NEWSLETTER

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SICHUAN UNIVERSITY 

NEWSLETTER 

Summer 2012 

9 th World Biomaterials Congress 

Opens 

Swedish Ambassador to 

China Visits SCU 

Professor Ada Yonath, Nobel 

Chemistry Prize Laureate 

Visits SCU 

Professor Jack Szostak, 

Nobel Physiology or Medicine Laureate 

Speaks at Sichuan University

Clock Tower 

The Clock Tower on West China 

Campus, SCU was built in 1926. It 

was originally called Coles Memorial 

Tower, named after its donor, Jonathan 

Ackerman Coles, a doctor from 

New York. The clock tower spires 30 

meters above the ground. The clock 

was manufactured by the Meneely 

Bell Company. The movement of the 

mechanical pendulum of the clock has 

continued for over eight decades. 

The Clock Tower has become a unique 

symbol of the West China Campus. Its 

resounding rings became a signature of 

life in Chengdu, reporting hours for the 

local residents. The rings also became 

a special signal of Christianity, calling on 

Christians in Chengdu to gather around 

the Clock Tower on the Eve of Christmas. 

They sing Christmas carols in 

chorus and wait for the hourly chimes.

Sichuan University 

NEWSLETTER 

Summer 2012 

The Sichuan University newsletter is 

provided by the International office of 

Sichuan University. Its purpose is to share 

the latest news and events that happen 

on campus with our teachers, students, 

alumni and friends. We welcome any 

suggestions or questions from our readers. 

Contact Us 

Address: No. 24, South Section 1, Yihuan Road 

Chengdu, Sichuan, 610065, China 

Phone: +86-28-85403116 

Fax: +86-28-85403260 

Email: gaorui@scu.edu.cn 

Newsletter Online 

The Newsletter can be read online at: 

http://www.scu.edu.cn/en/index.htm 

CONTENTS 

02 Spotlight 

9 th World Biomaterials Congress Opens ..............................................................................02 

CCS 28 th Annual Meeting and 80 th Anniversary Celebration held in SCU ........................04 

Swedish Ambassador to China Visits SCU ..........................................................................05 

Professor Ada Yonath, Nobel Chemistry Prize Laureate Visits SCU ...................................06 

Professor Jack Szostak, Nobel Physiology or Medicine Laureate Speaks 

at Sichuan University ............................................................................................................07 

08 Feature 

Professor Max Dohmann ......................................................................................................08 

12 Visits 

Executive Vice-President of Boston University Visits SCU ..................................................12 

ASU Vice-President Visits SCU .............................................................................................13 

DCM of the Embassy of the Republic of Malawi Visits SCU ..............................................13 

Harvard University Professor Gives Presentation to SCU Students ...................................14 

University of Illinois Professor David M. Ceperleya, member of National Academy 

of Sciences, Visits SCU ..........................................................................................................15 

Professor Ole Blok Fejerskov, World-Renowned Expert on Dental Caries Research, 

Receives Honorary Professorship at SCU .............................................................................15 

16 Out Reach 

SCU Delegation Visits Japan ................................................................................................16 

SCU Delegation Visits Five Renowned American Universities ...........................................17 

SCU-UMass Joint Forum Successfully Opens in America ...................................................17 

20 Acdemic 

Professor Feng Xiaoming’s Research Project Wins 2011 Top 10 Science and 

Technology Progress Awards for Chinese Universities .......................................................20 

NPG and West China School of Stomatology Co-Publishes IJOS ..................................... 21 

The Tomato Genome Sequence Provides Insights into Fleshy Fruit Evolution .................22 

23 Cooperation 

SCU and University of Pittsburgh Sign Cooperation Memorandum and Contract ..........23 

University of Central Lancashire Signed a Cooperation Framework 

Agreement With SCU ............................................................................................................23 

Canada-China Distance Learning Project for Primary-Care General 

Practitioner Kicks off ............................................................................................................24 

China Stomatology Museum Signs Cooperation Agreement with the Museum 

of Dentistry and Medicine, Nippon Dental University .......................................................25 

SCU Signs Cooperation Agreement with Feng Chia University ........................................26 

Chengdu American Center for Study Abroad Set up in Sichuan University......................26 

27 Conferences 

2 nd International Conference on Frontiers of Plasmonics Held in SCU ...........................27 

Bradford RCUK Science Bridges China: 2 nd Research Workshop on Advanced 

Materials for Healthcare and Inauguration Ceremony of UK-China Advanced 

Materials Research Institute held at SCU .............................................................................28 

SCU Hosts 8 th Cross-Taiwan Straits Symposium on Public Administration .....................29 

SCU Hosts 2012 Cross Strait Symposium on Confucianism ............................................29 

30 Study Abroad 

SCU Young Teachers’ Overseas Training and International Exchange Program 

held at ASU ............................................................................................................................30 

Young MD from the No. 2 Hospital of SCU Attends High Level Forum in Brussels .......30 

31 Brief News 

33 Campus 

2012 SCU-Hokkaido University Exchange Day Celebrated in SCU ...................................33 

Jazz Lab Ensemble, Ball State University Performs at SCU .................................................35 

SCU Holds 3 rd International Cup for International Students in Medical School .............35

02 

S potlight 

The 9 th World Biomaterials Con- 

gress (WBC 2012) kicked off in 

Chengdu on June 1. WBC 2012 is 

the largest top-level conference ever held 

in the field of biomaterials. The confer- 

ence is cosponsored by the International 

Union of Societies for Biomaterials Sci- 

ence and Engineering (IUSBSE) and the 

Chinese Society for Biomaterials (CSB) 

and is cohosted by SCU and Chengdu 

Municipal Government. Approximately 

3,800 people attended the opening cer- 

emony. 

Sichuan University Newsletter 

9 th World 

Biomaterials Congress 

Opens 

Dr. Zhang Xingdong, President of 

the 9 th World Biomaterials Congress, 

President of the Chinese Commission 

of Biomaterials, and Member of the 

Chinese Academy of Engineering hosted 

the opening ceremony. Important gov- 

ernment leaders concerned sent letters 

of congratulation, or attended and ad- 

dressed the opening ceremony. 

Professor Nicholas Peppas, President 

of IUSBSE, expressed appreciation for the 

Government of China and the Chinese 

universities for their support to WBC 2012. 

He said that all the biomaterial scientist 

across the world should be proud of what 

they did. Thanks to their efforts, the quality 

of people’s lives was improving. He hoped 

that the researchers and corporate busi- 

nessmen attending the conference would 

collaborate to work on the new biomate- 

rial issues and use biomaterials to improve 

people’s life. 

On behalf of all the faculty, staffs and 

students of SCU, Dr. Xie Heping, Honor- 

ary President of WBC 2012, President of 

SCU and Member of the Chinese Acade- 

my of Engineering, extended congratula- 

tions to WBC 2012 in a speech. The aca- 

demic circle of biomaterials showed great 

confidence in and expectations for SCU 

by picking SCU as one of the cohosts of 

WBC 2012. SCU’s involvement in the 

organization of the conference was a 

milestone that SCU’s research in bioma- 

terials and other related fields had enter 

a new stage of development. SCU looked 

forward to collaborating with colleagues 

from across the world to promote the 

development of biomaterial science and 

technology. 

The theme for this congress is Innova- 

tive Biomaterials and Crossing Frontiers 

in Biomaterials and Regenerative Medi- 

cine, incorporating two areas—frontiers

of research and traditional materials and 

their improvement. The communica- 

tions at the congress covers diverse fields, 

including biomedical materials, medical 

implant and synthetic organs, tissue en- 

gineering, testing and evaluation of bio- 

medical materials and products, progress 

of clinical research and application, and 

the management, education and ethics 

of biomedical materials and medical im- 

plants. The congress provides an oppor- 

tunity to present the results and progress 

of global research in biomaterial science 

and engineering and discuss the direction 

for future development. The congress is 

also a multidisciplinary platform for the 

scholars, corporate businessmen and ad- 

ministrators in the field of biomaterials 

to hold talks. 

Over 3,000 biomaterials experts, schol- 

ars and young researchers from 57 coun- 

tries and regions submitted 2,900 plus 

abstracts. The congress was graced with 

the presence of 16 members of overseas 

academies of science and engineering, 

including Professor William Bonfield, Fel- 

low of the Royal Society(FRS), Fellow of 

the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng) 

and Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sci- 

ences, 10 member of the Chinese Academy 

of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of 

Engineering, and 110 distinguished inter- 

national biomaterials experts certified by 

IUSBSE. 

Since its founding 32 years ago, this 

is the first time for WBC to be held in a 

developing country, which shows that 

China’s biomaterial science and engi- 

neering has reach the advanced level in 

the world. The congress is one of the 

most important international academic 

conferences held in Chengdu, suggesting 

that Chengdu City has become an impor- 

tant center of international biomaterials 

research, development and academic 

exchange. WBC 2012 provided an oppor- 

tunity for China to display to the world 

its rapid development and openness. It is 

also an importance arena for the prosper- 

ous development of material science and 

engineering in China. 

SUMMER 2012 


03

04 

S potlight 

CCS 28 th Annual Meeting and 

80 th Anniversary Celebration held in SCU 

The 28 th Annual Meeting of the 

Chinese Chemical Society (CCS) 

and the CCS 80 th Anniversary 

Celebration were held in the morn- 

ing of April 13, 2012 in the stadium of 

Wangjiang Campus, SCU. The Annual 

Meeting was sponsored by CCS and 

hosted by SCU. 

The theme of the 28 th Annual Meet- 

ing of CCS is the Mission of Chemistry. 

5,500 experts and scholars, including 

50 members of the Chinese Academy 

of Science, Chinese Academy of Engi- 

neering, and the Third World Academy 

of Sciences, attended the plenary ses- 

sion. The 28 th annual meeting has 19 

sessions and 9 forums, 6 of which be- 

ing bilateral forums involving China 

and some other countries. This annual 

meeting has by far the most partici- 

pants and is the largest one ever held. 

Altogether 4,040 research papers and 

2,631 posters, covering an extensive 

range of research interests and hot is- 

sues, were submitted. The quality of 

research showed substantial improve- 

ment over the research presented at the 

previous annual meetings. Professor 

Xie Heping, President of SCU and 

member of the Chinese Academy of 

Engineering, and Professor Li Guangx- 

ian, Vice-President of SCU, were ap- 

pointed as the executive chairpersons 

of the 4-day Annual Meeting held on 

April 13 th through 16 th . Six keynote 

speeches were made at the plenary 

session. 571 invited speeches and 834 

oral presentations were made in the 


sessions. The chairpersons of the Roy- 

al Society of Chemistry (UK), Ameri- 

can Chemical Society, the Chemical 

Society of Japan, the Korean Chemi- 

cal Society, and Chinese Chemical 

Society located in Taipei all spoke at 

the plenary session. The afternoon of 

April 16 th witnessed the second plena- 

ry session and the closing ceremony. 

Notes 

The Chinese Chemical Society (CCS) 

was founded on August 4, 1932 in Nan- 

jing. CCS is a civil organization involved 

in research and technology in chemistry 

or other related fields and was formed on 

an voluntary basis by educators. CCS is a 

public service organization. It is officially

egistered and is therefore an legal entity. 

