The 6th Asia-Oceania Symposium for Fire Safety Materials Science and Engineering (AOFSM 2025) was successfully held in Beijing from October 16 to 18, 2025. The event was jointly organized by Beijing University of Chemical Technology (BUCT), the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), and the Asia-Oceania Association for Fire Safety Materials Science and Engineering, with a parallel session hosted in Hefei. The symposium attracted over 490 experts, scholars, and industry representatives from 28 countries and regions, representing more than 100 universities and research institutions worldwide. Centered on the theme of flame-retardant and fire-safety materials, the event provided a vibrant platform for in-depth academic exchange, injecting fresh momentum into scientific progress in public safety and sustainable green development.
As an influential international academic platform in the field of fire safety in the Asia-Oceania region, the AOFSM symposium has been dedicated since its inception to promoting academic collaboration, technological innovation, and industrial transformation in the field of fire safety materials. It plays an important role in deepening international cooperation, advancing disciplinary development, and driving industrial upgrading. Adhering to the mission of “building a high-level platform for academic exchange and collaboration, and promoting interdisciplinary research and international cooperation,” this year’s symposium focused on the latest research achievements, technological innovations, and industrial trends in the field of flame-retardant materials, serving as a key bridge for global professionals to exchange ideas and resources.
Vice President Wang Feng Delivered the Opening Remarks
The symposium officially opened on the morning of October 17. Professor Wang Feng, Vice President of Beijing University of Chemical Technology, delivered the welcome address on behalf of the university. He extended a warm welcome to all guests and introduced BUCT’s development and academic strengths. Professor Wang noted that the School of Materials Science and Engineering is among the earliest institutions in China engaged in polymer materials research, with research areas covering composite materials, inorganic non-metallic materials, and metallic materials. He emphasized that fire safety materials are of great significance to life safety, green low-carbon development, and advanced manufacturing. BUCT has long attached importance to research in this field and was one of the founding institutions of the Chinese Flame Retardant Materials Committee. Led by Professor Zhang Sheng, the Fire Safety Materials Research Center has achieved a series of innovative results over nearly two decades. The university will continue to fully support the development of the AOFSM international academic exchange platform and wishes the symposium great success.
Academician Wang Yuzhong from Sichuan University Delivered a Speech
Academician Wang Yuzhong from Sichuan University, as an invited speaker, gave a speech on the international development of China’s flame-retardant discipline. He reviewed his long-standing involvement in international academic exchanges in this field, beginning with his participation in the 4th International Conference on Flame Retardant Polymers held in Freiburg, Germany, in 1992. He noted that with China’s growing research capacity and industrial scale in flame-retardant materials, the number of publications and patent applications by Chinese scholars has continued to increase, making China an indispensable force in the global flame-retardant community. Through initiatives such as the International Symposium on Flame Retardant Materials and Technologies (ISFRMT) and the Asia-Oceania Symposium for Fire Safety Materials Science and Engineering (AOFSM), China has established regular and efficient academic exchange platforms, greatly promoting global dialogue and collaboration in the field.
Professor Zhang Sheng Chaired the Meeting
Professor Hu Yuan from the University of Science and Technology of China, co-chair and initiator of this year’s symposium, gave an overview of the development and highlights of AOFSM since its establishment in 2015. Professor Zhang Sheng from Beijing University of Chemical Technology chaired the meeting and provided details on the conference organization and logistics. This year’s symposium featured 95 oral presentations, including 10 plenary talks, 33 keynote speeches, 28 oral presentations, 24 young scholar presentations, and 121 poster displays, with a total of 205 abstracts included in the proceedings.
Experts and scholars engaged in in-depth discussions on topics such as flame-retardant mechanisms, novel flame-retardant systems, fire safety evaluation methods, and applications of fire-safe materials in aviation, construction, and new energy sectors. The Young Scholars Forum and poster sessions were among the highlights of the symposium, showcasing a number of innovative and application-oriented research achievements. Sixteen outstanding poster awards were presented, reflecting the vitality and potential of young researchers in the field of fire safety materials. Through rich academic exchanges and intellectual interactions, participants deepened regional and international research collaborations and explored new cooperation paradigms centered on “materials innovation driving public safety.”
