Delegation from Texas A&M Visit

From March 4^th to 6^th, a US delegation from College of Geosciences, Texas A&M University, paid a special visit to our school. The delegation of five, led by Dean Prof. Kate Miller, consists of Prof. Jack Baldauf, Executive Associate Dean, Prof. Piers Chapman, Head of Department of Oceanography, Prof. Steve Dimarco as well as Prof. Brendan Roark, who were warmly attended by their counterparts from the School of Ocean and Earth Science include Academician Wang Pinxian, Dean of the school Prof. Jian Zhimin, Director of the SKL of Marine Geology Prof. Liu Zhifei and other school faculty members. Both parties exchanged information on representative research domains, discussed potential cooperation of program and talent exchanges, and the launch of a holistic win-win partnership. Director of the university’s foreign affairs office Prof. Li Zhenyu also presented to the guests an overview of Tongji’s international collaboration.

During the three-day visit, the two parties introduced the overall development of their schools, exchanged ideas of their common interests such as discipline development and professional education, and of the latest progresses of ocean observing and the international ocean drilling program(IODP) concerning equipment and technological development, international collaboration, research achievements and so on. They also elaborated on the upcoming IODP 349 cruise which would be cohosted by two chief scientists, Prof. Lin Jian from U.S. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Prof. Li Chunfeng from our School.

Both parties agreed that this visit had great significance for carrying out future bilateral cooperation. Generated by separated group discussions on ocean observing and IODP, the two schools sorted out priorities and worked out a roadmap for the partnership:         a steering committee would be established as soon as possible with leadership confirmed, and both parties would exchange relevant information of research talents for the sake of better understanding of each other’s research interests and strengths. Consensuses were also reached on conducting joint scientific research programs and student exchange programs, holding workshops, etc.

The delegation also paid visits to the university’s history gallery, the State Key Laboratory, its affiliated science museum Undersea, as well as the school’s ocean center located in the city’s Nanhui area which is still under construction.

Texas A&M University enjoys a very prominent reputation in international geosciences, especially in marine sciences. Its base for the famous ODP/IODP program has made numerous breakthroughs in marine scientific researches. This visit helps open the door for research and talent cooperation between the two sides in the areas of ocean observing and ocean drilling, and forge a deep and comprehensive partnership, which will further enhance the internationalization of our school and the SKL as well, keeping them remain at the world scientific frontier.