On October 7th, HUST and The University of Texas at Austin (hereinafter called UT-Austin) renewed an agreement via video conference to continue the joint efforts of co-establishing the International Joint Research Laboratory of Magnetic Confinement Fusion and Plasma Physics (IFPP). The agreement deepens the respective institutions cooperation on nuclear fusion research and establishes the framework for the both sides to identify and explore new areas of collaboration. The attendees were Chen Jianguo, Vice President of HUST, Sonia Feigenbaum, Senior Vice Provost for Global Engagement and Chief International Officer of UT-Austin, Daniel Jaffe, Vice President for Research of UT-Austin, and members from the Offices of International Affairs and relevant schools and institutes on both sides.
Chen began his opening remarks by praising the two sides’ decades-long cooperation and their outstanding achievements in nuclear fusion research, especially IFPP. “The signing ceremony is both a harvest of the past and a stepping stone into the future. It is hoped that the two parties would continue to collaborate with open-mind, mutual respect and understanding, to seek more common ground, to learn and to inspire from each other, and ultimately to make greater contributions to the social well-being and scientific progress of the mankind”, he said.
Sonia Feigenbaum expressed the same sentiment, pointing out that the renewal of the agreement demonstrates the confidence and willingness for the parties to continue their cooperation. Just as the motto of UT-Austin says, “What starts here changes the world.”, Sonia Feigenbaum said that the researchers and students of two sides have been devoted to making changes by promoting the cutting-edge science and participating in the international Big Science project.
Following Ms. Feigenbaum’s remarks, Chen Zhongyong, Deputy Director of the Institute of Fusion and Plasma Research of HUST, reviewed the fruitful collaborations of building the J-TEXT laboratory so far. Kenneth W. Gentle, Director of the Fusion Research Center of UT-Austin then extended his best wishes to the laboratory as the main facilitator. Later, Chen Jie, Director of the Office of International Affairs, introduced HUST’s cooperation programs for global partners. Liu Rong, Deputy Director of the Office of Research and Development of HUST, Ding Yonghua, Director of the Institute of Fusion and Plasma Research of HUST, Daniel Jaffe, Vice President for Research of UT-Austin, and Pablo Laguna, Chair of Physics Department of UT-Austin, all exchanged their views on the ensuing cooperation.
Founded in 1883, The University of Texas at Austin is a public research university and one of the initial eight "Public Ivy" universities. It is ranked 38th among national universities according to U.S. News & World Report's 2021 rankings, with its electric engineering, computer science, engineering science and business courses consistently at the top of the world rankings. HUST formally established a cooperative partnership with UT-Austin in 2002 when the two sides signed a university memorandum of understanding followed by server other agreements on scientific research, personnel exchange and laboratory construction. Recent years have seen more frequent personnel exchanges and in-depth cooperation between the two universities in the fields of electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and materials science.
Written by: Ye Jingyi
Edited by: Li Ruiyao, Andrew, Peng Yumeng
Chinese
