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The 2nd “Research on Art, Religion and History in Asia” Summer Seminar Held
June 24, 2012 - July 2, 2011, "Asian art, religion and historical research" summer seminar was successfully held at Fudan University. The seminar was co-sponsored by Fudan University Literature and History Research Institute, Princeton University Department of East Asian Studies and University of Tokyo Institute of Oriental Culture.
A total number of 28 doctoral and graduate students attended the summer seminar. Among the participants, 14 were from Fudan University, Shanghai University, Shanghai Normal University, and other colleges and universities in Shanghai area, and the other 14 from overseas universities, such as Princeton University, Harvard University, the University of Oxford, etc.
The seminar provided six discussion courses. Courses of cultural history include “Comparison between Nagasaki and Guangzhou in Pre-modern Period” given by Professor Haneda masashi from University of Tokyo Institute of Oriental Culture, and “A History of Science and Technology and A History of Ideas in East Asia" given by Professor Elman from Princeton University Department of East Asian. Courses of religion history include "From Vulgar to Holy: Medieval Taoist Ritual” given by Professor Ge Zhaoguang from Fudan University Literature and History Research Institute, and “Dunhuang Literature and Chinese history of Buddhism” given by Professor Taishi Wen from Princeton University Department of East Asian. Courses of art history include "Entertainment and being immortal – drawing of flowers and birds in tombs of Tang Dynasty” given by Professor Li Xingming from Fudan University Literature and History Research Institute, and “Viewing Late Ming Jiangnan Society and Culture by Studying Feng Menglong." given by Professor Ooki Yasushi from Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo.
The seminar this year spent more time on discussion and communication between Chinese and foreign students. In addition to the discussion after the courses, the organizers also arranged two hours for discussion in the evening with teachers of courses given in daytime. In addition, the organizers also make arrangements for a three-day study tour. For this year, University of Tokyo Institute of Oriental Culture joined the seminar as one of the organizers. In the meantime, the curriculum was better developed, and the study tours were richer. As a result, the seminar attracted students from more disciplines.
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Fudan-UC Joint Research Center for Contemporary Chinese Studies Established
Forum on “Methods and Research Areas of Contemporary Chinese Studies”, as well as the opening ceremony of Fudan-UC Joint Research Center for Contemporary Chinese Studies, was held on July 2. Prof. LIN Shangli, Vice President of Fudan University, gave an address at the press conference.
Prof. LIN said that the purpose of the establishment of the joint center was to promote the collaborative research between Chinese and American scholars on the development of Sino-US relations, and the center would be an important international platform to absorb those who are interested in Chinese studies. Fudan University will give full support to the operation of the joint center.
Dr. Christopher Connery, Professor from School of Humanities, University of California, Santa Cruze, and Director of the Liaison Office of the University of California in Shanghai, read the congratulatory letter at the press conference on behalf of Principal of UC.
After the conference, Prof. PENG Xizhe, Dean of Fudan University Institute of Social Development and Public Policy, Professor Richard Madsen from Department of Sociology, U C San Diego, Professor ZHANG Jun from Fudan School of Economics, and Professor YAN Yunxiang from Department of Anthropology, UC Los Angeles gave representations on the forum.
The joint research center will serve as a window for North America to see the research results achieved in Chinese social sciences and for Americans to better understand Chinese society and the development of modern China. The center hopes to attract more American students to study at Fudan.
The first director of the joint center will be a professor from University of California, and a professor from Fudan University will be deputy director. The central office is located at University of California, San Diego. The center will be officially put into operation in the fall of 2012.
Related Links: http://fddi.fudan.edu.cn/index.php?c=article&a=show&aid=170
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Fudan and Duke Sign Memorandum of Cooperation
July 16, 2012, Prof. GUI YongHao, Vice President of Fudan University and Dean of Shanghai Medical College, and Prof. Michael Merson, Vice President of Duke University and Director of Duke Global Health Institute, signed Fudan-Duke Strategic Partnership Memorandum of Cooperation in Global Health at the Durham campus of Duke university. This was the further confirmation of establishing the strategic cooperation in the field of global health between two universities based on the cooperation in the past five years.
Health issues have already become critical challenges to the world; therefore, maintaining healthy has become a global responsibility. Taking an active role in prediction, prevention and improvement of global health is not only beneficial to the national health status, but is also influential to the economy and safety of a country. Strengthening global cooperation in the field of health is an important part of fulfilling our responsibilities in global health, which sets its goal as improving health standard, realizing worldwide fairness in health treatment, focusing on the cross-border health issues and their determinants and solutions, encouraging cooperation among different disciplines, as well as between prevention and clinical treatment.
