University poses questions to celebrate 125 years

Shanghai Jiao Tong University has published 125 science questions, together with Science Magazine and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, to celebrate its 125th birthday and invite scientists from all over the world to join in related research.

The questions were raised by people from home and abroad, including editors of the magazine, winners of top prizes such as the Nobel Prize, Wolf Prize, Lasker Award and Turing Award, well known young scientists, as well as teachers and students from the university.

They cover issues ranging from mathematics, chemistry, health and life sciences to neurosciences, ecology and artificial intelligence.

Some of the questions were raised in an earlier edition of 125 questions published by the magazine in 2005 to celebrate its 125th anniversary and remain unsolved, such as “What is the universe made of?” and “Can we stop ourselves aging?” Some questions are challenges for the whole world, such as “Can we stop global climate change?” and “Can we live on another planet?”

Lin Zhongqin, the university’s president, said it had been dedicated to promoting science advancement since it was established in 1896. It has made a number of breakthroughs in China and cultivated a lot of outstanding scientists, he said. He hopes the questions would inspire more people to devote themselves to future science development and serve the welfare of all humans.