TJU-NIMS Joint Research Center Inaugurated at TJU

The Inaugural Meeting of TJU-NIMS Joint Research Center (TNJRC) was held at Tianjin University (TJU) on September 29th. TNJRC will focus on the research, development and application of advanced functional materials for energy and environment. It will gradually develop into a world leading center for the research on materials science and talents training and is the first overseas joint research center established by NIMS (National Institute for Materials Science), Japan.

TJU President Li Jiajun and NIMS President Sukekatsu Ushioda addressed the inaugural meeting and unveiled TNJRC together. President Li then conferred the certificates of TJU Adjunct Professorship and Guest Professorship upon five experts from NIMS. Afterwards, Executive Vice Party Secretary Yang Xianjin and NIMS Vice President Junichi Sone presented an overview of TJU and NIMS respectively. Also in attendance were over 100 representatives from the School of Materials Science and Engineering, the Graduate School and the International Cooperation Office. The meeting was hosted by Dean Cui Zhenduo from the School of Materials Science and Engineering of TJU.

In his address, President Li extended his warm welcome to the guests from NIMS and his congratulations on the establishment of TNJRC. He also expressed his hope that TNJRC, with extensive talent exchanges and research collaboration, could develop into a significant research and training platform in the field of materials sciences between Japan and China. President Ushioda stated that NIMS valued very much this innovative and substantial cooperation with TJU. TJU is the first University in China with outstanding research in the field of materials sciences and the powerful alliances of TJU and NIMS would help to solve the major problems in the fields of energy and environment of the two countries and possibly even the world.

Executive Vice Party Secretary Yang indicated that the establishment of TNJRC was a significant attempt for TJU to develop in-depth cooperation with the world’s leading institutes and establish international strategic alliances for innovation. It is also an important measure in implementing TJU’s internationalization strategy. NIMS, with its high-level research ability and innovative ideas and methods, will accelerate the development of such disciplines as Materials Science and Engineering, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Environmental Science of TJU. The aim of TNJRC is to become the best materials research center in Japan and China, and one of the best in the world within five years.

Professor Ye Jinhua, Director of TNJRC, pointed out that energy shortage and environmental damage are common issues and challenges in the world. The advantage of the research on advanced functional materials for energy and environment is in its solutions to the environmental issues without additional energy by turning wastes products into new energy. TNJRC, through the research on the four key materials including photo-catalytic, metal catalytic, mesoporous and geotechnical materials, contributes to the sustainable development of energy and environment in respect to materials science. Both TJU and NIMS are committed to developing TNJRC into a world leader of science & technology, a world-opinion leader in academic and industry as well as a platform for training world-class scientists.

After the ceremony, the delegation, accompanied by the representatives from the School of Materials Science and Engineering, visited the labs of TNJRC, the TJU History Museum and the Research Center for Micro-nano Manufacturing and Measuring Technology.

TJU is strong in engineering with a wide range of engineering disciplines. The discipline of Materials Science and Engineering is a national key discipline, covering such areas as materials, physics & chemistry of materials and materials processing. In recent years, with close attention to the national strategic needs and the focus on international frontiers, the School of Materials Science and Engineering has made a series of high-level achievements in regards to the materials for energy and environment in addition to composite and functional materials.

NIMS, located in Tsukuba Science City of Japan, is one of the world’s leading materials research institutes under the administration of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan. The latest statistics shows that NIMS ranks No. 4 in the world in terms of the number of its published theses and citations of its articles. NIMS actively promotes its internationalization strategy by recruiting outstanding young scientists from around the world by providing advantageous working and living conditions, and developing various forms of cooperative relationships with renowned universities and institutes.

The cooperation between NIMS and TJU can be traced back beyond ten years. According to incomplete statistics, so far, ten TJU personnel have been to NIMS for study or research. Of these, six have come back to work at the School of Materials Science and Engineering of TJU. In October 2010, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the School of Materials Science and Engineering of TJU and Photo-catalytic Materials Center of NIMS. With the establishment of TNJRC, NIMS will dispatch its researchers to TNJRC to work and joint supervise TJU postgraduate students, and TJU will also dispatch related personnel to TNJRC for joint research.