The organization is a component of the 

China Association for Science and Tech- 

nology and is an important social force 

that promotes the development of chemical 

science and technology in China. 

The CCS academic annual meeting 

is actually a biennial event. Prestigious 

Chinese higher education institutions or 

research institutes with the necessary fa- 

cilities take turns to host the event. It is 

the largest top-level event in the field of 

chemistry. There were as many as 2,000 

plus participants at each of the last three 

CCS annual meetings. 

SCU is an important member of CCS 

and has always been involved in the de- 

velopment of CCS since its founding. Mr. 

Ren Hongjuan, a distinguished Chinese 

chemist and President of SCU from 1935 

to 1937, made great contribution to the 

development the modern science and the 

education industry in China. Mr. Zhang 

Hongyuan, one of the 45 founding mem- 

bers of CCS, was a professor at SCU. He 

was involved in the preparation of CCS 

and attended the founding ceremony of 

CCS in August, 1932. He served as the 

chairperson of the Department of Chem- 

istry and Dean of the School of Science, 

SCU from 1937 to 1941. In 1978, he 

was re-appointed as a professor and 

chairman of the Department of Chemi- 

cal Engineering, Chengdu University of 

Science and Technology. Professor Zhang 

was a chemical engineering scientist and 

educator. 

Swedish Ambassador to China 

Visits SCU 

In the afternoon of 

April 17, Professor 

Li Hong, Execu- 

tive Vice-President of 

SCU, and Professor 

Yan Shijing, Vice- 

President of SCU met 

with Mr. Lars Fredén, 

Swedish Ambassa- 

dor to China and his 

attendants, includ- 

ing staffs from the 

Embassy of Sweden 

in Beijing and the Sweden-China Trade 

Council and representatives of Swed- 

ish medical companies. Officials from 

West China Center of Medicine and the 

institutions concerned and attended the 

meeting. 

Executive Vice-President Li wel- 

comed Ambassador Fredén and his 

attendants and introduced the history 

and latest development of West China 

Center of Medicine. Vice-President Li 

said that Sweden was a exceptionally 

beautiful country. Sweden had the 

most advanced medical technology 

and the medical companies in Sweden 

had great strength. In recent years, 

China had experienced rapid develop- 

ment and the healthcare needs had 

been growing significantly as a result. 

SCU had the responsibility and obli- 

gation to improve medical education 

and contribute to the improvement of 

healthcare technologies. He hoped that 

Ambassador Fredén’s visit would help 

deepen the cooperation between SCU 

and Swedish medical companies and 

promote the exchange between the two 

counties in the fields of academic train- 

ing, research and social service. 

Ambassador Fredén expressed appre- 

ciation for the warm reception given by 

SCU. He briefly introduced healthcare 

and higher education institutions in 

Sweden, stressing that Chinese students 

studying in Sweden made important con- 

tribution to medical research in Sweden. 

He said that the Swedish Government 

and corporations would be more than 

happy to have communication and ex- 

change in various fields with China. Edu- 

cation, in particular, is a field in which 

they would love to cooperate more with 

China. 

Representatives from Swedish corpora- 

tions introduced themselves at the meet- 

ing and talked about their intentions and 

plans for cooperating with SCU. 

During his visit, Ambassador Fredén 

and his delegation also took a tour of the 

West China Hospital, SCU. 

SUMMER 2012 


05

06 

S potlight 

Professor Ada Yonath, 

Nobel Chemistry Prize Laureate Visits SCU 

Professor Ada Yonath, an Israeli scien- 

tist and Laureate of the Nobel Prize 

for Chemistry, and Professor Zhen 

Huang, a tenured professor of chemistry 

and biochemistry and advisor of Ph.D. 

candidates, Georgia State University, visited 

SCU. Professor Li Guangxian, Executive 

Vice-President of SCU, welcomed them. 

Officials form the International Office and 

the School of Life Science of SCU also at- 

tended the reception. 

Executive Vice-President Li ex- 

tended a warm welcome to Professor 

Yonath. He introduced the history of 

SCU, the extensive range of academic 

and research programs of the school, 

its rapid development, the top scien- 

tists, some of whom being members 

of the Chinese Academy of Science 

and the Chinese Academy of Engi- 

neering, recruited by SCU, and the 

school’s numerous achievements in 

the field of art, humanities, science, 

engineering and medicine. 

Afterwards, Professor Yonath 

delivered a fascinating academic 

presentation entitled From Basic 

Science to Advanced Clinical Com- 

pounds to the students of SCU. First 

of all, Professor Yonath showed a 

chart displaying the trend of average 

life expectancy in the world. Then 

Professor Yonath introduced the suc- 

cess and the latest progress her lab 

had accomplished in the research 

of how the antibiotics combined 

with the Ribonsome of the patho- 

gen, how the antibiotics blocked 


the protein synthesis process of the 

pathogen, and how drug tolerance 

was formed. She also shared with 

SCU students anecdotes about the 

analysis of the crystal structure of 

the Ribonsome and encouraged the 

students to become fearless young 

scientists and attack the most chal- 

lenging problems of science. After 

her presentation, Professor Yonath 

took questions from the audience. 

Professor Ada Yonath Biography 

Ada E. Yonath is an Israeli scientist. She 

graduated from Hebrew University of Jerusa- 

lem with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 

1962, and a master’s degree in biochemistry 

in 1964. In 1968, she earned a Ph.D. at the 

Weizmann Institute of Science. Then Yonath 

accepted postdoctoral positions at the Carnegie 

Mellon University (1969) and MIT (1970). 

In 2006, Yonath won the Wolf Prize in Chem- 

istry (co-recipient with George Feher) “for in- 

genious structural discoveries of the ribosomal 

machinery of peptide-bond formation and the 

light-driven primary processes in photosynthe- 

sis.” The Wolf Prize in Chemistry is awarded to 

scientists who have not won the Nobel Prize of 

Chemistry, but who have made great contri- 

bution to research in Chemistry. It is the one 

of the most prestigious honors in the field of 

chemistry.

Professor Jack Szostak, Nobel Physiology or 

Medicine Laureate Speaks at Sichuan University 

Professor Jack William Szostak, 

Laureate of the 2009 Nobel 

Prize for Physiology or Medicine 

visited SCU on May 25. President Xie 

Heping welcomed Professor Szostak 

and expressed appreciation for his ac- 

ceptance of honorary professorship at 

SCU. President Xie said that SCU facul- 

ties and students cordially welcomed 

Professor Szostak to visit SCU again in 

the future and cooperate with SCU. He 

hoped that SCU faculties and student 

would take advantage of the occasion 

to talk with Professor Szostak about 

physiological sciences and medicine. 

President Xie asked Professor Szostak 

to give suggestions for the development 

of the academic disciplines concerned 

in SCU. 

Professor Szostak thanked President 

Xie for the warm reception. He said it 

was his first trip to China and he was 

very impressed with the rapid develop- 

ment of China. He was also impressed 

by SCU’s modern education philoso- 

phy and facilities. He would like to use 

the chance of accepting the honorary 

professorship to communicate with the 

scholars and researchers in the relevant 

fields and find opportunities for exten- 

sive and intensive cooperation as soon 

as possible. 

President Xie issued a letter of ap- 

pointment for Professor Szostak to 

become an honorary professor of SCU. 

Afterwards, Professor Szostak made a 

presentation entitled Origin of Life and 

the Development of the Theory of Evo- 

lution to SCU students, receiving en- 

thusiastic response from the students. 

Notes 

Jack William Szostak is an eminent biolo- 

gist. He is a member of National Academy 

of Sciences and American 

Academy of Arts and Scienc- 

es, Investigator of Howard 

Hughes Medical Institute, 

Professor of Genetics at Har- 

vard Medical School and Al- 

exander Rich Distinguished 

Investigator at Massachusetts 

General Hospital, Boston. 

He was awarded the 2009 

Nobel Prize for Physiology or 

Medicine, along with Eliza- 

beth Blackburn and Carol W. 

Greider, for the discovery of how chromosomes 

are protected by telomeres. He is credited with 

the construction of the world’s first yeast arti- 

ficial chromosome. That achievement helped 

scientists to map the location of genes in mam- 

mals and to develop techniques for manipulat- 

ing genes. 

SUMMER 2012 


07

08 

F eature 

Professor Max Dohmann 

On a warm day in March, Professor 

Max Dohmann gladly accepted an 

interview in the No. 8 Courtyard, 

an old-style architecture used as a guest- 

house on West China Campus, Sichuan 

University (SCU). Professor Dohmann is 

an honorary professor of SCU and one of 

the first few foreign experts who came to 

SCU through the SCU Senior Professor 

Recruitment Program. He reflected on his 

experience of and rewards from decades 

of involvement in research and his con- 

nections to SCU in the last two decades. 

On a warm day in March, Professor 

Max Dohmann, an honorary professor 

of Sichuan University (SCU), gladly re- 

ceived an interview in the No. 8 Court- 

yard, a traditional-style architecture used 

as a guesthouse on West China Campus, 

SCU. He was among the first few foreign 

experts who came to SCU through the 

Senior Professor Recruitment Program 

(SPRP). Professor Dohmann reflected 

on the decades he spent on research and 

shared his experiences. He also talked 

about his connections with SCU in the 

last two decades. 

Unreserved Dedication to Research 

Professor Dohamann entered col- 

lege in 1960 and has been dedicated 

to research in water environment ever 

since then. His success in the field is well 

recognized. He has served in various aca- 

demic and social capacities and enjoys 

high prestige in society. Because of his 

outstanding contribution to water envi- 

ronment protection, Professor Dohmann 

has won numerous honors and awards. 

Sichuan University Newsletter

For example, he was appointed Govern- 

ing Director of International Water As- 

sociation (IWA) and awarded the First 

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic 

of Germany, which is more than ample 

evidence for his devotion to and out- 

standing achievement in the field of 

water environment protection and for 

the recognition accorded him by top aca- 

demic institutions and the government 

of Germany. In regard to the honors he 

had won, Professor Dohmann modestly 

conceded that he was only doing what 

he enjoyed the most. He never regretted 

his initial decision to disobey his father’s 

wishes and choose environmental en- 

gineering for his college education and 

lifetime career. 

Professor Dohmann shared his rule 

for success in a speech addressed to SCU 

students. He said, “You have to learn 

from your failure by acquiring experience 

from it. It is also important to develop 

self-control and gratefulness. I am grate- 

ful for everything I have today and for 

the people who have helped me. I believe 

there are four keys for the door to suc- 

cess—a keen interest in learning and the 

right direction, diligence and persever- 

ance, development of a sociable charac- 

ter, and gratitude. 

Thriving Career at SCU 

Professor Dohmann has paid 12 visits 

to Chengdu since 1994. He fell in love 

with the city and called it his “second 

hometown.” He believed that he would 

continue his active career at SCU. 

SCU has had a great deal of coopera- 

tion and exchange with RWTH Aachen 

University in the field of environmental 

engineering for a long period of time. 