Fudan-Duke Strategic Partnership Memorandum of Cooperation in Global Health is aimed at reducing the difference in health status of different people through research, education, and training. The program emphasizes on the cooperation and innovative research in global health, providing data for national health policies and best practice. Through Academic research and other educational activities, the program will cultivate researchers and practitioners in this field. In the process of enhancing the communication between the researchers and scholars in China and other Asian and African Countries on global health issues, the program will play a leading role in providing support and service for policy-making, which is to guarantee the enhancement of national health system and implementation of effective public health interventions.
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“Fudan-Harvard Summer School Program 2012 " Successfully Concluded
Under the joint effort of Harvard University and Fudan University, “Fudan-Harvard Summer School Program 2012” came to a successful conclusion on August 10, 2012
The program started from June 18, 2012. This year witnessed the third summer school program run jointly by the two universities since 2009, as well as the first one held on Fudan medical campus. A number of 15 students from Harvard University came to Shanghai either by self-application or university recommendation, taking eight-week course study and laboratory training together with 16 outstanding undergraduates selected from Fudan. All of them will earn credits from Harvard University or Fudan University.
Three courses were included in “Fudan-Harvard Summer School Program 2012”, including “Supervised Laboratory Research in the Life Sciences” taught by Dr. Alain Viel from Harvard Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and 13 professors from medical laboratories of Fudan University, “Biological Perspectives on Disease in China” taught by Dr. Robert A. Lue from Harvard Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, and “Vital Statistics for Life and Medical Sciences” taught by Dr. Xiao_Li Meng and Dr. Joel Blistzstein from Harvard Department of statistics. As course directors, three professors from Shanghai Medical College worked together with Harvard professors, forging a colorful summer school program covering classroom teaching, lecture, laboratory project training and visiting activities.
During the 8-week program, a mini-seminar entitled “How to Integrate Research into Teaching Curriculum” was held on July 16 by Fudan Overseas Returned Scholars Association, Fudan Foreign Affairs Office, Fudan Undergraduate Education Office and Harvard Summer School. Three professors from Fudan University and three from Harvard University gave presentations on how to integrate the research or research training systematically into the teaching curriculum for undergraduate students, inviting heated discussion among the participants including Fudan faculty members and summer school students.
Besides, well-organized community visits were arranged for Harvard students and faculty members. On the morning of Aug. 8, they visited Community Health Service Center on Xietu Road and were warmly welcomed by the leaders and staff of Health Bureau of Xuhui District. After visiting Outpatient Department, TCM Department, Woman’s Clinic, Family Doctor’s Studio and Children’s Healthcare Center, Chinese and US sides shared their ideas on health system, health reform and some other issues. Moreover, the organizers also arranged 2 weeks of Chinese learning, tour around the city of Shanghai and neighboring sites, helping Harvard students and faculty members know more about Chinese society and life. This program provided a good opportunity for Harvard students and Fudan students to communicate with each other, and enhanced the level of internationalization of education at Fudan University.
The Program also drew a great deal of attention from the public. Shanghai TV International reported the study and life of Harvard students who received laboratory training in Zhongshan Hospital. There was also coverage of community visit in the program.
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Fudan Summer Session 2012 Concludes Successfully
After five weeks’ studying at Fudan University this summer, over a hundred international students gathered in the student square of Guanghua Tower to celebrate the closing ceremony of 2012 Fudan Summer Session at 9: 30 a.m., July 7th. Prof. LU Fang, Vice President of Fudan University, attended the ceremony together with all other staff included in this session.
On the ceremony Professor BAI Tongdong and student representatives shared their special feelings about the program while appreciating this opportunity to make friends with each other during these five weeks. Vice President LU Fang issued commemorative certificates to the excellent student representatives and had group photo with them.
After that, all the students and staff watched a video of this session, recollecting their memories of life and study at Fudan and in Shanghai. The last part was a presentation time for each student group. The students over the world presented their talent shows, including playing Chinese ancient music instruments, practicing martial arts, singing and dancing. In particular, the 11th group made a video that briefly introduced their lives at Fudan.
After the ceremony ended, each student received their own transcripts, souvenir albums and CDs. When asked about their experience in this session, most of the students spoke highly of Fudan professors as well as their courses, especially those about calligraphy, paper cutting and Beijing opera. They also expressed their wishes to come to China again and to continue studying Chinese culture.
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Fudan Global Health Summer School Held Successfully
Titled “Achieving MDGs for Global Health,” Fudan Global Health Summer School program was successfully held from July 9 to 11, 2012 at Fudan University School of Public Health.
