Focusing on Clean Energy Innovation in China and Britain

The 2018 Sino-UK Symposium on Advanced Materials and Structures&UK-China Partnership Forum in Thermoelectrics for Clean Energy Was Held in NPU

The 2018 Sino-UK Symposium on Advanced Materials and Structures & UK-China Partnership Forum in Thermoelectrics for Clean Energy which was jointly hosted by British Embassy, Beijing, Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU), Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) andXi’an National Civil Aerospace Industrial Base successfully took place in International Conference Center of NPU on November 5, 2018. More than 50 internationally renowned experts and scholars have delivered academic reports and held in-depth discussions on the topics of thermoelectric materials and clean energy.

The meeting was hosted by Prof. Jie Kong, Dean of QMUL Engineering School, NPU. Vice President Weihong Zhang of NPU attended the meeting and delivered a welcome speech to show appreciation to the prestigious experts and scholars presented. The official operation of QMUL Engineering School, NPU, International Centre for Teaching and Learning (ICTL), NPU-QMUL Joint Research Institute of Advanced Materials and Structures has built a solid foundation for the success of this meeting. And at the times of 80th anniversary of NPU, QMUL and NPU signed the letter of intent for dual master degrees programme.A long-term, systematic and sustainable mechanism of deep cooperation between the two universities has been established in teaching, scientific research, discipline development and other areas.

At the opening ceremony, Mr. Alasdair Hamilton, First Secretary & Head of Science & Innovation of British Embassy, Beijing and Lei Li, Deputy Director of Xi'an National Civil Aerospace Industrial Base Management Committee, expressed warm congratulations on the convening of this conference. Mr. Alasdair Hamilton elaborated British new policies and development directions in scientific innovation, achievement transformation, and etc. He said the British Embassy, Beijing would continuously support NPU in UK-China bilateral scientific research cooperation. Deputy Director Lei Li made a detailed introduction to Xi’an National Civil Aerospace Industrial Base. He expressed the wish to build international cooperation relationships with NPU and QMUL.

During the opening ceremony, Professor Vassili Toropov, Vice Chairman of the International C ongress of Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, Chairman of British Society of Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, as well as Professor Maria-Magdalena Titirici, a member of Royal Society of Chemistry, Chief Professor of Sustainable Chemistry of QMUL, were appointed respectively as NPU’s Consultant Professor and Adjunct Professor.

After the opening ceremony, Vice President Weihong Zhang met with representatives from British Embassy, Beijing in the Third Conference Room of the International Conference Center. Both sides discussed profoundly on Sino-UK cooperation in scientific research and innovation.

During the seminar on November 6th, more than 20 professors and experts in advanced materials and structures from QMUL, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Lanzhou University,Central South University,Henan Polytechnic University, University of Chester, Loughborough University and NPU were invited to give presentations and reports onthermoelectric materials and clean energy.

Experts from China and the UK put forward a series of foreword topics and innovative development directions. The meeting provided a new platform for in-depth exchanges and cooperation between China and the UK in the field of advanced materials and thermoelectric clean energy, which would further serve the national development strategies of China and the UK.

(Reporter / Jiannan Du Fei Chen Yang Li ; Photo / Youjun Guo Yuanting Li; Reviewer / Jie Kong)