Thanks to the liaison and assistance from 

Professor Dohmann, SCU introduced the 

core courses of the master’s program in 

environmental engineering from RWTH 

Aachen University as early as April, 2004. 

Professor Dohmann’s face lit up with 

excitement when he started talking about 

SCU. He said that SCU has accumulated 

rich cultural heritage since its found- 

ing over a century ago. Being a research- 

oriented comprehensive university, SCU 

was committed to its responsibilities 

for academic training and research. The 

school was also committed to the social 

responsibilities a top university should 

undertake. SCU believed that its devel- 

opment was inseparable from the com- 

mon, popular and global environmental 

problems usually associated with social 

SUMMER 2012 

development and regional economy. 

SCU exerted its strengths in research, the 

comprehensive range of disciplines, and 

competent human resources to explore 

for ways to deal with the environmental 

issues that are critical for the existence 

of all humans. Considering SCU’s atten- 

tion to environmental issues, Professor 

Dohmann believed that SCU is doing 

meaningful work in teaching and re- 

search. He, then, made up his mind to 

work with researchers at SCU and partici- 

pate in joint research projects by China 

and Germany so as to make his due 

share of contribution to the resolution of 

various water environment management 

problems faced by China, Germany and 

many other countries. As a result, the 

Sino-Germany Water Management Sym- 

posium (SGWMS), co-sponsored by SCU 

and RWTH Aachen University, was held 

in April, 2010 with the help from Profes- 


09

10 

F eature 

sor Dohmann. The Sino-Germany Water 

Environment Management Research Cen- 

ter (SiGeWa), co-founded by SCU and 

RWTH Aachen University, was opened 

at the same time, taking the cooperation 

between the two school to a higher and 

more intensive level and forging a plat- 

form for high-level research projects for 

the experts of the two countries. 

Professor Dohmann said that en- 

vironmental science, especially water 

management, bore great significance for 

the future development of China and 

Germany. Climate change and environ- 

ment pollution were not regional prob- 

lems, but global challenges instead. The 

only way to solve these global problems 

was that politicians, scientists, the media 

and the public working together to deal 

with them. Citizens should develop bet- 

ter awareness of environment protection 


and start with small things in life, e.g., 

sorting out household waste. Germany 

had achieved great success in this area 

and was happy to introduce its experi- 

ence to other countries. In addition, 

information-sharing, communication 

and cooperation were conducive to re- 

search progress in the field. China and 

Germany should reinforce cooperation 

and exchange in water resources so as 

to enhance research capacity, intensify 

the cooperation between science and 

business, and establish strategic partner- 

ship in order to achieve critical success 

in relevant fields. Professor Dohmann 

is convinced that bilateral cooperation 

will help China, Germany and other 

countries solve their problems with water 

environment management and that the 

SGWEMRC, with the support from SCU 

and RWTH Aachen University, will be- 

come a platform for state-of-art research. 

Professor Dohmann spoke very highly 

of China’s work in environmental protec- 

tion. He thought that the Government 

of China attached great importance to 

environmental protection. The Chinese 

Government invested large amount of 

human resources and funding, made 

great efforts, achieved substantial success 

and won world-wide acclaim. He hoped 

that China would continue its efforts in 

environmental protection and the im- 

provement of people’s quality of life. He 

hoped that China would become a role 

model for the world. 

At present, led by Professor Dohm- 

ann, SCU and RWTH Aachen University 

are working together to apply for Sustain- 

able Technologies and Services for the 

Water and Resource Management in the 

upper Reach of Yangtze River in Sichuan,

China, a major international cooperation 

project. The application is made through 

SGWEMRC. In this project, research in- 

stitutes, corporations and administrators 

from China and Germany will cooper- 

ate to study issues critical to the water 

resources utilization and management in 

the upper reaches of Yangtze River, such 

as river basin planning and management, 

energy optimization of water-related 

infrastructure, urban water resources 

management and clean production, 

and regional resources management. 

Sustainable management and critical 

technologies for the use of resources will 

be studied. Cross-disciplinary research 

theories and methodologies will be used 

to conduct the project. Tsinghua Univer- 

sity, SCU, Southwest Jiaotong University, 

and Sichuan Agriculture University are 

involved in the project. Professor Dohm- 

ann hoped that the project would help 

enhance the international reputation and 

influence of SCU. He explained, “This 

is my due responsibility because I am a 

member of SCU.” 

High Praise for SPRP 

SCU launched SPRP in 2011 in a bid 

to recruit international experts and utilize 

their academic resources to accelerate the 

pace of internationalization, developing 

high-quality academic training programs 

and developing a highly-competent fac- 

ulty. SCU intends to recruit over 100 se- 

nior foreign experts in five years and has 

already hired five SPRP professors. 

Being one of the first few SPRP ex- 

perts, Professor Dohmann became well 

acquainted with SPRP. He spoke highly 

of the program. He said that the admin- 

istrators at SCU must have had a great 

vision for SCU when they proposed 

SPRP. After the program is carried out, 

SCU would be able to gather together 

the most influential scientists in diverse 

fields and these scientists would help 

form the most capable faculty, improve 

the quality of research, teaching and in- 

ternationalization, build up the school’s 

influence and competitiveness in the 

world, and accelerate the pace to build 

SCU into a world-renowned top Chinese 

research-oriented comprehensive uni- 

versity. Professor Dohmann discussed 

the ideas and plans he had for his work 

at SCU. He said, “After I came to SCU, 

the school administration has given 

me so much support and care in every 

way possible. My wife and I feel really 

touched by the kind gesture of providing 

a residence in the quiet and elegant West 

China Campus. According to the first 

contract I signed with the school, I teach 

and give lectures to undergraduate and 

postgraduate students and advise them 

in their studies. In addition, I will utilize 

my academic and research tasks and the 

SiGeWa platform to promote and facili- 

tate the construction of SiGeWa, conduct 

cooperational application research, lead 

the faculties of the related disciplines to 

improve the quality of research so as to 

catch up with and surpass the frontier of 

research in the world, and promote the 

academic and research development of 

SCU on the whole.” 

Professor Dohmann expressed his ap- 

preciation of the care and consideration 

for his life and work from President Xie 

Heping, Vice-President Shi Jian, Vice- 

President Yan Shijing, and many other 

officials of SCU. He said that he would 

try his best to facilitate SCU in the re- 

search exchange and cooperation in envi- 

ronmental engineering and other related 

fields. He would like to help train more 

outstanding scholars and researchers and 

he wanted to be a “qualified member of 

SCU.” 

After the interview is finished, Profes- 

sor Dohman seemed to have changed 

into a different person. He put on his 

sportswear and helmet and hopped 

on his mountain bike. Then he cycled 

around leisurely on West China Campus, 

enjoying the rare sunny day and reflect- 

ing on the history of the West China 

Campus. “This is the most important 

hobby for my leisure time,” Professor 

Dohmann waved us goodbye. 

SUMMER 2012 


11

12 

V isits 

Executive Vice-President of 

Boston University Visits SCU 

Jan. 9 th , 2012, Dr. Karen Antman, 

member of the Institute of Medi- 

cine of the National Academies, 

Executive Vice-President of Boston Uni- 

versity, visited Sichuan University. Execu- 

tive Vice-President Li Hong met with the 

delegation headed by Dr. Karen Antman 

and awarded her with an honorary pro- 

fessorship of Sichuan University (SCU). 

Directors from the International Office, 

West China Medical Center, and College 

of Life Sciences attended the meeting. 

On behalf of Sichuan University, Ex- 

ecutive Vice-President Li first extended 

a warm welcome to the delegation 


led by Dr. Antman. According to Vice- 

President Li, Sichuan University was 

actively taking part in academic train- 

ing, scientific research, social service, 

cultural heritage and renovation with 

the aim of “building a world-class uni- 

versity.” Dr. Antman also pointed out 

that currently China was carrying out a 

new round of healthcare reforms. SCU 

would take advantage of its medical 

resources to expand access to medical 

services in rural and urban areas. Vice- 

President Li hoped that during Dr. Ant- 

man’s term as Honorary Professor of 

Sichuan University, Boston University 

and Sichuan University would conduct 

active and fruitful cooperation in the 

fields of medical science and life sci- 

ence. 

Dr. Antman said she was honored to 

have visited SCU and become an Honor- 

ary Professor here. After a brief introduc- 

tion of Boston University, she pointed 

out that Boston University and Sichuan 

University had many things in common, 

such as interdisciplinary research, aca- 

demic training, and medical service. She 

hoped that through this visit, both uni- 

versities would strengthen mutual com- 

munication and cooperation and that the 

two sides would make good preparation 

for the leaders of Sichuan University to 

visit Boston University in April. 

After the meeting, Dr. Antman also 

visited West China Hospital, Sichuan 

University Museum and College of Life 

Science. 

Notes: 

Dr. Karen Antman is the Executive Vice- 

President of Boston University School of 

Medicine and provost of the Medical Cam- 

pus. She is in charge of the Boston University 

School of Medicine, School of Dental Medi- 

cine, and School of Public Health. She is the 

Dean of Boston University School of Medi- 

cine and She currently sits on the Fogarty 

International Center’s Advisory Committee, 

National Institution of Health (NIH). In 

2011, she was elected a member of the Insti- 

tute of Medicine of the National Academies. 

She served as an associate editor of the New 

England Journal of Medicine, a major jour- 

nal in the field of medicine. Dr. Antman has 

also served as President of the American As- 

sociation for Cancer Research (AACR) and 

the American Society for Blood and Marrow 

Transplantation.. She published over 100 re- 

search papers and is a well-known researcher 

in medical science in the United States.

ASU Vice-President Visits SCU 

Feb 13 th , 2012, SCU Vice-President 

Yan Shijing met with Mr. Denis 

Fred Simon, Vice-President of 

Arizona State University (ASU) in the 

Administration Building, Wangjiang 

Campus. Officials from departments con- 

cerned participated in the meeting. 

On behalf of SCU, Vice-President 

Yan first extended a warm welcome 

to Vice-President Simon. Two Vice- 

Presidents reviewed the cooperation 

between the two schools since 2004. It 

has been eight years since then and Au- 

gust 2006 saw the foundation of Sino- 

US Strategic Planning Institute. No- 

vember 2010 saw the establishment of 

American Culture Center. Meanwhile, 

the two universities have been actively 

conducting the 3+2 Joint Degree Pro- 

grams in engineering and the 2+1+1 

student exchange program. 

During this visit, the two sides at- 

tached great importance to the 3+2 MPA/ 

MPP Joint Master Degree Program for 

students in College of Public Affairs, 

renewed the mutual cooperation agree- 

ment, discussed the future plan of Ameri- 

can Culture Center, emphasized the 

importance of strengthening cooperation 

in the field of humanities and arts and 

the cooperation on starting an academic 

journal in English, discussed with officials 

DCM of the Embassy of 

the Republic of Malawi Visits SCU 

March 21 th , 2012, Professor Yan 

Shijing, Vice-President of SCU, 

met with Mr. Henri Mumba, 

the Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) of 

the Embassy of the Republic of Malawi. 

