On sept.12,the ninth 'oriental platform' lecture series was held in the auditorium of administration building in the new campus. Xu Guanxian, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and professor of Beijing university made a lecture on 'The general trend of the development of chemistry in the 21th century--challenge and opportunity'.

Academician Xu had put forward the new conception of the rule of the structure of atomic value, the periodic law of molecule, the electronic structure and character of rare earth compounds. His achievement was awarded by the second prize of the national natural science. His theory on  extraction brought the country's craft of the extraction and separation of rare earth to the advanced international level, which also made great economic and social benefit. His book on the structure of substance had been the only textbook of the discipline in the country for more than one-quarter century.  

Academician Xu's lecture gave the professors and students of Shanghai University a gold opportunity to see the most forward research direction of the current science and technology.