From October 31 to November 3, 2025, the final round of the 19th “Challenge Cup” National Undergraduate Extracurricular Academic Science and Technology Competition was held at Nanjing University. After several rounds of intense competition, Chengdu University of Technology (CDUT) achieved outstanding results across multiple tracks, winning a total of 10 national-level awards. Among them, the “Breakthrough” project team, jointly formed by the College of Earth and Planetary Sciences and the College of Environmental and Civil Engineering, guided by Professors Ma Chunchi, Liu Yansong, and Zheng Mingming, won the National First Prize (Category A, Technological Invention) in the main competition track—marking CDUT’s first-ever national first prize in this category and another historic breakthrough in the university’s “Challenge Cup” journey!
Final competition site
Outside the venue of “Challenge Cup” event
Before heading to the national finals, the University Youth League Committee organized a special project showcase and rehearsal session. Vice President Ju Nengpan, Member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee, attended the event and provided detailed professional guidance from the perspective of tunnel emergency management. He emphasized that the project should remain aligned with the university’s “Double First-Class” discipline development strategy, making full use of CDUT’s strengths in the geosciences. The success of this on-campus presentation laid a solid foundation for the team’s eventual national first prize.
On-campus project showcase
Vice President Ju Nengpan giving guidance
In the 2025 “Challenge Cup” series of competitions, CDUT achieved remarkable success: 1 National First Prize and 1 National Third Prize in the main competition; 2 National Third Prizes in the “AI+” Special Track; 1 National First Prize, 3 National Third Prizes, and 2 Merit Awards in the “Challenge-Response” Special Track. Both the quality and quantity of these awards rank among the top universities in Sichuan Province, fully showcasing the innovative spirit of CDUT’s youth and the university’s strong culture of scientific and technological innovation.
“Breakthrough” project team
“Breakthrough: The Smart System Tackling Extreme Tunnel Challenges through Intelligent Surrounding Rock Classification”
Colleges: College of Earth and Planetary Sciences; College of Environmental and Civil Engineering
Advisors: Ma Chunchi, Liu Yansong, Zheng Mingming
Team Leader: Cai Wenjian
Team Members: Yang Jingxiang, Hou Yutong, Jiang Weiyun, Hu Bicheng, Zhao Ziyi, Tao Rundong, Yang Yaoxing
Award: National First Prize
Project Overview: This project addresses a key challenge in deep tunnel engineering, where traditional surrounding rock classification methods rely on static data and fail to provide dynamic warnings. The team developed an intelligent dynamic classification system driven by multi-source data integration and advanced algorithms. The system enables real-time geological data analysis, dynamic assessment of surrounding rock conditions, and early-stage risk prediction, forming a closed-loop process of “image recognition – dynamic classification – hazard warning – optimization planning.” This innovation represents a major step toward transforming deep underground engineering from experience-based decision-making to intelligent sensing and adaptive control.