Leading officials from the Office of Sci- 

entific Research and Development, Col- 

lege of Water Resource and Hydropower 

(CWRH), College of Electronics and 

Information Engineering, and the Inter- 

national Office of SCU also attended the 

meeting. 

Vice-President Yan extended a warm 

welcome to the delegation led by Mr. 

Henri Mumba. He made a detailed in- 

troduction of CWRH’s academic and 

research strengths and rich experience of 

different construction projects. CWRH, 

SCU has established an academic system 

that incorporates bachelor, master, and 

Ph.D. programs. CWRH has undertaken 

a large number of major research proj- 

from the SCU Business School about 

plans for future cooperation as well as 

further cooperation and development in 

other fields. In addition, Vice-President 

Simon made a speech for SCU students 

about the 3+2 joint master’s program. 

The speech was warmly received by SCU 

students. 

Vice-President Yan wished that Vice- 

President Simon’s visit would strengthen 

the mutual friendship between the two 

universities and facilitate future commu- 

nication and cooperation in research and 

academic training. 

Vice-President Denis Fred Simon ex- 

pressed sincere thanks for the warm wel- 

come he received at SCU. He hoped that 

with the excellent relationship between the 

two universities, ASU and SCU would ex- 

tend their cooperation to more fields and 

realize a win-win situation for both sides. 

SUMMER 2012 

ects and obtained numerous patents. 

Vice-President Yan said that, thanks 

to the assistance of Sichuan Provincial 

People’s Association for Friendship with 

Foreign Countries, SCU had the privilege 

of developing cooperation activities in 

agriculture, water resources, science and 

technology with Malawi. SCU would 

be more than happy to accept quali- 

fied young students from Malawi to do 

bachelor, master, and Ph.D. programs in 


13

14 

V isits 

CWRH. In addition, SCU also welcome 

Malawian engineers to visit SCU for 

short-term academic exchange programs. 

CWRH would readily provide short-term 

training programs for Malawi so as to 

promote the exchange and cooperation 

between China and Malawi. Vice-Pres- 

ident Yan stressed that the cooperation 

would definitely promote SCU’s scientific 

research and development in interna- 

tional translational science. 

Mr. Henri Mumba thanked SCU 

Harvard University Professor 

Gives Presentation to SCU Students 

In the evening of May 28, Harvard 

University Professor David A. Weitz, 

a member of the National Academy 

of Sciences and the American Academy 

of Arts and Sciences, made a popular 

science presentation, Cooking and Sci- 

ence—From Haute Cuisine to Soft Matter 

Science, captivating the attention of 600 

faculties and students. 

Professor Weitz demonstrated the 

inventions of top chefs in the world and 


took the students on a journey of science 

and cooking. He used experiments to 

for the hospitable reception. He said 

that SCU was a high-level academic 

institution with a very long history. It 

had remarkable strength in research in 

agricultural water resources technol- 

ogy. The Republic of Malawi would like 

to have more extensive exchange and 

communication with SCU on the basis 

of the cooperation in agricultural water 

resources technology. In addition, Mr. 

Mumba gave thanks to SCU for its wish 

to provide trainings for teachers and 

students from Malawi. After a detailed 

introduction of the education system in 

Malawi, Mr. Mumba said that the cam- 

pus of the Malawi University of Science 

and Technology was finally put into 

use, thanks to the assistance from the 

Chinese Government. He wished that 

SCU would form a friendly intercolle- 

giate relationship of cooperation with 

the Malawi University of Science and 

Technology, which would further pro- 

moting the cooperation between China 

and the Republic of Malawi. 

explain theories, leaving a deep impres- 

sion on the students with his fascinating 

presentation. The students learn a lot of 

things in a relaxed atmosphere of joy and 

laughter. The students volunteered a lot 

of questions at the end of the presenta- 

tion and Professor Weitz made accurate 

and interesting response to them one 

by one. The students were impressed by 

Professor Weitz’s earnest attitude toward 

work.

University of Illinois Professor David M. Ceperleya, 

member of National Academy of Sciences, Visits SCU 

On May 29, Professor David M. 

Ceperleya of the University of 

Illinois visited SCU and was re- 

ceived by President Xie Heping. Professor 

Ceperleya is a member of National Acad- 

emy of Sciences. Vice President Yan Shi- 

jing and the officials concerned attended 

the reception. 

President Xie extended warm welcome 

to Professor Ceperley. He hoped that 

Professor Ceperley would make some 

suggestions for the development of the 

Faculty of Physics and facilitate the rapid 

development of the Faculty of Physics. 

Professor Ceperley appreciated Presi- 

dent Xie’s recognition of the University 

of Illinois. He hoped that there would be 

more exchange between the faculty and 

students of the two universities and that 

they would collaborate to investigate aca- 

demic issues. 

Afterwards, President Xie presented 

Professor Ceperley with a letter of ap- 

pointment and souvenirs. 

Professor Ole Blok Fejerskov, 

World-Renowned Expert on Dental Caries Research, 

Receives Honorary Professorship at SCU 

Danish Professor Ole Blok Fejer- 

skov, an eminent expert on dental 

caries research, visited SCU and 

was warmly received by President Xie 

Heping on May 29 th . Vice-President Zhou 

Xuedong, Vice President Yan Shijing and 

the officials concerned attended the re- 

ception. 

During the meeting, President Xie said 

that SCU was pleased to have invited 

Professor Fejerskov to become an honor- 

ary professor. He believed that Professor 

Fejerskov would be an inspiration for 

SCU students 

Professor Fejerskov said that the coun- 

tries in the West witnessed the accom- 

plishment and progress China has made 

in academic research and that China dis- 

played to the world its strength in basic 

sciences. He was qutie confident of the 

bright prospects for the development of 

stomatology in SCU. He stated that West 

China School of Stomatology was the 

best in China and that it would definitely 

play an important role in the field of sto- 

matology in the world. 

Afterwards, President Xie presented 

Professor Fejerskovwith a letter of ap- 

pointment as honorary professor at SCU. 

Professor Ole Blok Fejerskov’s Biography 

Professor Ole Blok Fejerskov is a top 

expert on dental caries. He served as Vice- 

President of Aarhus University, Vice- 

chairman of the Nordic Academy for Ad- 

vanced Studies, and Director of the Danish 

National Research Foundation. In 2005, the 

Government of China gave him the “Friend- 

ship Award” for foreign experts for his out- 

standing contribution to cooperation between 

China and Europe. 

SUMMER 2012 


15

16 

O ut Reach 

SCU Delegation Visits Japan 

At the invitation of President Isao 

Taniguchi of Kumamoto Univer- 

sity, SCU Executive Vice-President 

Li Guangxian visited Japan in March, 

2012. 

During his stay at Kumamoto Uni- 

versity, Vice-President Li held talks with 

President Taniguchi. Both presidents 

reviewed the cooperation and exchanges 

between the two schools in recent years 

and agreed on a series of plans for fur- 

ther cooperation, e.g., the construction of 

SCU-Kumamoto Joint laboratory, faculty 

cooperation, high-level joint academic 

training, 2+2.5 joint degree programs, 

and student overseas study program in 

summer. 

SCU delegation was also invited 

to attend the retirement address and 

ceremony for Professor Kenji Kida of 

Kumamoto University. Professor Kida 

is a high-level foreign expert recruited 

by SCU through the “1,000 Foreign Ex- 

perts Recruitment Program”. Professor 

SCU delegation held talks with concerning departments 

at Waseda University 


Executive Vice-President Li Guangxian delivered 

a speech at the Retirement Ceremony for 

Professor Kenji Kida at Kumamoto University 

Kida is a well-known Japanese expert 

of environmental biotechnology and 

has won the 2010 Japan Biotechnol- 

ogy Award. Executive Vice-President 

Li delivered a speech at the ceremony 

and welcomed Prof. Kida to become a 

part of SCU. He hoped that Prof. Kida 

could realize his new dreams at SCU 

by using biomass technology to recycle 

resources and promote the sustainable 

development of the society. 

During the visit to Japan, the delega- 

tion also visited Waseda University and 

Hitachi Ltd. 

Executive Vice-President Li Guangx- 

ian held talks with Vice-President Kat- 

suichi Uchida of Waseda University. 

Executive Vice-President Li expressed 

SCU’s hope to strengthen exchange and 

cooperation with Waseda University in 

areas including student exchange, high- 

level joint academic training programs, 

the establishment of a research plat- 

form, summer camp, and cultural week 

activities. Waseda University showed 

strong interests in SCU’s proposals 

and responded with great enthusiasm 

in the possibility of future coopera- 

tion. Through the talks, the two sides 

reached a tentative agreement on stu- 

dents’ short-term overseas study pro- 

gram and scholarship programs. 

At Hitachi Ltd., Executive Vice- 

President Li held talks with the officials 

from the departments concerned. In a 

friendly atmosphere, both sides reviewed 

the achievements of the SCU-Hitachi 

Environmental Applications Research 

Center since SCU President Xie Heping’s 

visit to Hitachi Ltd. Hitachi Ltd. intro- 

duced the company’s newly developed 

e-government technology and solutions 

and hoped to reinforce the future coop- 

eration. 

The delegation’s visit further pro- 

moted the cooperation and understand- 

ing between SCU and famous Japanese 

universities and companies and achieved 

great success. 

Executive Vice-President Li Guangxian visited 

HPT Matsudo Research Laboratory

SCU-UMass Joint Forum 

Successfully Opens in America 

On behalf of President Xie Hep- 

ing, Professor Li Hong, Execu- 

tive Vice-President of SCU, led a 

delegation to visit the United States and 

attend the 2 nd SCU-University of Mas- 

sachusetts (UMass) Joint Forum in late 

April. The forum is focused on disaster 

management, collaborative training, 

emergency care and reflection on the 

experience acquired from the Wenchuan 

Earthquake. 19 representatives from the 

Institute for Disaster Management and 

Reconstruction, West China School of 

Medicine, etc., attended the forum. 

From April 22 to 28, 23 experts and 

scholars from universities and disaster 

management agencies in eastern United 

States and 17 medical workers and ex- 

perts from SCU conducted extensive 

discussions, making approximately 40 

presentations and lectures involving 

post-disaster reconstruction, response 

to nuclear pollution, biochemical crisis, 

emergency care, disaster monitoring 

and early warning, disaster information 

system, response to natural disasters, bio- 

chemical hazards, emergency response to 

mass casualty incidents, disaster mental 

SCU Delegation Visits 

Five Renowned American Universities 

In a bid to enhance the quality and 

level of international cooperation and 

exchange of SCU, reinforce coopera- 

tion and exchange with top universities 

in the world, and facilitate the imple- 

mentation of Recruitment Program of 

Hundred Young Talents in Liberal Art 

and Social Science and Foreign Teacher 

Recruitment Program, Professor Yan 

Shijing, Vice-President of SCU, led a del- 

health aid, crisis public relations and in- 

formation release for the media. 

