From 17 to 20 April, Shizhen attended the 7th National Symposium on Environmental Microplastics Pollution and Control held in Tianjin. During the conference, she delivered two invited presentations, including a talk on tire wear particles in the atmosphere and a flash presentation in the closing session. Gan joined the meeting on the final day as an expert discussant, contributing to the academic exchange.

Following the conference, they visited Nankai University, where Gan delivered a seminar entitled Dual-carbon (¹³C–¹⁴C) isotope tracing of carbonaceous components in the environment, sharing recent advances in isotope-based source apportionment and process understanding.

They also visited the Tianjin Bohai Coastal Critical Zone National Observation and Research Station, a national field observation platform developed based on the foundational work of Prof. Congqiang Liu’s team. The visit facilitated discussions on integrated observations of the critical zone and potential collaborations in black carbon research.