On May 9, 2018, the editor of JACS, Professor Peter J. Stang from the Department of Chemistry of the University of Utah, United States, was granted honorary professorship of XJTU. Professor Peter J. Stang is a member of four world renowned academies, namely, the National Academy of Sciences, United States, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences , and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

After the ceremony, Professor Stang delivered an excellent academic speech, entitled Abiological Self-Assembly: Predesigned Metallacycles and metallacages via Coordination.