During the forum, Vice-President Li 

met with the Chancellor and Senior Vice 

President Michael F. Collins, Professor 

Craig Melo, the 2006 medicine Nobel 

laureate, etc. of UMass. They reviewed the 

history of cooperation between the two 

universities and commented positively 

on the successful model of cooperation 

between the two sides. They also worked 

together to map out future areas and 

model for cooperation and exchange. In 

addition to seminars held on a regular 

basis, the two schools would have many 

other activities to promote communica- 

tion and exchange, e.g., construction of 

Professor Melo’s lab, faculty training, 

student exchange and internship, Profes- 

sor Melo giving guest-lectures in SCU, 

outstanding Ph.D. graduates studying in 

Professor Melo’s lab, etc. 

On April 25, Executive Vice-President 

Li and his delegation visited Boston Uni- 

versity and met with the Dr. Karen Ant- 

man, Executive Vice-President of Boston 

University, etc. After elaborate discus- 

sions, the two sides agreed to cooperate 

in areas of student and faculty exchange, 

visiting scholars giving guest lectures, 

and setting up a disaster management 

curriculum, etc. 

egation to visit Harvard University, Uni- 

versity of Chicago, University of Wash- 

ington (UW), Georgetown University 

and Michigan State University between 

April 22 and May 3. 

SUMMER 2012 


17

18 

O ut Reach 

Harvard University 

Vice-President Yan received a warm 

reception from Ms. Jackie O’Nell, the 

Marshal of Harvard University. The two 

sides looked forward to reinforce coop- 

eration. 

The delegation visited the Harvard- 

Yenching Institute and the John King 

Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies. 

Both sides agreed that they should 

reinforce cooperation in the field of 

contemporary Chinese studies. The 

two sides agreed to exchange scholars 

and reinforce cooperation in the field 

of South Asian studies. SCU would 

also cooperate with the Harvard China 

Fund and discuss the ways to set up 

exchange programs for Harvard Univer- 

sity students to study at SCU. In recent 

years, 35 scholars and Ph.D. candidates 

with research interests in liberal arts 

and social science went to the Harvard- 

Yenching Institute for study or research 

purposes. 

Vice-President Yan met with Harvard University 

Marshal Jackie O’Nell 


University of Chicago 

SCU delegation visited the John King Fairbank 

Center for Chinese Studies 

Vice-President Yan met with Ms. 

Eileen McCarthy, Assistant Vice-Presi- 

dent for Global Initiatives at the Uni- 

versity of Chicago. He talked about 

SCU’s intension to start substantial 

cooperation with University of Chi- 

cago. Assistant Vice-President McCar- 

thy said that University of Chicago 

would love to find appropriate chan- 

nels, especially for the communica- 

tion between the professors of the two 

schools, for example, to create more 

opportunities for cooperation with 

SCU. Vice-President Yan also talked to 

Ellen Cohen, Dean of Students, Har- 

ris School of Public Policy, and John 

Mark Hansen, Dean of Social Sciences 

Division and a member of the Ameri- 

can Academy of Arts and Sciences, and 

learned about the management and 

operation mechanism of the University 

of Chicago in the field of liberal arts 

and social sciences. Vice-President Yan 

reached initial agreement with the Har- 

ris School of Public Policy that the two 

sides would cooperate on the 4+1 mas- 

ter’s program in public policy. 

UW 

During the visit to UW, Vice-Pres- 

ident Yan met with Provost Ana-Mari 

Cauce, Executive Vice Provost Douglas 

Wadden and Peter K. Moran, Director 

of International Programs & Exchang- 

es, etc. Cooperation between the two 

schools started as early as 1999. Both 

sides reaffirmed the success of the 

SCU-UW 2+1+1 Joint Undergraduate 

Program, believing that the project 

was the best example of renovation 

in cooperation and exchange between 

Chinese and American universities. 

Vice-President Yan elaborated on the 

multiple purposes of his visit. Firstly, 

it would promote the existing suc- 

cessful cooperation relations and 

reinforce cooperation in the 2+1+1 

Joint Undergraduate Program. Sec- 

ondly, SCU wished to obtain more 

support from the administration of 

UW to facilitate the construction and 

development of the Confucius In- 

stitute of the State of Washington in 

UW. Thirdly, SCU would like to find 

opportunities to cooperate with the 

Henry M. Jackson School of Interna- 

tional Studies. Fourthly, SCU would 

like to recruit outstanding Ph.D. 

graduates from UW to teach at SCU. 

Fifth, SCU hoped to start 2+2 Double 

Major Joint Undergraduate Program 

and 3+2 Joint Master’s Program with 

UW. UW responded positively to the 

five proposals. 

During their stay at the UW, the

delegation had discussions with Mr. 

Reşat Kasaba, Director of the Henry 

M. Jackson School of International 

Studies, Dr. Gary Hamilton, Direc- 

tor of Confucius Institute of the State 

of Washington, and some profes- 

sors from the Department of Global 

Health, UW. The two sides reached 

agreement on a large number of co- 

operation projects. 

Vice-President Yan paid a visit to 

SCU students studying at UW. He had 

friendly conversations with them and 

encouraged them to set up ambitious 

goals. He said that the students should 

cherish the opportunity to study at one 

of the best universities in the world. 

The experience would undoubtedly 

widen their horizons and build a firm 

foundation for their success in the fu- 

ture. 

Georgetown University 

Vice-President Yan held talks with 

Mr. Samuel S. Robfogel, Director of 

International Initiatives, Georgetown 

University. The two sides agreed that 

a cooperation agreement between the 

two schools was going to be signed 

soon. Vice-President Yan reached an 

agreement with the Edmund A. Walsh 

School of Foreign Service to collaborate 

on a 4+1.5 joint master’s program in 

Asian studies. This year, 22 SCU stu- 

dents applied to the summer school 

courses of Georgetown University. They 

will receive an interview and will go to 

Georgetown University and study there 

for five weeks if they do well the inter- 

view. 

Michigan State University (MSU) 

At MSU, the two sides had discus- 

sions about the implementation of the 

3+2 Joint Degree Programs offered by 

SCU and MSU in partnership. They 

agreed to invest more efforts to in- 

crease the publicity of the program and 

increase the student enrollment. The 

two sides also agreed to hold a bilateral 

symposium on global change science 

in late October in SCU. In addition, 30 

first-year students from MSU will visit 

SCU for a two-week pre-matriculation 

study tour. 

During his stay at MSU, Vice- 

President Yan paid a special visit to Dr. 

Michael A. Boulus, Executive Director 

of the Presidents Council, State Univer- 

sities of Michigan and had discussions 

concerning plans for Michigan state 

universities to send students to SCU 

for study abroad programs. They also 

discussed the feasibility of setting up 

an office in SCU for Michigan state uni- 

versities. Both sides believed that the 

action would encourage more students 

of Michigan state universities to study 

at SCU. The two sides were to make 

further discussions on the technicalities 

of the plan. 

One of the major objectives of this 

trip is to facilitate the implementa- 

tion of the Recruitment Program of 

Hundred Young Talents in Liberal 

Art and Social Science and Foreign 

Teacher Recruitment Program. The 

delegation organized six promotional 

activities/career expos at Harvard Uni- 

versity, University of Chicago, Illinois 

Institute of Technology, UW, George- 

town University and Michigan State 

University, hoping to recruit highly- 

competent Ph.D. graduates to work at 

SCU. 

The delegation consisted of the of- 

ficials concerned from the Office for 

Social Sciences, Human Resources 

Office, Academic Affairs Office, Inter- 

national Office, and School of Over- 

seas Education. During the trip, the 

delegation visited Harvard University, 

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 

Department of Emergency Medicine, 

University of Massachusetts Medical 

School, Massachusetts Regional Com- 

mand Center for Response to Disaster, 

a major international biology lab at 

Boston University, and the lab of Pro- 

fessor Craig Melo, the 2006 medicine 

Nobel laureate. 

SUMMER 2012 


19

20 

A cdemic 

Professor Feng Xiaoming’s Research Project 

Wins 2011 Top 10 Science and Technology 

Progress Awards for Chinese Universities 

The winners of the 2011 Top 10 

Science and Technology Progress 

Awards for Chinese Universities 

were announced in Beijing in December, 

2011. The winners were chosen by the Sci- 

ence and Technology Commission, Min- 

istry of Education, Government of China. 

The Study of Novel Chiral Catalyst and 

Highly Enantioselective New Reactions 

in Asymmetric Catalysis, a research proj- 

ect headed by headed by Professor Feng 

Xiaoming of College of Chemistry, SCU, 

was picked for the award. 

Novel Chiral Catalyst and Highly Enan- 

tioselective New Reactions in Asymmetric 

Catalysis 

Chirality (also referred to handedness) 

is a universal phenomenon in nature. For 

examples, the L-amino acids represent the 


vast majority of amino acids found in pro- 

tein. The most abundant monosaccharides 

in nature are D-configuration. Biochemical 

response in living organisms is high stereo- 

specificity. Characteristically, enantiomers 

(two mirror images of a molecule that 

cannot be superposed onto each other) 

are different compounds in chemistry. 

The synthesis and transformation of chiral 

compounds is of great importance in the 

fields of chiral medicine, pesticides, spice, 

food additive, as well as multifunctional 

material, etc.. Catalytic asymmetric reac- 

tion is one of the most efficient tools for 

the construction of optically active com- 

pounds in connection with the advantages 

of atom-economy and chirality enhance- 

ment. The development of highly efficient 

and selective chiral catalysts and asymmet- 

ric reactions is at the center of research in 

asymmetric synthesis. 

The team, led by Professor Xiaoming 

Feng at Sichuan University in Chengdu, 

China dedicated to the research area of 

asymmetric synthesis. After a long-time 

endeavor, they developed a chiral catalyst 

library of C2-symmetric N,N’-dioxides for 

the first time. This kind of chiral ligand 

and catalyst has been successfully used in 

a number of asymmetric catalytic trans- 

formations with high yield and excellent 

enantioselectivity under mild reaction. 

Especially, chiral N,N’-dioxide amide com- 

pounds were regarded as a type of new 

privileged ligand, by use of which four 

new reactions in asymmetric catalysis were 

realized for the first time. Several optically 

active compounds with important bioac- 

tivity could be achieved via the developed 

methods. The exciting results also help to 

understand the relationship between the 

structure of the catalyst and its catalytic fea- 

tures in reactions. Nature China provided 

an engaging summary for one achievement 

of the project with the title “Asymmetric 

catalysis: Chirality inspired”. One new 

catalytic asymmetric reaction was updated 

as Roskamp–Feng reaction, an organic re- 

action named after the Chinese chemical 

researcher Xiaoming Feng, in the book of 

“Organic Synthesis Based on Name Reac- 

tions” (3 rd edition) published by Elsevier 

Press. The related work has been published 

in key journals, including Accounts of 

Chemical Research, Journal of American 

Chemical Society, and Angewandte Che-

mie International Edition, etc.. The re- 

search exhibits the impressive progress and 

growing international influence of China 

in the field of asymmetric synthesis. 

