hope that they would serve as a bridge between alumni and the Institute, strengthening the bonds that connect graduates to their alma mater, rallying support from all sides, and working hand in hand with TDLI to write a new chapter in its development.
Gift Exchange Between Graduates and TDLI
On behalf of all graduates of the Class of 2026, Yanda Wu presented a time capsule to TDLI as a gift from the graduating students. The capsule contains the beautiful wishes for TDLI, and an agreement to return to TDLI on its 20th anniversary to together unseal this cross-time expectation. Director Jie Zhang accepted this special gift carrying youthful sentiment and deep friendship on behalf of TDLI.
In return, Director Jie Zhang presented the graduates with signed copies of A Decade of Dream, hoping that they would draw inspiration and strength from the book in their future scientific pursuits. Shao-Feng Ge and Rongrong Zhang, on behalf of TDLI, presented exclusive commemorative gifts to the graduates—moon-phase speakers customized to each graduate's birthday—as a token of encouragement for their unwavering dedication on the new journeys ahead. The ceremony also featured a special moment when family members and friends present at the venue were invited to the stage to present flowers to the graduates.
Graduation Video
Faculty, students, and staff gathered to watch the graduation video Letters to the Future together. This film starred the graduates of this year, with close classmates and faculty representatives appearing successively to convey their sincere blessings. Scenes of familiar pictures connected everyone's learning moments at TDLI and also carried beautiful expectations for the future. A blessing video from the logistics support staff was also played on-site; the logistics team expressed their deep friendship for the graduates in simple words, making everyone feel deeply moved. With warm applause, the whole audience expressed sincere gratitude to all the staff who silently persisted and provided careful services.
As the ceremony drew to a close, a special segment was dedicated to showcasing the graduating Class of 2026, offering each of them a final moment in the spotlight. Taking the stage one after another, the graduates shared their personal journeys at TDLI—recounting their dedicated pursuit of research, the challenges they overcame along the way, and the warmth and companionship they received from their mentors and peers.
With youth as their prologue and a bright future ahead, the Class of 2026 graduates of TDLI—carrying with them the warm blessings of mentors, peers, and loved ones—are now ready to embark on their respective journeys, pursuing their dreams far and wide. May all the students always keep their original intention of exploration, cultivate deeply at the frontier of basic science, practice the ambition of serving the country with what they have learned, go to the appointment of the era with solid work, and write a brilliant chapter belonging to young researchers on their scientific journey!