Profile

Core developer of the world's first Eucommia rubber aviation tire; a leading post-1985 figure in bio-based rubber.

Story

Kang Hailan, born in 1985, earned her bachelor's degree in polymer materials and engineering at Sichuan University and her PhD in materials science and engineering at Beijing University of Chemical Technology. She is now a professor and doctoral supervisor at Shenyang University of Chemical Technology and Director of the Liaoning Provincial Key Laboratory of Rubber Elastomers, and was selected as a young top-notch talent of the 'Xingliao Talent Program'. She has long focused on the molecular design and performance regulation of bio-based rubber elastomers and is a core backbone in moving China's Eucommia rubber from basic research to high-end applications.

As a core member - and later leader - of Fang Qinghong's team, she helped crack the theory of blend crystallization and phase-structure regulation between crystalline Eucommia rubber and non-crystalline rubbers, invented a low-temperature blending method for natural Eucommia rubber and natural rubber, and solved the difficult forming and processing of Eucommia rubber. In 2016, the world's first Eucommia rubber aviation tire rolled off the line at Shenyang Sanxiang; its fatigue resistance, wear resistance, low heat build-up and service life all surpassed natural rubber aviation tire tread compounds, pioneering the application of China-endemic Eucommia rubber in high-performance tires.

Milestones

• In August 2025, presented functional modification methods and applications of bio-based Eucommia rubber at the Green Rubber Materials Sustainable Development Industry Integration and Innovation Exchange Conference
• In April 2026, gave an exclusive interview to China News Service Liaoning, recounting how Eucommia rubber broke the international monopoly
• Her achievements have been extended to multiple tire enterprises

Key Contributions

• In 2016, participated in developing the world's first aviation tire with a Eucommia rubber/natural rubber tread, which passed the dynamic simulation test at the highest speed rating of 401 km/h for its specification
• Published 63 papers (20 SCI-indexed); holds 11 granted invention patents
• Won the 2021 Liaoning Provincial Technological Invention Award (First Prize) for key technologies and application of bio-based Eucommia rubber aviation tires; also won the China Industry-University-Research Cooperation Innovation Achievement Award (Second Prize) and the China Rubber Science and Technology Innovation Award (2018)
• Leads 15 national, provincial and ministerial projects including National Natural Science Foundation of China grants and national major special projects
• In 2024, led the industry-funded project 'Development of high-performance bio-based Eucommia rubber tires' (500,000 yuan)