Biography: 

Xiaoming Feng was born in China in 

1964. Between 1981 and 1988, he studied 

chemistry at Lanzhou University and received 

his BS in 1985, MS in 1988 from the same 

university. Then he became an associate profes- 

sor at Southwest Normal University in 1991 

until 1993. In 1996, he received his PhD from 

Chinese Academy of Sciences under supervision 

of Professors Zhitang Huang and Yaozhong Ji- 

ang. After his postdoctoral research at Colorado 

State University (1998-1999) with Professor 

Yian Shi, he went back to Chengdu Institute 

of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of 

Sciences as a professor (1999-2000). In 2000, 

he moved to Sichuan University as a professor 

of chemistry. He has been awarded the Spe- 

cial Professor of the Changjiang Scholars by 

the Ministry of Education of China (2005), 

the National Science Fund for Distinguished 

Young Scholars (2002). He dedicated to de- 

sign and synthesis of new chiral ligands and 

organocatalysts, particularly the ones derived 

from chiral amino acids, asymmetric synthesis 

and methodologies by using both metal and 

nonmetallic catalysts and their applications in 

the synthesis of bioactive molecules. 

NPG and West China School of 

Stomatology Co-Publishes IJOS 

The International Journal of Oral 

Science (IJOS), a journal indexed 

by the SCI Expanded, has been 

published by the Key National Lab 

of Stomatology (SCU) and the West 

China School of Stomatology (WCSS), 

SCU since 2009. Cooperation agree- 

ment with Nature Publishing Group 

(NPG) was signed so that IJOS is now 

co-published by NBG. The new official 

website of the journal at www.nature. 

com/IJOS and the online submission 

website at http://mts-IJOS.nature.com 

were launched at the same time. From 

January, 2012, IJOS would be edited 

and published according to standard 

international practice through the Na- 

ture platform. 

IJOS is published with the authoriza- 

tion of the Ministry of Education and 

the General Administration of Press and 

Publication, Government of China (CN 

51-1707/R, ISSN 1674-2818, eISSN 2049- 

3169). It is an 

English lan- 

guage journal 

concentrated 

on stomatology. 

The journal was 

started by the 

Key National 

Lab of Stoma- 

tology (SCU) 

and WCSS, 

SCU. It was in- 

dexed by SCI, 

PubMed and a 

number of other international databases 

of science. It was the first stomatology 

journal published in mainland China 

to be indexed by SCI. Professor Zhou 

Xuedong of WCSS and UCLA Professor 

Wang Cunyu, a member of the Institute 

of Medicine, National Academy of Sci- 

ences (USA), serve as the co-editor-in- 

chiefs. The Editorial Board consists of 

33 respected scholars from 13 countries 

and regions. Some of them specialize 

in stomatology, while the others have 

multidisciplinary research background. 

Since the founding of the journal, 12 is- 

sues included in 3 volumes have been 

published and the quality and interna- 

tional impact of the journal have been 

constantly improving. NPG is a publisher 

of high-impact scientific information. 

Nature is NPG’s leading journal. Other 

titles of NPG include Scientific American, 

a journal targeted the general public, Cell 

Research, etc. 

SUMMER 2012 


21

22 

A cdemic 

The Tomato Genome Sequence Provides 

Insights into Fleshy Fruit Evolution 

Through tremendous efforts lasting 

for more than 8 years, the whole 

genomes of Solanum lycopersicum 

and Solanum pimpinellifolium have been 

successfully sequenced by the Tomato Ge- 

nome Consortium (TGC) comprising of 

over 300 scientists from 14 different coun- 

tries. The high quality analyses of tomato 

genome sequences is another outstanding 

work implemented by international coop- 

eration after the accomplishment of Ara- 

bidopsis and rice genome sequencing. The 

achievement was published in the interna- 

tional authoritative magazine, Nature, as 


cover story on May 31, 2012 (URL: http:// 

www.nature.com/nature/journal/v485/ 

n7400/index.html). Prof. Yongsheng Liu 

from collage of Life Science, Sichuan Uni- 

versity, and his postgraduate Dr. Shengx- 

iong Huang participated in the long-time 

researches and made contributions. There 

are three main scientific meanings of the 

achievement: (1) decipher the genome 

sequences of cultivated tomato and cur- 

rant tomato, (2) demonstrate the genome 

mechanisms underlying the fleshy fruit 

development and evolution of cultivated 

tomato and (3) provide powerful tools for 

utilizing the important genes from wild 

tomato species to improve the cultivated 

tomato.

SCU and University of Pittsburgh 

Sign Cooperation Memorandum and Contract 

In a bid to promote SCU’s plan of 

actively cooperating with world- 

renowned universities, Vice-President 

Yan Shijing led a four-member delega- 

tion of officials concerned from the Inter- 

national Office and Academic Affairs Of- 

fice visited University of Pittsburgh (Pitt). 

From Jan. 9 th to 14 th , they also visited 

the Queens College of City University 

of New York, University of California, 

Davis, University of Southern Califor- 

nia, University of California, Irvine, and 

California State University, Long Beach 

(CSULB). 

During the visit to Pitt, Vice-President 

Yan and Pitt Executive Vice-President 

signed a comprehensive collaboration 

memorandum and agreed on the intention 

to establish a joint school. Both universi- 

ties agreed to step up mutual cooperation 

through establishing a joint school and 

they reached consensus on the preparation 

and work plan for the establishment of 

March. 8, 2012, President Xie 

Heping met with Mr. Malcolm 

McVicar, President of Univer- 

sity of Central Lancashire (UCL). Dur- 

ing this meeting, they discussed issues 

concerning future cooperation plans 

and signed a cooperation framework 

the joint school. In the coming March, Pitt 

Executive Vice-President will pay a visit to 

SCU and sign the contract to start the prep- 

aration work for the new school. The new 

college will enroll its first group of students 

in fall, 2013. 

The delegation’s journey was very 

fruitful. They signed the 2+2 and 3+2 

Joint Degree Program Agreement with 

the Queens College of City University of 

New York, which will soon kick off. They 

confirmed the plan for the 2+2 and 3+2 

Joint Degree Programs with University 

of California Davis and California State 

agreement. Vice-President Yan Shijing 

attended the meeting. Officials from 

the President’s Office, International 

Office, College of Architecture and 

Environment, College of Basic and 

Forensic Medicine, West China School 

of Pharmacy, School of History and 

University – Long Beach and will sign the 

project implementation agreement soon. 

They reached an agreement with Uni- 

versity of California, Irvine to continue 

SCU Mid-Level Administrator Training 

Program and Students’ Summer Camp. 

They formed agreement with University 

of Southern California to establish in 

cooperation the SCU Post-Disaster Re- 

construction College. They reached agree- 

ment with the College of Social Work, 

SCU to work together to build a platform 

for scientific research and recruitment. 

They reached agreement with the Vice- 

President of CSULB that CSULB would 

help train SCU teachers how to teach 

courses in English on a long term basis. 

The delegation also visited SCU stu- 

dents studying at Queens College, City 

University of New York, alumni work- 

ing at Pittsburgh University, and young 

teachers participating training programs 

at CUSLB. 

University of Central Lancashire Signed 

a Cooperation Framework Agreement With SCU 

C ooperation 

Culture attended the meeting. 

President Xie expressed warm wel- 

come to the delegation led by President 

McVicar and gave an overview of SCU. 

He pointed out SCU’s emphasis on the 

exchange and cooperation with top uni- 

versities in the world and academic train- 


23

24 

C ooperation 

ing based on international practices. Till 

now SCU has established good relation- 

ship with many well-known universities. 

Chengdu American Center for Study 

Abroad, which was already established 

on SCU campus, will provide academic 

exchange opportunities for American 

students to study in Central and West 

Canada-China Distance Learning 

Project for Primary-Care General 

Practitioner, co-sponsored by 

West China Center of Medicine, SCU 

and the Schulich School of Medicine 

and Dentistry at the University of West- 

ern Ontario (UWO), was launched on 

April 23. Mr. David Mulroney, the Ca- 

China. It will provide exchange service 

for competent students in central and 

west China. President Xie also hoped that 

both schools would start comprehensive 

cooperation in undergraduate and gradu- 

ate education, and that more students 

from the UK should come to study at 

SCU. 

President McVicar expressed sincere 

thanks to President Xie’s warm welcome. 

He said that he had visited China many 

times in the past 25 years and witnessed 

the rapid progress of higher education 

in China. Higher education has played a 

very important role in China’s overall de- 

velopment. A great university like SCU, 

with such a long history, a full range of 

academic disciplines, and great strength 

in research, made substantial contribu- 

tion to the overall development of China. 

President Malcolm McVIcar then intro- 

duced University of Central Lancashire, 

especially its progress in the education 

of international students. He sincerely 

hoped that UCL and SCU would set up a 

long-term stable friendly relationship to 

achieve a win-win situation. 

Finally President Xie and President 

McVicar signed a cooperation framework 

agreement, 

During his visit, the delegation led 

by President McVicar visited the SCU 

Museum, West China Campus, and the 

College of Foreign Languages and Cul- 

tures. 

Canada-China Distance Learning Project for 

Primary-Care General Practitioner Kicks off 


nadian Ambassador to China, Consul 

General Philippe Rheault, Director Shen 

Ji of Sichuan Provincial Department of 

Health, Vice-President Bu Hong of SCU, 

Dr. Janice Deakin, the Provost and Vice- 

President of UWO, Vice-President Julie 

McMullin of UWO, officials from the 

International Office and West China

Hospital, SCU, and representatives of the 

City of London, Canada and UWO at- 

tended the opening ceremony. Over 200 

general practitioners (GP) from primary 

care providers, including the urban com- 

munity health centers and rural health 

centers in Chengdu, No. 2 Hospital of 

Jintang County, and Guangyuan City 

Mental Health Center, took part in the 

workshop. 

Medical scholars from West China 

Hospital worked with Canadian medical 

experts to design the training plan for the 

primary care health workers. Innovative 

teaching approaches were used for the 

workshop. 

Background information of the Project 

Dr. Chen Zhu, the Chinese Minister 

China Stomatology Museum and 

the Museum of Dentistry and 

Medicine, Nippon Dental Uni- 

versity (NPU) signed a sister museum 

agreement on April 27 in Chengdu. Ap- 

proximately 160 faculty and students 

from West China School of Stomatol- 

ogy and NPU attended the signing cer- 

emony. Professor Zhou Xuedong, Di- 

rector of China Stomatology Museum, 

Vice-President of SCU, and Dean of the 

West China School of Stomatology, and 

Izumi Nakahara, President of NPU, 

of Health and Leona Aglukkag, the Ca- 

nadian Minister of Health, signed the 

Canada-China Health Cooperation Imple- 

mentation Plan for 2011-2014, paving the 

way for future cooperation between the two 

countries in health policy evaluation and 

GP training. Dr. Chen spoke highly of the 

cooperation between West China Hospital, 

SCU and the Schulich School of Medicine 

and Dentistry at UWO, expecting the co- 

operation to help improve the quality of 

healthcare in China. 

West China Hospital and the Schulich 

School of Medicine and Dentistry formed 

partnership three years ago. The two sides are 

both experienced in conducting medical educa- 

tion and service through remote systems. West 

China Hospital established its distance medical 

learning system based on video-conferencing 

and document transfer technology and its Re- 

signed the sister museum cooperation 

agreement. 

