On April 30, Tianjin Municipality held a grand ceremony to celebrate International Workers’ Day and honor Model Workers and Model Collectives. At the event, the Decision of the Tianjin Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China and Tianjin Municipal People’s Government on Recognizing 2025 Tianjin Model Workers and Model Collectives was announced. Professor Deng Tianlong from the College of Marine and Environmental Sciences at Tianjin University of Science and Technology was conferred the prestigious Tianjin Model Worker.

Profile of Professor Deng Tianlong

A member of the Communist Party of China, Professor Deng Tianlong holds the academic rank of Second-Class Professor and serves as Dean of the College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Director of the Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Chemistry and Food Technology (Ministry of Education), and Standing Committee Member of the International Society for Salt Lake Research. He leads a Ministry of Education Innovation Team, is a recipient of the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ “Hundred Talents Program”, and has been awarded the State Council Special Government Allowance. Notably, he has been consecutively named to the Global Top 2% Most Cited Scientists List in 2023 and 2024.

Scientific Achievements

Professor Deng pioneered the metastable phase equilibrium research methodology, resolving critical challenges in extracting rare and scattered elements from salt lakes, with his innovations widely applied across the salt lake and chemical industries. Over the past five years, he has spearheaded eight major national and provincial research projects, including the National Key R&D Program, National Natural Science Foundation Key Projects, and inter-organizational collaborative initiatives. As the principal investigator, he has earned eight provincial and ministerial awards, including the First Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress from the China General Chamber of Commerce (2022) and the Tianjin Natural Science Second Prize (2020).

Educational Contributions

Professor Deng developed the “One Axis, Dual Drives, Three Systems” talent cultivation model, recognized with the Tianjin Higher Education Teaching Achievement First Prize (2022). His course Phase Diagrams of Aqueous Salt Systems was designated a National First-Class Undergraduate Course, while his textbook Phase Diagrams of Aqueous Salt Systems and Applications was selected for the China Light Industry “13th Five-Year Plan” Textbook Series, named a Tianjin Top Curriculum Ideology and Political Education Textbook, and awarded the Second Prize for Outstanding Textbooks by the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation. Under his mentorship, numerous students have achieved distinction, including recipients of the CAS “Hundred Talents Program” and the national “Outstanding Communist Party Member” honor.

Disciplinary Breakthrough

In 2024, Professor Deng led the successful establishment of Tianjin University of Science and Technology’s first-level doctoral program in Marine Science, marking a historic “zero-to-one” breakthrough in the university’s doctoral degree offerings in natural sciences and injecting robust momentum into disciplinary advancement.