On August 29th, US Eastern Time, invited by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), Prof. Yan Xiao , Prof. Simon Hu, and Prof. Cristoforo Demartino, of the Energy, Environment and Infrastructure Sciences (EEIS) program visited UIUC, communicated with relevant peers on cooperation issues, and held a seminar on sustainable systems. Prof. Tingju Zhu and Prof. Binbin Li participated in the discussion remotely.

Sustainability is an important area of interdisciplinary research at ZJUI Institute. EEIS professors initiated the CROSS-Center for Research On Sustainable Systems, which aims to move from macro ecosystems to micro-specific projects and the structure focuses on the frontier issues of science and society that sustainable development faces. The Department of Civil Engineering of ZJUI and UIUC jointly held a seminar on environmental energy sustainable development. The main participants of the conference included Prof. Benito Marinas, Director of the Department of Civil Engineering, UIUC, James M. Lafave, Associate Dean of the Department of Civil Engineering, UIUC, Prof. Kuan Chong Ting, Vice Dean of the International Campus, Zhejiang University, Prof. Philip Krein, Executive Dean of ZJUI, and more than 20 professors of UIUC Grainger College of Engineering. The seminar focused on the theme of environmental and energy sustainable development, and exchanged a series of questions on the most advanced scientific research, student training, and ZJUI laboratory construction, transportation and environment of civil environmental engineering. The seminar also included academic leaders from various UIUC research centers, including the Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure System Program, the Smart Transportation Infrastructure Initiative, and Energy-Water-Environment sustainability program. At the seminar, the representatives of both sides clarified the direction of the next phase of academic research and student training cooperation, laying the foundation for further deeper cooperation between the two sides.

ZJUI junior civil engineering students and some UIUC students have also participated in the seminar. ZJUI’s students reported the SRTP research results in the seminar, which was well received by the professors. According to the cooperation agreement signed by ZJU-UIUC, Prof. Tingju Zhu and Prof. Simon Hu, Civil Engineering Department of ZJUI, will conduct a four-month academic exchange in UIUC to further facilitate the research and teaching collaborations.

Professors from both sides discuss sustainable development of environmental energy

ZJUI junior students report SRTP research results

Prof. Simon Hu (left) Prof. Yan Xiao (middle) Prof. Cristoforo Demartino(right) Photographed in front of UIUC Civil Engineering Laboratory

Group photo of participants