1 In the field of material sciences, human exploration ranging from particles to the universe is expected to focus at both ends of the cognitive spectrum: the macrocosmos and microcosmos, leading to revolutionary changes in further understanding of the world’s complexity and origin of the universe.

2. In the field of life science, the center of a new-round worldwide revolution in natural sciences will be located in life sciences. The demarcation line between the physical world of the living world will be blurred and wiped out step by step. At last the two will unified.

3. In the field of geo-system studies, the new century will see the exploration of the integral behavior in terms of globalization, unity, and the multi-scale framework of time and space. The research breakthroughs achieved by earth sciences will enable us to have a clearer understanding of the environment to support human subsistence, including effective prevention and control of all damages inflicted by unexpected or eruptive disasters.

4. In the field of cognitive or neuron-science, the explorative revelation of human brain, intrinsic quality or nature of consciousness and mental activity is one of the long-cherished dreams of man. In the new century, it is expected to make research breakthroughs on some major problems in the science of brain research and neurology.

5. In the field of energy-related science and technology, about 70% of the energy source consumed at present by the mankind come from fossil fuel. With the changing values and the awakening of the human awareness of environment protection, human beings will be in a ceaseless pursuit of nature-friendly life style, producing a re-usable or pollution-free energy – one of the worldwide R&D mainstreams in the 21st-century science. The energy supply will be diversified.

6. In the field of materials science and its technological arm, the science’s disciplinary research now has been shifted from the conventional exploration of the component, structure, property and their interdependence to a comprehensive and systematic study on the component, preparation or manufacture, crystalline structure, processing and property. The most remarkable feature is the inseparability of materials science with its technological arm. The two’s core problem lies in discovery and development of new types of advanced materials.

7. In the field of bio-technology, its disciplinary future is determined by the width and height of the technological platform and it is expected that several new bio-engineering platforms will come into being in coming years. Their inauguration will enable bio-technology to have a booming development beyond our expectations.

8. In the field of informatics, the development trend will make its way towards high integrity, high velocity, low energy consumption and low cost while the computer manufacture is directed to the orientation of super-high velocity, miniaturization, parallel treatment and smarter operation. The telecommunicative technology is led to the optical fiber-structured, digitalized, polytechnized and networking direction.

9. In the field of space science, mankind will go on with a large-scale and penetrative study of the solar system, return to the moon with new explorative targets, a deep-going investigation of Mars and in search of extraterrestrial life traces on some celestial bodies such as Mars, Titan and Europa. Human tentacles will reach the fringe of the solar system and in the same time probe into the inner core of the universe in a bid to make clear the energy-releasing mechanism in the active galactic nuclei, the identification of the dark material, anti-material and black hole, the formation of the cosmic structure, the origin of galaxies and cosmic origin. In addition, the uphill task in search of extraterrestrial civilization will be continued.

10. In the field of ecosystem protection, due to the achieved progress of human civilization, the human race shows more and more concern for itself and its posterity’s environment for survival. In the upcoming 21st century, human research on eco-environment will be expanding from bio-molecules to individual living beings, from population to landscape, from partial space-and-time exploration to regions and expanding its exploration to continental plates until the global surface, resulting in solution of several long-standing and paramount problems.