Iontronics Honorary Editor-in-Chief Richard N. Zare Reflects on Global Scientific Cooperation

The Twenty-Second General Assembly of the Chinese Academy of Sciences was held in Beijing in July 2026. During the meeting, academicians participated in plenary sessions, academic exchanges, and discussions on scientific frontiers, institutional responsibilities, and the future of international scientific cooperation. A seminar on international cooperation held during the Assembly brought together 33 Foreign Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences to discuss how national academies can further advance international scientific collaboration.

Professor Richard N. Zare, a Foreign Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Honorary Editor-in-Chief of Iontronics, prepared remarks entitled “Global Cooperation in Science: Why We Need One Another” for the occasion. Professor Zare is based in Stanford University’s Department of Chemistry and is internationally recognized for his contributions to physical and analytical chemistry.

In his remarks, Professor Zare reflects on the indispensable role of international cooperation in addressing challenges that transcend national borders, including climate change, pandemics, energy security, water scarcity, food production, and the responsible development of artificial intelligence.

He emphasizes that scientific progress is fundamentally a positive-sum enterprise: knowledge can be shared without being diminished, and discoveries made in one part of the world can create opportunities for people everywhere. He also highlights the importance of interdisciplinary research, the free exchange of ideas, mutual trust, and the role of national academies in upholding enduring scientific values that transcend short-term political considerations.

Professor Zare further argues that competition and cooperation are not mutually exclusive. Scientific development, he observes, is best understood as “co-opetition”—competition conducted within a broader framework of cooperation in which nations and researchers advance by learning from one another.

With Professor Zare's permission, Iontronics is pleased to present the full text of his remarks below.

Editor's Note: The following remarks were prepared for the Twenty-Second General Assembly of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and are reproduced in full with the author’s permission. The text is presented in the Iontronics News section and has not been treated as a peer-reviewed journal article.

Global Cooperation in Science: Why We Need One Another
Richard N. Zare

We live in an era in which humanity faces challenges that recognize no national borders. Climate change, pandemics, energy security, water scarcity, food production, and the responsible development of artificial intelligence are problems that belong to no single country. They are shared problems, and they require shared solutions. For this reason, global cooperation in science is not merely desirable; it is essential!

Scientific knowledge has always been one of humanity's most international enterprises. Nature does not distinguish between nations, and neither do the laws of chemistry, physics, and biology. A discovery made in one laboratory can benefit people everywhere.

Science has always flourished when civilizations exchange ideas. China itself provides many examples. The compass, paper, printing, and gunpowder transformed not only Chinese society but eventually the world. These inventions remind us that scientific and technological advances are part of humanity's common heritage. Their value was magnified, not diminished, when they spread beyond their place of origin.

Today China stands as one of the world's great scientific powers. The extraordinary growth of Chinese science over recent decades represents one of the most remarkable developments in the history of modern research. China has built world-class universities, research institutes, major scientific facilities, and a generation of talented young investigators. These achievements have benefited not only China but also the international scientific community through discoveries, publications, and collaborations that advance knowledge for everyone.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences occupies a special position in this enterprise. Since its founding, it has served not merely as a collection of distinguished scientists, but as a steward of scientific development and as a bridge connecting Chinese science with the broader world. Through international exchanges and collaborations, the Academy has demonstrated that scientific excellence and international engagement are complementary rather than contradictory goals.

Games such as chess or Go have winners and losers. One person's success necessarily comes at the expense of another's. We refer to such situations as zero-sum games. Scientific progress is fundamentally different. When a new law of nature is uncovered, when a vaccine is developed, when a new material is invented, or when a revolutionary analytical technique is introduced, everyone potentially benefits. Knowledge can be shared without being diminished. Unlike wealth, knowledge expands when it is distributed.

Of course, not all countries benefit equally. The extent to which a nation can capitalize on new knowledge depends upon the strength of its scientific infrastructure: its universities, research institutes, industries, educational systems, and its commitment to nurturing future generations of scientists and engineers. But the essential point remains; advances in science enlarge the opportunities available to all humanity. Science creates positive-sum outcomes. Everyone can win.

History repeatedly teaches us that the most transformative breakthroughs arise at the boundaries between disciplines. Incremental advances may emerge from increasingly specialized investigations, but breakthroughs often come when different perspectives meet. Biochemistry transformed biology by bringing chemistry to bear on living systems. Materials science grew from the convergence of chemistry, physics, and engineering. Artificial intelligence itself reflects the fusion of mathematics, computer science, linguistics, and neuroscience.

The interfaces between disciplines are fertile because they bring together different ways of thinking. New questions arise. Old assumptions are challenged. Techniques developed for one purpose unexpectedly solve problems in another. Innovation flourishes where boundaries become permeable.

This observation carries an important implication for the future. Universities must educate students broadly enough to communicate across traditional divisions. Funding agencies must recognize that some of the most important discoveries will not fit neatly into established categories. International cooperation magnifies these benefits because it combines not only different disciplines but also different cultures, experiences, and perspectives.

No country, regardless of its resources, possesses a monopoly on creativity. Scientific talent is distributed throughout the world. Progress depends upon the free exchange of ideas and upon relationships built on mutual respect and trust. Throughout history, collaborations that crossed national boundaries have enriched all participants. Science has often served as a bridge even when political relations were strained. Scientists share a common language of evidence, reason, and reproducibility. This shared culture makes science one of humanity's most powerful instruments for fostering understanding.

