The List of MIT Technology Review Innovators Under 35 (TR35) was unveiled in Shanghai on September 22. Liu Can, professor of the Department of Physics at Renmin University of China (RUC), was named to the list, becoming the first young faculty member from RUC to receive this honor.

Honorees on the List of MIT Technology Review Innovators Under 35 [Photo/MIT Technology Review China] 

Since 1999, MIT Technology Review has been running the "MIT Technology Review Innovators Under 35" (TR35) competition as a list that seeks out talented young individuals who are developing new technologies with the potential to significantly change the world.

In 2014, TR35 expanded its regional competition to the Asia-Pacific. The judging panel for this year included over 50 experts and scholars from various disciplines across the globe.

Liu Can at the award ceremony [Photo/ruc.edu.cn]

Liu Can joined RUC's Department of Physics as an associate professor in 2022. She received the Excellent Young Scientists Fund from the National Natural Science Foundation of China in 2023, led a sub-project of a National Key R&D Program in 2024, and was exceptionally promoted to full professor in 2025. Her previous honors include the Future Women Scientists Program Award, China's Ten Rising Stars of Science and Technology and the 2DM Young Scientist Award.

Liu's research focuses on the preparation and application of two-dimensional (2D) materials for advanced chip technologies. She has tackled long-standing challenges such as low production yield, limited crystal quality and structural customization, achieving rapid, large-scale production of high-quality 2D semiconductors. Her work has been published in leading journals including Science, Nature Materials, Nature Nanotechnology and Nature Synthesis.

Her achievements have been recognized nationally and internationally, including the selection for the "Major Frontier Scientific Achievements" at the 2025 Zhongguancun Forum Annual Conference and the "Top Ten Semiconductor Research Advances of 2024".