Welcome to the 2025 育人为本李政道China-US PhD Examination and Application Programs (CUS-PhD-EA) / University of Science and Technology of China School of Gifted Young (SGY) alumni assembly website.

My name is James Lee (李中清) and I am Tsung-Dao Lee (李政道)’ s eldest son. This unprecedented alumni assembly is a central part of my Dad’s 虚岁centennial 2024-2025 anniversary celebration. It was also the first meeting to bring together alumni from all four CUS-PhD-EA programs in Physics, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Math, 1979-1989, as well as students from the ongoing USTC School of Gifted Young, 1978-.

Besides his physics, helping establish the CUS-PhD-EA and SGY programs, along with the ongoing Chinese Scientific Postdoctoral (博士后科研流动站) Program, were among Dad’s proudest achievements.

This initial alumni assembly, which was held in Hangzhou and Hefei from 28 June to 2 July 2025 on the campuses of Zhejiang University (28-29 June) and the University of Science and Technology of China (1-2 July), turned out to be a truly meaningful event and has already generated a number of related future alumni activities. A total of 250 people including 141 CUS-PhD-EA and SGY alumni attended the event, largely at their own expense, including 48 who travelled from overseas. Additionally, 84 CUS-PhD-EA and SGY alumni and students visited my Dad’s gravesite on June 30.

I would like to thank here Lin Haiqing and Lu Zhengtian and the Zhejiang University and University of Science and Technology of China organizing committees for their careful organization and arrangements for this alumni assembly. I would also like to thank the Tsung-Dao Lee library including SJTU Library Director, Cheng Jinhua, T.D. Library Associate Director, Xu Jing, and their staff for their support including the construction of the alumni assembly website and alumni tour arrangements of the Tsung-Dao Lee Library and the Tsung-Dao Lee Institute.

The meeting provided and continues to provide a unique opportunity for the thousands of students of the USTC SGY program and the almost 1700 CUS-PhD-EA alumni whom Dad, Ray Wu (吴瑞), Shiing-shen Chern (陈省身) and William von Eggers Doering sponsored to study for a fully funded PhD in the USA to reflect on the impact of these programs on their individual lives. Moreover, by showcasing their individual and collective impact on China and the world’s development during the last half-century, the meeting also demonstrated the historical importance of these programs not just for China, but also globally.

Please click on the relevant subject headings on this website to learn more about our alumni assembly including the meeting schedule, a statistical summary of the attendees, a list of the invited speakers etc, and related activities. We also share here videos of many of the presentations at the alumni assembly. We furthermore expect to release at the concluding centenary celebratory meeting, tentatively scheduled to be held in Shanghai on 22 November 2025, some 35 largely related alumni podcasts filmed during this alumni assembly.

If you are CUS-PhD-EA and SGY alumni, would you please make sure to complete the alumni survey both for future alumni assembly planning purposes as well as to include in the various summary reports on these programs being prepared for presentation at future alumni assemblies. If it is not convenient for you to complete the questionnaire yourself, please let us know, and we will arrange for someone to assist you in completing your questionnaire.

With many thanks,

Sincerely,

James Lee

Organizer's contact email: cuspea-tdlee99@sjtu.edu.cn