These observations bring us naturally to the importance of national academies. Their mission extends far beyond honoring scientific excellence. National academies are institutions dedicated to advancing knowledge and promoting its responsible use for the benefit of society. They provide independent advice to governments, encourage excellence in education and research, and preserve long-term scientific values that transcend short-term political considerations.

Equally important, national academies create international networks of trust. Through collaborations among academies, scientists from different nations can work together on issues of global importance. Academies provide forums where ideas can be exchanged openly and where consensus can emerge from evidence rather than ideology. They help sustain continuity across generations and across political cycles.

At a time when misinformation spreads rapidly and geopolitical tensions threaten to fragment the international scientific enterprise, these functions become even more valuable. The world needs institutions that remind us that scientific truth does not carry a national passport.

Global cooperation does not require uniformity. Different nations will naturally pursue different priorities and contribute in different ways. Diversity itself is a source of strength. Competition can stimulate excellence, but cooperation multiplies its benefits. Indeed, the history of science is best described as “co-opetition” - competition within a framework of cooperation. We race with one another, but we also learn from one another.

As I reflect on more than half a century in science, two lessons stand out.

First, the most exciting discoveries seldom respect the boundaries that we ourselves have imposed between disciplines. Nature is not divided into chemistry, physics, biology, engineering, or computer science. Those divisions exist in our institutions and textbooks, not in nature itself. Breakthroughs occur when boundaries disappear.

Second, scientific progress is not a zero-sum enterprise. A new theorem, a better battery, a new medicine, or a cleaner process for producing fertilizer enriches the world. Nations that invest wisely in education and research are best positioned to reap the benefits, but knowledge itself creates opportunities for all. Scientific progress creates more winners, not more losers.

For this reason, institutions such as the Chinese Academy of Sciences and other national academies bear responsibilities that extend beyond their own countries. They are custodians of humanity's collective search for understanding. In times when political winds shift and international relations become strained, the values of science - truth, openness, evidence, and mutual respect - provide a foundation upon which cooperation can endure.

Confucius taught that "Within the four seas, all men are brothers." Modern science conveys a similar lesson. Nature speaks with one voice. The laws governing the stars, the molecules of life, and the chemistry of our atmosphere are the same everywhere. Our task as scientists is to listen carefully to that voice, which is often uttered in whispers, and, in doing so, to work together in the service of all humanity.

The future belongs not to those who seek to monopolize knowledge, but to those who cultivate knowledge, share knowledge, and transform knowledge into benefits for all mankind. Science is one of the few human enterprises in which cooperation enlarges what is possible. At its best, science reminds us that while nations may compete, humanity advances together.

I thank the Chinese Academy of Sciences for inviting me to its Twenty-Second Annual Meeting and for giving me the opportunity to share these thoughts with you.

About Professor Richard N. Zare

Richard N. Zare is the Marguerite Blake Wilbur Professor of Natural Science and Professor of Chemistry at Stanford University, with a courtesy appointment in the Department of Physics. He received his B.A. in chemistry and physics from Harvard University in 1961 and his Ph.D. in chemical physics in 1964 under the supervision of Professor Dudley R. Herschbach. After holding appointments at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Colorado, and Columbia University, he joined Stanford University in 1977 and later served as Chair of Stanford’s Department of Chemistry.

Professor Zare is internationally recognized as a pioneer in physical chemistry, analytical chemistry, laser spectroscopy, and molecular reaction dynamics. His experimental and theoretical studies have fundamentally advanced molecular-level understanding of chemical reactions and collision processes. In particular, his development and application of laser-induced fluorescence established an important approach for probing reaction dynamics and quantum-state-resolved molecular behavior. His research has also made important contributions to capillary electrophoresis, trace-species detection, mass-spectrometric imaging, nanoscale chemical analysis, single-cell measurements, microdroplet chemistry, interfacial reactions, and drug delivery.

Professor Zare has authored or co-authored more than 1,200 publications spanning fundamental molecular science, analytical instrumentation, chemical imaging, biological analysis, and interfacial chemistry. As of July 2026, his Google Scholar profile listed more than 114,000 citations and an h-index of 160, reflecting the extensive and sustained influence of his work across chemistry and related disciplines.

He was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 1976 and is also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society. In addition, he is a Foreign Member of the Royal Society and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He has contributed extensively to science policy, including service as Chair of the U.S. National Science Board.

His major honors include the U.S. National Medal of Science, the Wolf Prize in Chemistry, the Welch Award in Chemistry, the American Chemical Society Priestley Medal, the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award, the King Faisal International Prize in Science, and the International Science and Technology Cooperation Award of the People’s Republic of China. Professor Zare currently serves as Honorary Editor-in-Chief of Iontronics. His research on microdroplet chemistry, interfacial processes, molecular analysis, and reaction dynamics closely aligns with the journal’s interdisciplinary focus on ion-mediated phenomena.

Editor: Xingcheng Li
Language Editor: AMIR KHAN
Production Editor: Xingyue Luo
Respectfully Submitted by the Editorial Office of Iontronics