David G. Evans

David Evans was born in 1958. He received a bachelor's degree in 1980 and a doctorate in 1984, both from the University of Oxford. After a postdoctoral fellowship at Bristol University, he carried out teaching and research in the University of Exeter from 1985 to 1996. Several visits to China in the late 1980s and early 1990s convinced him of China's great potential for development, and in 1996 he moved to Beijing University of Chemical Technology (BUCT), where he is currently a Distinguished Professor in the State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering and Director of the Outreach Center. His research, in collaboration with Prof. Xue Duan, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has made many contributions to the field of intercalated and pillared layered inorganic materials. He has published more than 200 papers and given many invited lectures at international conferences.

From 2011 onwards, he started to focus on chemistry outreach. He has given lectures and carried out practical chemistry sessions in schools and science museums in all but one of the provincial-level administrative regions in mainland China. He has participated in many major science popularization activities sponsored by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Chinese Association for Science and Technology and the Royal Society of Chemistry, inspiring young people with his passion for exploring the world of chemistry. In recent years, he has made use of online platforms to disseminate videos of chemical science experiments for college, middle and elementary school students. The popular science videos of Dr. Dai's Laboratory have been viewed more than 450 million times and have millions of fans.

In 2001, he was awarded the Friendship Award by the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs (SAFEA). In 2004, he was elected as a Fellow (FRSC) by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). In 2005, he was awarded an International Science and Technology Cooperation Award by the State Council. In 2008, he was elected as the chairman of the Beijing Local Section of the RSC. In 2008, he was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his contribution to international science and UK–China Relations. In 2014 he was awarded the BUCT President's Prize. In 2014, he was honored with a Medal for Merit in Education, one of 10 awarded to mark the 60^th anniversary of the founding of SAFEA. In 2016, he was selected as a Special Contributor to Popular Science in China by the China Association for Science and Technology. In the same year, he was selected as one of the Top Ten Influential Newsmakers in the Petroleum and Chemical Industry. In 2019, he was awarded the Medal to Commemorate the 70^th Anniversary of the PRC by Party and Central Government authorities. In 2020, the China Association for Science and Technology appointed him as an Image Ambassador and selected him as one of their Top Ten Popular Science Communicators. In September 2020, he was invited to participate in the symposium of scientists hosted by General Secretary Xi Jinping when he spoke as a representative of foreign scientists, providing advice and suggestions for the national 14th Five-Year Plan.