The National Museum of Dentistry, 

University of Maryland, the Museum of 

Dentistry and Medicine, NPU and Chi- 

mote Hospital Network now covers 500 plus 

hospitals in 14 provinces and cities. A regional 

collaborative medical service platform based on 

cloud computing was established, covering over 

50 hospitals. Desktop-to-desktop collaborative 

medical service and medical education are pro- 

vided through the platform. Hospitals covered 

by the information network platform can access 

continued medical education programs through 

the platform. 

China Stomatology Museum Signs Cooperation Agreement 

with the Museum of Dentistry and Medicine, 

Nippon Dental University 

na Stomatology Museum, SCU are the 

three largest museums of stomatology, 

boasting the largest collections and 

exhibits in the world. Communication, 

cooperation and mutual support are 

vitally important for the continuation 

of the cultural heritage of dentistry in 

the world. Vice-President Zhou shared 

with President Nakahara the wish for 

cherishing history, promoting friend- 

ship, working together to build a bright 

future and contributing to the develop- 

ment of stomatology. 

SUMMER 2012 


25

26 

C ooperation 

SCU Signs Cooperation Agreement 

with Feng Chia University 

President Xie Heping met with a del- 

egation from Feng Chia Univesity 

(Taiwan) in the morning of April 

16 th . Professor Yan Shijing, Vice-President 

of SCU and the officials from departments 

concerned also attended the meeting. 

President Xie extended welcome to the 

delegation from Feng Chia University. He 

gave the guests an overview of Sichuan 

University and said that SCU had always 

attached great importance to external 

cooperation and exchange and had al- 

ways been actively involved in cross-strait 

exchange and cooperation. SCU sincerely 

welcome students from Feng Chia Unver- 

sity to visit SCU and communicate with 

SCU students. He said that the two sides 

should reinforce academic exchange, in- 

teraction, cooperation and learning from 

U.S. president Barack Obama an- 

nounced “100,000 Strong” initia- 

tive in November 2009. 

In 2011, Chengdu Municipal Govern- 

ment and Sichuan University jointly set 

a Chengdu American Center for Study 

Abroad. 

The center is based in the No. 4 

Building, West China Campus, Sichuan 

University (SCU). The architecture is a 

landmark building incorporated in the 

National Cultural Relic Preservation Pro- 

each other so as to 

realize a win-win situa- 

tion for both sides. 

Mr. Pao-Long Chang, 

President of Feng Chia 

University, gave a brief 

overview of his univer- 

sity. President Chang 

said that SCU was a 

high-level research- 

oriented comprehensive 

university. Feng Chia 

University attached great importance to 

the cooperation and exchange with higher 

education institutions in the mainland. He 

looked forward to more bilateral coopera- 

tion, especially in student exchange pro- 

gram and research, so as to promote the 

mutual development of both universities. 

gram. 

The Center will provide academic 

exchange opportunities for American 

students to study in Central and West 

China. 

Sichuan University will spare no effort 

to support and promote the construction 

and development of the Center. SCU will 

provide the supportive infrastructure and 

teaching conditions for the Center. 

President Xie and President Chang 

signed the SCU-Feng Chia University 

Cooperation Agreements for Student 

Exchange Projects and Double Degree 

Programs. The agreements will definitely 

reinforce bilateral cooperation in student 

training and academic exchange. 

Chengdu American Center for Study Abroad 

Set up in Sichuan University 

Sichuan University Newsletter

2 nd International Conference 

on Frontiers of Plasmonics Held in SCU 

The Second International Confer- 

ence on Frontiers of Plasmonics, 

cohosted by SCU and Institute of 

Physics, Chinese Academy of Science, 

opened on April 8 th , 2012 in SCU. Mr. 

Tian Zhongqun, a member of the Chi- 

nese Academy of Science and member 

of the Standing Committee of the 11 th 

Chinese People’s Political Consultative 

Conference, and Professor Li Guangx- 

ian, Vice-President of SCU, attended the 

opening ceremony. Over 200 experts 

and scholars from Stanford University, 

Boston University, Lawrence Berkeley Na- 

tional Laboratory, Hong Kong University, 

Hong Kong Polytech University, Taiwan 

University, Peking University, Tsinghua 

University, Nanjing University, Fudan 

University, University of Science and 

Technology of China, Xiamen Univer- 

sity, and Wuhan University attended the 

opening ceremony. 

Professor Li Guangxian, Executive 

Vice-President of SCU, spoke at the 

conference. He extended a warm wel- 

come to Chinese and international 

participants of the conference and gave 

a brief overview of the history and 

development of SCU. He pointed out 

that the College of Physical Science 

and Technology, SCU was founded over 

eight decades ago and has an extensive 

range of academic and research pro- 

grams. The College of Physical Science 

and Technology developed rapidly and 

recruited a large number of top scien- 

tists, some of whom were members of 

the Chinese Academy of Science and 

the Chinese Academy of Engineering. 

He hoped that the conference would 

become an opportunity for the experts 

and scholars to communicate and hold 

dialogues, and that they would have 

thorough discussions on the relevant 

issues and help promote the in-depth 

and extensive development of the disci- 

pline. 

Approximately 20 senior experts and 

eminent scholars in the field were in- 

vited to attend the international confer- 

ence. They come from many different 

countries, including the United States, 

Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, South 

Korean, Sweden, Spain, Singapore and 

Israeal. During the 4-day conference, 

the participants had rigorous, serious, 

extensive and in-depth exchange and 

discussion on plasmonics. They gave 

invited speeches, oral presentations and 

poster presentations at the conference. 

The broad future and prospects for appli- 

cation and development of plasmonics 

were fully explored. 

C onferences 


27

28 

C onferences 

Bradford RCUK Science Bridges China: 

2 nd Research Workshop on Advanced Materials for 

Healthcare and Inauguration Ceremony of UK-China 

Advanced Materials Research Institute held at SCU 

Bradford RCUK Science Bridges 

China: 2 nd Research Workshop 

on Advanced Materials for 

Healthcare and the inauguration cere- 

mony of UK-China Advanced Materials 

Research Institute were held on April 

20 and 21, 2012. State Key Laboratory 

of Polymer Materials Engineering of 

China, SCU and the Interdisciplinary 

Research Centre in Polymer Science 

and Technology (Polymer IRC), Univer- 

sity of Bradford, the United Kingdom 

co-sponsored the conference. Over 

50 scholars from British and Chinese 

universities and research institutes at- 

tended the opening ceremony. 

The theme of the conference is the 

preparation and processing of ad- 

vanced medical materials. Professor 

Phil Coates, Fellow of the Royal Acad- 

emy of Engineering, of the University 

of Bradford and Professor Wang Qi, 

SCU professor, recipient of funding 

from Changjiang Scholars Program, 

and Chief Scientist of the Project 985 

Polymer and Special Functional Materi- 

als Platform, co-chaired the conference. 

Professor Xu Xi, member of the 

Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), 

and Professor Li Guangxian, Execu- 

tive Vice-President of SCU spoke at the 

opening ceremony. They both extended 


congratulations for the successful orga- 

nization of the conference and the es- 

tablishment of the UK-China Advanced 

Materials Research Institute. 

Based on the theme of the confer- 

ence, the participants shared informa- 

tion on the latest development of ad- 

vanced medical materials and carefully 

studied the hot issues and advanced 

technologies in the field of biomedical 

materials. 

The inauguration ceremony of the 

UK-China Advanced Materials Research 

Institute was held during the confer- 

ence, symbolizing the official establish- 

ment of the institute in SCU. 

Introduction of UK-China Advanced Materials 

Research Institute 

UK-China Advanced Materials Research 

Institute integrates the strengths of Chinese 

and British scholars in the field of advanced 

materials preparation and processing. It 

has been proposed that the institute focus 

on the critical problems and questions in 

biomedical materials science and technol- 

ogy at the initial stage. Scholars from the 

two countries will work together on research 

projects through multidisciplinary coopera- 

tion, exchange visits for academic purposes, 

and regular academic communications. The 

institute has a Chinese director, Professor Li 

Guangxian of SCU, and a British Director, 

Professor Phil Coates of the University of 

Bradford. Core Chinese member institutions 

include SCU, Beijing University of Chemi- 

cal Technology, Institute of Chemistry, CAS, 

Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, 

CAS, and Shanghai Institute of Materia 

Medica (SIMM), CAS. Core member insti- 

tutions on the British side include Univer- 

sity of Bradford, University of Sheffield, 

and University of Durham. The institute 

will become a platform for cooperation 

between China and the UK in the field of 

the preparation, processing and application 

of advanced medical materials, thus pro- 

moting the academic communication and 

cooperation in research between China 

and the UK and helping build up Chinese 

scholars’ academic reputation and capacity 

for doing innovative research.

SCU Hosts 8 th Cross-Taiwan Straits Symposium 

on Public Administration 

The 8 th Cross-Taiwan Straits Sym- 

posium on Public Administra- 

tion, hosted by SCU, was held in 

Chengdu on April 5 and 6. President Xie 

Heping, Executive Vice-President Luo 

Zhongshu, Vice-President Shi Jian, and 

Vice-President Yan Shijing attended the 

symposium. Over 300 participants, in- 

cluding more than 140 eminent experts 

and scholars from Hong Kong, Macau, 

Taiwan and Mainland China, attended 

the symposium. The symposium is fo- 

cused on social management and public 

service. Forums and sessions were orga- 

nized to discuss the key issues, e.g., ur- 

banization and public governance, coor- 

Co-sponsored by the Interna- 

tional Confucian Association 

(ICA), Confucius-Mencius 

Society of China, SCU and National 

Taiwan University, 2012 Cross Strait 

Symposium on Confucianism opened 

in Chengdu on May 19. The sympo- 

sium was cohosted by the Interna- 

tional Confucian Institute, SCU and 

the Confucian Studies Center, an 

important research center for philoso- 

phy and social sciences in Sichuan. 

The symposium is focused on the 

practical application of Confucian- 

ism, aiming to promote cross-strait 

academic exchange, bring the academ- 

ic discussion on Confucianism to a 

dination of rural and urban development 

and public service, social governance and 

public policies, government transforma- 

tion and development of civil society, 

social development and social manage- 

ment, etc. 

higher level, and disseminate the her- 

itage of traditional Chinese culture. 

Scholars from Taiwan and mainland 

China had thorough exchange and 

discussions on various topics, e.g., 

the social concern and pragmatism of 

Confucianism, pragmatic philosophy 

Cross-Taiwan Straits Symposium 

on Public Administration provides a 

platform for Chinese scholars to have 

academic exchange and collaboration to 

study the major academic and practical 

issues in the field of public administra- 

tion. The first round of the symposium 

was held in 2005 and by now eight 

rounds have been held. The symposium 

is bearing growing influence on the pub- 

lic administration researchers in Hong 

Kong, Macau, Taiwan and Mainland 

China by increasing mutual understand- 

ing among them. It has become an im- 

portant annual meeting and platform in 

the field. 

