Preface: Celebrating the 130th Anniversary of Tianjin University
Tianjin University (TJU), established in 1895 as Peiyang University under a royal charter from the Guangxu Emperor, is China's first modern university and a flagship institution directly administered by the Ministry of Education. It was among the earliest selected for Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction. Over its 130-year history, TJU has pioneered Chinese higher education, granting the nation's first modern diploma in 1900 and merging with Hebei Technical College in 1951 to form Tianjin University. The university currently offers 76 undergraduate programs, 48 first-level master's disciplines, 38 first-level doctoral disciplines, and hosts 37 postdoctoral research stations. It operates 11 National Key Laboratories and has secured 28 national science and technology awards and 182 national key R&D projects since 2016. Fifteen academic disciplines rank in the top 1% of the Essential Science Indicators (ESI), with five in the top 0.1% and two—Engineering and Chemistry—in the top 0.01%. This special issue, featuring 31 high-quality papers in materials science, commemorates TJU's 130th anniversary, highlighting its historical legacy and academic achievements. The preface underscores TJU's commitment to national strategic needs, interdisciplinary integration, and cultivating top-tier innovative talent with global vision.