On September 17, Efim Zelmanov, professor at University of California, San Diego (UCSD), Fields Medalist, member of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, was invited to give a Chern Lecture at the "Nankai University's Centennial Grand Forum". The Vice President of Nankai University Jing Li attended the Forum and presented Prof. Efim Zelmanov with a forum speaker commemorative certificate.

At the beginning of the lecture titled "Mathematics: Science or Art?", Prof. Efim Zelmanov paid tribute to Prof. Shiing-Shen Chern and described him as one of the most respected mathematicians for his pursuit of studies and his personal qualities in the 20th century. The lecture mainly discussed the two sides of mathematics: utility and proof, especially the proofs considered to be the beauties in mathematics. Prof. Efim Zelmanov compared mathematics with music in terms of art, and introduced the utility of pure mathematics that has brought profound influence to the real world.

Prof. Zelmanov mentioned that mathematics has been trending toward abstraction since the 20th century. He refered to mathematics as a plant, said that if you cut the abstract parts that seems unneeded, the whole plant may be killed. In this way he stressed the importance of pure mathematics. The lecture was ended with words quoted from physicist E. Wigner, "unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics", which backs up the concept that beautiful mathematics, though being abstract, might be of unexpected importance in real-world application, and that is indeed the combination of science and art.

After the lecture, Prof. Zelmanov had discussions with the teachers and students present and answered their questions.