SCU Hosts 2012 Cross Strait Symposium 

on Confucianism 

of Confucian classics and renowned 

Confucian scholars in history, the 

ideology of pragmatism in Ming and 

Qing Dynasties, modern interpretation 

of Confucian pragmatism, and the im- 

plication of classical Confucian ideas 

for today’s politics, economy, educa- 

tion, ethics, society and international 

relations. Over 50 experts of Confucian 

studies from Taiwan and mainland 

China attended the opening ceremony. 

Zhao Yiwu, Executive Vice President of 

ICA, and Sun Zhen, Executive Vice Di- 

rector of the Confucius-Mencius Soci- 

ety of China attended the meeting. Vice 

President Yan Shijing of SCU delivered 

an address at the opening ceremony. 

SUMMER 2012 


29

30 

S tudy Abroad 

SCU Young Teachers’ Overseas Training and 

International Exchange Program held at ASU 

2011 SCU Young Teachers Language 

Training and Academic Exchange 

Program was launched at ASU 

on Jan. 8 th , 2012. 24 teachers from the 

science and engineering departments 

and the Business School participated in 

a four-week training and academic ex- 

change program at Arizona State Univer- 

sity (ASU). 

This project is an important compo- 

nent of SCU Faculty International Train- 

ing Project. By sending young faculty 

members to study overseas, SCU hopes 

The first round of the China-EU 

High-level People to People Dia- 

logue Forum (HDDP) was held on 

April 18, 2012 in Brussels. The announce- 

ment for HDDP was made at the 14 th EU- 

China Summit in February, 2012 in an 

attempt to boost China-EU friendly rela- 

tions. State Councilor Liu Yandong at- 

tended the forum and delivered a speech 

at the opening ceremony. Vice Minister 

of Education Hao Ping, officials from the 

General Office, State Council, Ministry 

of Education, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 

Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Sci- 

ence and Technology, and the presidents 

of over a dozen top Chinese universities 

also attended HDDP. 

Dr. Li Jinke, a young scholar from 

the No. 2 Hospital, West China Center 

to build up a high-level 

and competitive teaching 

team. 

ASU highly valued 

this project and made 

elaborate preparation and 

warm reception. Besides 

providing the 24 SCU 

teachers with professional 

language training, ASU 

also organized academic symposiums, 

course-auditing, and academic exchange 

activities. Participants took this valuable 

of Medicine, SCU, was invited to attend 

HPPD. He was among the few visiting 

Chinese scholars to have received the 

invitation. At the forum and in the so- 

cial function afterwards, Dr. Li engaged 

in lively discussions with the other par- 

ticipants, talking with young European 

scholars about the present and future 

of China-EU relations and discussing 

with the presidents of Chinese univer- 

sities ways to attract European students 

to study in China. He also introduced 

the history and spectacular success of 

SCU to scholars from China and Eu- 

rope. 

Dr. Li said that the most important 

thing he learned at the forum was that, 

faced with the inevitable trend of in- 

creasing cultural exchange, SCU should 

opportunity to build a good foundation 

for international scientific and academic 

exchange and research. 

Young MD from the No. 2 Hospital of SCU 

Attends High Level Forum in Brussels 


grab the opportunity to reinforce co- 

operation and exchange with Europe. 

State Councilor Liu announced at the 

forum that in the next couple of years 

China would offer scholarships to over 

30,000 students from Europe. Dr. Li 

believed that SCU had great strengths 

in many areas. The school enjoyed gen- 

erous government support from Proj- 

ect 985 and Project 211, two national 

education projects aimed at boosting 

the international reputation of top Chi- 

nese universities. In addition, SCU had 

a comprehensive range of disciplines 

and multidisciplinary programs thanks 

to its cultural heritage of tolerance and 

comprehensiveness. Therefore, more and 

more young people from Europe should 

visit SCU for study or exchange.

15 th February, 2012 

Hong Kong University Vice-President Visits 

SCU. 

24 th April, 2012 

I-Shou University President Visits SCU 

.President Xie Heping received a delegation 

headed by Dr. Jei-Fu Shaw, President 

of I-Shou University. 

29 th February, 2012 

Vice-Rector Sergey Knyazev of Ural State 

University visits SCU. 

24 th April, 2012 

Delegation from Queen Mary, University 

of London Visits SCU. Professor Li 

Guangxian, Executive Vice-President of 

SCU, welcomed a delegation headed by 

Professor Jeremy Kilburn, Vice-Principal 

of Queen Mary, University of London. 

5 th May, 2012 

Students from Department of Russian, 

College of Foreign Languages and 

Cultures Attends Spring in Ural International 

University Student Festival in 

Russia. 

11 st April, 2012 

Delegation from the Alliance of Elite 

Schools of Research and Advanced Studies 

in Central and Loire Valley Regions 

Visits SCU. 

24 th April, 2012 

B rief News 

Delegation from University of Western 

Ontario Visits SCU. 


31

32 

B rief News 

27 th April, 2012 

Delegation from Singapore Management 

University Visits SCU. 

8 th May, 2012 

Vice-President Yan Shijing Meets Delegation 

from the University of Macau 

Graduate School. 


5 th May, 2012 

President Xie Heping Meets Professor 

Kuotsai Tom Liou, President of American 

Society of Public Administration and 

Awards Guest Professorship to Him. 

9 th May, 2012 

Professor Ann Mills, Vice Director for 

Academic Affairs, London School of Hygiene 

& Tropical Medicine visits SCU. Executive 

Vice-President Li Hong received 

Professor Mills and her delegation. 

22 nd May, 2012 

Eastern New Mexico University President 

Dr. Steven Gamble Speaks at SCU. 

7 th May, 2012 

Chinese and Foreign Participants of Sino- 

Europe Symposium “Post-Lisbon-Era EU 

in Global Context: Implications for Non- 

European Regions” Visit SCU. 

19 th May, 2012 

Youth Delegation headed by Ms. 

Kamala•Roka, Nepali Congresswoman 

and former Minister of Ministry of Youth 

and Sports, Visits SCU.

2012 

SCU-Hokkaido University 

Exchange Day 

Celebrated in SCU 

On March 30, 2012, 2012 SCU- 

Hokkaido University Exchange 

Day was celebrated at SCU. 

Professor Yan Shijing, Vice-President of 

SCU, Mr. Hongdoh Taheo, Vice-President 

of Hokkaido University, Mr. Sasaki Ma- 

moru, Director of the Beijing Office, 

Japan Society for the Promotion of Sci- 

ence, and the leading officials from the 

departments concerned of SCU attended 

the activity. 42 faculty members and stu- 

dents from Hokkaido University and 250 

faculty members and students from SCU 

also joined the activity. 

Mr. Nozawa Toshitaka, Director of 

the Beijing Office of Hokkaido University 

and Ms. Ren Wen, Vice Dean of the Col- 

lege of Foreign Languages and Cultures, 

SCU, co-hosted the opening ceremony. 

Vice-President Yan delivered a speech 

at the opening ceremony. He extended 

a warm welcome to Vice-President Ta- 

heo and his delegation. He said that 

2012 marked the 40 th anniversary of the 

C ampus 

resumption of a normal Sino-Japan rela- 

tionship. As a result, the SCU-Hokkaido 

University Exchange Day activity has 


33

34 

C ampus 

acquired special meanings for the 

special occasion. SCU and Hokkaido 

University signed cooperation agree- 

ment in 2009. The two schools have 

had intensive exchange and coopera- 

tion in various academic and research 

programs since then and have ac- 

complished some delightful success. 

SCU, a prestigious research-oriented 

comprehensive university, has a history 

of over 100 years. Hokkaido University 

shares SCU’s long history. The partner- 

ship between the two schools creates 

a win-win situation for both sides and 

will definitely lead to a platform of ex- 

tensive development in the future for 

both schools. Vice-President Yan said 

that he looked forward to further con- 

solidation of the friendship between 

the two schools, more cooperation, and 

mutual trust, benefit and development. 

He said that the two schools should co- 

sponsor the SCU- Hokkaido University 

Exchange Day activity in the future, and 

that it should be held in Hokkaido the 

next year. 

In his speech, Vice-President Taheo 

expressed his appreciation for the hos- 

pitality extended by SCU. He said that 

2012 marked the 40 th anniversary of 

the resumption of a normal Sino-Japan 

relationship. As a result, the Chinese 

Government and the Japanese Govern- 

ment have decided to honor 2012 as 

the Year of Exchange and Friendship 

between Chinese and Japanese People. 

He hoped that the exchange between 

students and researchers of the two 

schools would help increase exchange 

and enhance understanding between 

the two schools. 

Mr. Sasaki Mamoru, Director of the 

Beijing Office, Japan Society for the 

Promotion of Science, said that the 

partnership between SCU and Hok- 

kaido University had great significance. 


Two faculty members of SCU, Pro- 

fessor Gao Hong and Mr. Zhao Chang- 

sheng, who were both Hokkaido Uni- 

versity alumni, also made interesting 

and humorous speeches about their 

experience of studying at Hokkaido 

University. 

In the afternoon, 42 faculty mem- 

bers and students from Hokkaido 

University talked with the students and 

faculty of matching specialties from 

the School of Economics and seven 

other schools and colleges of SCU. In 

addition, the teachers from the Beijing 

Office of Hokkaido University held an 

information session on programs for 

international students at Hokkaido 

University. 

The celebratory event of SCU-Hokkai- 

do University Exchange Day was the first 

large-scale exchange activity held since 

2009 when SCU and Hokkaido Univer- 

sity signed the cooperation agreement. 

The event reinforced the exchange and 

cooperation in education and research 

between the two schools, cemented the 

friendship between them and promoted 

communication and exchange between 

the students and faculties of the two 

school. It also provided an opportunity 

for the two school to have further coop- 

eration on the basis of existing coopera- 

tion projects, deepened and expanded 

the fields of cooperation, and contrib- 

uted to the mutually-beneficial develop- 

ment of the two schools.

Jazz Lab Ensemble, 

Ball State University Performs at SCU 

The Jazz Lab Ensemble of Ball State 

University, the United States vis- 

ited SCU and staged an authentic 

concert of vocal and instrumental jazz 

music for thousands of SCU faculties 

and students in the evening of May 15. 

The band performed 10 plus songs of dif- 

ferent styles, mesmerizing SCU faculties 

and students with the absolute beauty of 

their music. 

The Jazz Lab Ensemble enjoys the 

reputation of being one of the best col- 

legiate bands in the United States. The 

band tours throughout the United States 

and Europe and has received numerous 

awards. The band has also performed 

with lots of famous guest artists. 

SCU Holds 3 rd International Cup for 

International Students in Medical School 

The international students in the West China Center of Medicine 

organized the 3 rd International Cup, a sports meet, from April 

15 to May 1. The athletic event has always been the international 

students’ favorite activity. 300 international students from 15 countries 

took part in various kinds of ball games including basketball, soccer, vol- 

leyball, badminton, and ping-pong, and other fun sports games in two 

weeks. The competition and teamwork generated by the event helped 

bridge the gap between different nationalities, ethnicities and cultures, 

bring the students closer to each other and strengthen friendship. It also 

enriched students’ life and SCU’s campus culture. 

Staffs of the International Students Office attended and hosted the 

opening ceremony and joined the international students in lots of 

fun sports activities. 

SUMMER 2012 


35

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