On October 18th, at the invitation of the State key laboratory of New Textile Materials and Advancing Processing of WTU, Professor Michael Hummel from Aalto University, Finland paid a visit WTU for academic exchanges. He delivered an academic lecture themed "How Regenerated Fibers Shape a Sustainable Future". Faculty, students from the Science & Technology Institute, and representatives of international students attended the lecture and discussion session. The event was chaired by Wang Jinfeng, the director of the State key laboratory of New Textile Materials and Advancing Processing.

Professor Michael Hummel presented the cutting-edge research in the textile industry regarding "high performance" and "green development". His presentation comprehensively covered aspects ranging from the dissolution mechanism of cellulose, the preparation of regenerated fibers, the optimization of spinning parameters, to the fundamental research and industrial applications of recycling. Centering on the preparation of high-performance cellulose fibers and the innovative applications in the green transformation of the textile industry, Professor Hummel initiated his talk with the sustainable process of directly dissolving cellulose raw materials such as wood through the ionic liquid method to produce fibers. He then meticulously explained the complete process, including pulp preparation, grinding and dissolution, and spinning to form fibers. Moreover, he expounded on the "air gap spinning" technique and the tensile orientation mechanism. Specifically, through stress-induced alignment of cellulose molecules, high-strength fibers can be formed. This presentation offered novel insights for research in the field of regenerated cellulose fibers and provided an international perspective on the cutting-edge research of waste textile recycling and reuse, greatly benefiting the students present.

During his visit, Professor Michael Hummel toured Textile Science and Technology Museum and the State key laboratory of New Textile Materials and Advancing Processing. He provided professional suggestions regarding the development of the laboratory and the equipment for regenerated fiber preparation. Additionally, he listened to the progress report of WTU's recycling and regeneration research team. In-depth exchanges and discussions were carried out on topics including the recycling and regeneration of waste textiles and international cooperation in this area.

Professor Michael Hummel serves as the director of the Aalto-Bio2 Research Center at Aalto University and leads the "Biopolymer Chemistry and Engineering" research team. This team is dedicated to the analysis, processing, and utilization of biopolymers. With over 15 years of experience in the field of cellulose fiber spinning, Professor Hummel is one of the inventors of the regenerated cellulose fiber process. He has been honored with the European Paper Recycling Award and the Global Change Award.