Dear alumni, teachers, students and retired faculty members of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Applied Electronics (EEA) of Tsinghua University, as well as friends from all walks of life who care about the development of EEA:

Time is an endless long river, running year after year, and everything is renewed at the beginning of 2023.

We have just passed the extraordinary year of 2022 and now we ring the bell of the new year. At this beautiful moment of ringing out the old and ringing in the new, EEA of Tsinghua University would like to extend New Year greetings to alumni at home and abroad, all teachers and students, retired faculty members, and people from all walks of life who care about and support the development of EEA!

In the past year facing a new round of scientific and technological revolution and rapid industrial transformation, and striding towards a higher education power, EEA has thoroughly studied and implemented the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the spirit of the 15th Party Congress of the University, mastered the development trend of higher education, dared to make innovations and take responsibilities, and made new progress in personnel training and scientific research.

We have successfully celebrated the 90th Anniversary of the Department of Electrical Engineering and drawn a blueprint for the development in the new century. With the theme of “90-year Old Department of Electrical Engineering, Dedicated to Tsinghua All Lifetime”, EEA held a grand celebration event, including offline activities of “Donation Ceremony for Professors Famed under Zhang Mingtao”, “Jingde Forum” and historical exhibitions, and 24 online activities of department anniversary celebration LOGO collection and portrait frame collection. EEA also launched a commemorative edition in the “Chinese Journal of Electrical Engineering”, compiled 12 publications and promotional videos including “A Brief History of Time (3rd Edition)”, a commemorative anthology of “90-Year Old Department of Electrical Engineering and Opportunities in a Century” and “Hello, Department of Electrical Engineering” to comprehensively display the 90-year historical and cultural accumulation and achievements of the Department of Electrical Engineering. Over the past 90 years, people of the Department of Electrical Engineering of Tsinghua University have been adhering to building morality, serving the country, insisting on interdisciplinary integration, innovation and development. At the new starting point towards a new century, EEA closely follows the medium and long-term development strategies of the University, draws a roadmap for high-level talent training, innovative action plans and global strategies, and makes a good start for the establishment of world-class disciplines.

We stand on the foundation of cultivating people upon morality, and guide students to set up great ambitions, develop great virtues, become great talents, and take on great responsibilities. Four doctoral students, Pei Jiayao, Wang Shaojie, Wang Tianyu and Cheng Sang, won the 2021 IEEE DEIS Graduate Fellowship; the paper of doctoral student Wang Yi (currently an assistant professor at the University of Hong Kong) from EEA won the first place for the best paper of IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid; Students Yan Yunqi, Xing Haitong, Li Yifan, Fan Yanpeng and Cui Zhengda won the Special Prize of the First College Electrical and Electronic Engineering Innovation Competition of the China Electrotechnical Society; Xu Chaoqun won the Special Scholarship of Tsinghua University; the teams of Cheng Xiang and Fan Ming, students of EEA, won the special prize and the first prize at the fourth "Golden Wind Cup" Energy Innovation Challenge, respectively; Fan Boran won the Excellent Doctoral Dissertation Award of China Power Supply Association. In addition, a detachment of the Ninth Dream Grid went to the boarding school in Brook Town, Hejing County, Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, improved the power supply conditions of local schools and promoted the use of new energy.

We are oriented to “Four directions” to improve scientific research and innovation capabilities, and comprehensively serve the innovation-driven development strategy. In the past year, we made efforts to strengthen basic research and promote the breakthrough of key and core technologies. Professor Wu Weihan won the 2022 Gu Yuxiu’s Award for Electrical Engineering; Professor Mei Shengwei won the first Gao Jingde’s Award for Science and Technology Achievement; Researcher Cisong was elected as the 2023 IEEE Fellow; the “Power Grid Panoramic Information Perception Technology” won the 2022 IET Engineering Technology Innovation Award; Professor He Jinliang was elected as a Foreign Corresponding Academician of Bologna Academy of Sciences; Assistant Researcher Li Chuanyang won the IEEE Young Scholar Achievement Award; Associate Professor Yi Chenyi achieved the world highest record of photoelectric conversion efficiency (PCE) at 23.6% for single-junction flexible perovskite solar cells; Associate Professor Zhang Pinjia was elected for the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars; Professor Zhao Zhengming won the Award for Individual of 12th “Invention and Entrepreneurship Award” in 2021; Professor Sun Hongbin won the 2022 Annual Engineer Award of the Asia Pacific Federation of Engineering Organizations and was elected as a Fellow of the Chinese Society of Electrical Engineering; Associate Professor Zhang Ning and Professor Kang Chongqing published articles in “Nature Communications” to explore the structural form and evolution path of China’s power system under the dual carbon goals; the iEnergy (“Electric Energy Transactions (English)”) edited by Professor He Jinliang was included in the INSPEC database; many teachers won 25 awards including the first prize of Beijing Science and Technology Progress Award and the Science and Technology Progress Award of China Electrotechnical Society.

