On December 26, 2025, the 2nd “Cross-Disciplinary Collaborative Forum on Grand Challenges – 4D Printing,” hosted by the Chinese Materials Research Society (C-MRS), was held at the China Hall of Science and Technology.

Centered on the theme “Advancing Cross-Domain Collaboration to Lead Innovation in 4D Printing,” the forum brought together leading experts and scholars from materials science, aerospace engineering, intelligent manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and related fields. Participants engaged in in-depth discussions aimed at addressing major scientific challenges and technological bottlenecks in the field of 4D printing, while exploring frontier research directions and pathways for interdisciplinary collaboration.

More than ten leading academic figures attended the forum, including Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Professor Leng Jinsong of Harbin Institute of Technology; Academician of the Asia-Pacific Academy of Materials and Professor Shi Yusheng of Huazhong University of Science and Technology; Secretary-General of the Chinese Materials Research Society (C-MRS) and Academician of the Asia-Pacific Academy of Materials, Professor Zhang Zengzhi; Professor Yan Chunze, Director of the State Key Laboratory of Material Forming and Die & Mould Technology at Huazhong University of Science and Technology; Professor Xie Tao of Zhejiang University; and Professor Zhang Zhihui of Jilin University, among others.

As a disruptive technology integrating smart materials, additive manufacturing, mechanical design, and bionic science, 4D printing holds irreplaceable application value in major strategic fields such as lightweight aerospace structures, intelligent biomedical devices, flexible components for humanoid robots, and adaptive structures for new energy equipment. It has become one of the focal points of global scientific and technological competition. China has achieved a leap in this field from “following” to “running in parallel” with international leaders, with some technical directions reaching advanced global levels. However, significant challenges remain in core material performance, precision control in forming processes, and large-scale application, making cross-disciplinary collaboration essential for achieving key technological breakthroughs.

Professor Zhang Zengzhi, Secretary-General of C-MRS, delivered remarks on behalf of President Wei Bingbo and President Li Yuanyuan. He noted that this forum is one of the 38 “Cross-Disciplinary Collaborative Forums on Grand Challenges” planned by C-MRS as part of its in-depth implementation of the guiding principles of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee. Under the guidance of the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST), C-MRS has taken serving major national scientific and technological needs as its mission, focusing on critical bottlenecks and challenges facing industrial development. He emphasized that breakthroughs in 4D printing technology cannot be achieved by a single discipline alone; instead, they require breaking down disciplinary barriers and integrating innovation resources from universities, research institutes, and enterprises through deep cross-domain and cross-industry collaboration, in order to concentrate efforts on overcoming core challenges. As an important component of the forum series, this event represents a vivid practice of promoting the aggregation of innovation factors and advancing deep integration across industry, academia, research, and application. It holds significant importance for helping China advance from “parallel running” to “leading” in the field of 4D printing and for fostering high-quality new productive forces.

The forum adopted a format of “morning thematic presentations and afternoon closed-door meetings.” Through live online broadcasting, cutting-edge academic achievements were shared with the broader community, while the closed-door sessions facilitated in-depth exchanges among experts. By leveraging multidisciplinary and cross-domain collaboration, participants jointly explored solution pathways and implementation strategies for addressing the major challenges in 4D printing, and synthesized key findings into a dedicated report for submission.

Professor Jin-Song Leng of the Chinese Academy of Sciences delivered a presentation titled “4D Printing Materials and Structures and Their Applications.”

Professor Yusheng Shi delivered a presentation titled “Research Status and Development Trends of 4D Printing Technology.”

Professor Chunze Yan delivered a presentation titled “4D Printing of Ceramic Materials.”

Professor Tao Xie delivered a presentation titled “4D Printing: Opportunities and Challenges.”

rofessor Zhihui Zhang delivered a presentation titled “Bio-Inspired 4D Printing.”

Experts attending the forum unanimously agreed that the 4D Printing thematic forum featured a strong academic atmosphere and highly productive discussions, providing a high-level platform for cross-disciplinary exchange within the field. Through the collision and integration of ideas from multiple disciplines, the forum not only clarified the core challenges currently facing 4D printing, but also forged a strong consensus on coordinated, joint problem-solving. Looking ahead, under the overall coordination of the Society, participating experts will further deepen collaboration, focusing on key areas such as core materials, critical processes, and equipment development, to jointly tackle major challenges and accelerate the transition of 4D printing technologies from laboratory research to industrial application. These efforts will provide robust support for the transformation and upgrading of China’s high-end manufacturing sector and the strengthening of national strategic scientific and technological capabilities.

The Chinese Materials Research Society will continue to develop and strengthen its flagship high-level academic platforms, including the Major Scientific Challenges Cross-Disciplinary Collaborative Forum series. By focusing on key common technologies of critical materials, disruptive technologies, and forward-looking, non-consensus research directions, the Society will further refine cross-disciplinary collaboration mechanisms, bring together the nation’s top innovation forces, and inject sustained momentum into solving major industry challenges and advancing high-quality development of new productive forces.