We take the initiative to build a platform for friendly exchanges between China and foreign countries to strengthen international exchanges and cooperation. In the past year, EEA hosted the Sub-forum of New-type Power Systems at the 3rd International Forum of Engineering Education (IFEE2022), the 2022 Tsinghua University-Virginia Tech Joint Seminar on Frontier Power Electronics Technology, the 18th IET International Conference on AC-DC Transmission (ACDC 2022), the 2022 International Green Energy Summit, also the 14th China-US Green Energy Summit and some other domestic and foreign academic conferences. Moreover, EEA jointly held the 4th China-Italy Summer School on Advanced Manufacturing with the University of Bergamo and the University of Naples.

We actively carry out alumni activities and expand our service areas. In the past year, we organized 28 activities under the department anniversary celebration theme of “Ninety Years of the Department of Electrical Engineering”, which attracted 7,895 participants and more than 150,000 readings. In addition, we produced 28 publications, promotional videos and souvenirs. EEA Branch of Tsinghua Alumni Association organized and planned the establishment of EEA Branch of Tsinghua Alumni Association in Guangzhou, and prepared to establish branches in Shanghai, Northeast China and other regions. EEA visited and interviewed alumni such as Gu Guobiao, academician of the Institute of Electrical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Wu Beisheng, head of China’s third-generation air defense weapon system, to take this opportunity to learn about the current situation of alumni and set a benchmark for alumni. EEA published more than 210 publicity articles to the society through the official website, WeChat public account, alumni applet and other platforms, of which, the touching deed “opening up wasteland” for the electric power industry in small counties of Mao Yugui, a senior graduated from the Department of Electrical Engineering in 1954 and took root in the Northwest for decades, was broadcast by CCTV and viewed for more than 100,000 times.

We always place the health of teachers and students first and actively responded to the COVID-19. In 2022, from the normalization of pandemic control to the pandemic counterattack, the task of pandemic control in the University has become serious since late November. EEA Party Committee quickly organized to implement the University’s deployment and established a special office for pandemic control. A total of 57 faculty members took on the responsibility. Since the establishment of the team, we have analyzed the actual situation and established a health ledger; put out anti-pandemic packs to satisfy the needs for pandemic control; accurately delivered medicines, conveyed the care from the University and the Department, and handled a total of 20 positive cases and performed more than 3,500 nucleic acid tests. On December 11, the team entered the student apartment in No. 14 Bauhinia Building. In addition to the teaching staff, a group of students including Liu Zhizhen and Huyang Minghao volunteered to be stationed on the front line of pandemic prevention. We established a series of information ledgers such as resident students, positive students and students released from isolation, material needs, volunteer information and material reserves, etc., and provided more than 1,600 packs of anti-pandemic material to more than 600 students who had not yet left the University to ensure supply and meet the actual needs for daily life. Under the unified command of the University and the Department, the persistence of the anti-pandemic team, and the joint efforts of all students, EEA achieved remarkable result in pandemic control, and finally all teachers and students gradually returned to normal.

2022 is a special year for EEA, we commemorated and reviewed the development of the past 90 years, felt the strength of character of Mr. Gu Yuxiu, who has been born for 120 years and famed as “A scholar, poet and professor like cool breeze, bright moon and strong pine”, and appreciated Mr. Gao Jingde’s contribution to the development of the Department of Electrical Engineering, Tsinghua University and China’s education and science and technology at his 100th birthday. In 2022, we also experienced many heartbreaking losses, and lost four old professors: Mr. Zong Kongde, a 100-year old professor of electrical engineering who was a veteran of the Anti-Japanese War, Academician Lu Qiang, the pioneer and founder of the non-linear control discipline of modern power system, Professor Li Fahai, who has been rooted in the front line of teaching all his life and edited the classic textbook “Electrical Engineering” textbook, and Professor Gu Yongchang, who has made outstanding contribution in the field of hydropower station simulation. The precious wealth left by the old professors, together with the dedication spirit of countless electrical workers for the motherland in the past 90 years, is the torch lighting our way ahead.

Recalling the past is to create a better future. Sailing the vast sea, we are never afraid of waves. In the new year, we will base ourselves on the new era and new journey, implement the fundamental task of cultivating people through morality, and cultivate high-level talents who will take on the great task of national rejuvenation; uphold the highest pursuit of serving the country, and comprehensively improve the ability of scientific research and innovation; take the road of high-quality development, and explore for world leading electrical engineering disciplines!

Finally, we wish all EEA alumni, all teachers and students, retired faculty members and friends who care about the development of EEA good health, wonderful work, happy family and all the best in the new year!

Kang Chongqing

Chairman of EEA Branch of Tsinghua Alumni Association and Dean of EEA

Yu Xinjie

Vice Chairman of EEA Branch of Tsinghua Alumni Association and Party Secretary of EEA