This year’s summer school program was undertook by Fudan School of Public Health and sponsored by China Medical Board (CMB Grant No. 10-028) and U.S. National Institutes of Health Fogarty International Center (NIH/FIC Grant No. R25TW008118). The program was focused on the introduction and explanation of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) initiated by UN, so as to help students to learn knowledge of Global Health, and to master the related supervision skills、progress and strategies of realizing MDGs.
A total number of 30 registered students are from 5 overseas universities, including University of Nottingham, Hanoi University of Public Health, University of Auckland, University of Queensland and University of Sydney. The 16 CMB membership institutes of higher education from China include Central South University, China Medical University, Fudan University, Harbin medical University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Jiujiang University, Nanjing Medical University, Ningxia Medical University, Beijing University, Shandong University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Sichuan University, Xizang University, Xi'an Jiao Tong University, Zhejiang University, Zhongshan University and University of Hong Kong, Xinjiang Medical University, Shanxi Medical University, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology and Shanghai International Studies University. Most of the participants are master degree students from China, India, Jordan, Burma, VietNam, Uganda, Iran, Malay and South Africa. The participants invariably stated that the Summer School created a good communication platform for the young students from different universities.
Professors, researchers, and administrators from Fudan University and UNICEF talked about the history, current situation, and multi-purposed technique plan of MDGs. Through case studies, students’ group work and discussions, lecturers encouraged the communications between students and teachers.
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Fudan Scientists Help China Sailing Team for London Olympics
On August 7th, 2012, Chinese athlete XU Lijia won gold medal in Women's Laser Radial in London Olympics. With the real-time wind and current tracking system they designed, a group of Fudan scientists, led by Prof. ZHU Qian from Fudan University School of Information Science and Technology, helped Chinese national sailing team win the country's first Olympic gold medal in this item of competition.
The system was instrumental in helping the team prepare for the event, said Zhu Qian, "the speed and direction of the wind and water currents determine the winner in competitive sailing." Zhu told the journalist that "sailors have to know that information precisely so they can respond quickly to any changes." The system works by collecting the information from sensors installed on the boat, which can be transmitted wirelessly to smart phones or tablet computers, Zhu said. During training, the information allowed the sailing team's coach to give more timely and accurate instructions to the sailors.
The national team spent the summer in the town of Weymouth on the southern coast of England, where they could use the system to design the best route to sail. Zhu also went there to gather data for the system. "We could easily detect the dead zones where no wind blows, which are important to sailors when competing on the sea. But it is very hard for sailors and coaches to find them on their own," Zhu said. “The sailing team will continue to use the technology, which is currently only employed by the Chinese and UK national teams,” said Zhou Zhiyong, Director of the Shanghai Water Sports Managing Center. “The technology might also be expanded to other water sports in Shanghai, including rowing and canoeing, to help give local athletes an edge. Although the system's accuracy and ability to analyze still have a lot of room for improvement, it might still be used for other sports,” Zhu said.
Since the launch of the scientific project in October, 2011, the research team has been working hard. With the support from the leadership of the university, the team members worked collaboratively, and successfully met the requirements of the national sailing team with two updated systems on April 10th, 2012. Professor Zhu Qian said that the outstanding performance of Xu Lijia in London Olympics carried great significance not only to China but also to the scientific research project at Fudan. He said that there were a lot of work to follow up, and he wished a better future for the national sailing team with the help from their research.
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Prof. ZHENG Zheng Attends ICEST 2012
From June 25 to 29, the Sixth International Conference on Environmental Science and Technology (ICEST 2012) was held in Houston, USA. The International Conference on Environmental Science and Technology, sponsored by American Academy of Sciences, is held every two years. It's one of the world's most renowned conferences on environmental issues. The objective of the Sixth International Conference on Environmental Science and Technology was to provide a major interdisciplinary forum for presenting new approaches from relevant areas of environmental science, to foster integration of the latest developments in scientific research into engineering applications, and to facilitate technology transfer from well-tested ideas into practical products, waste management, remedial processes, and ecosystem restoration.
At the conference, Dr. ZHENG Zheng, Professor from Fudan University Department of Environmental Science and Engineering and Head of Basin Pollution Control Research Center of Fudan University, gave one of the four keynote speeches. In his presentation titled "Challenges, Strategies and Practices of Watershed Pollution Control in China", Professor ZHENG pointed out that a systematic watershed approach has to be adopted for water pollution control in China under three guiding principles: (1) control from the source; (2) pollution reduction during transport; and (3) intensive treatment at key locations. Professor ZHENG then introduced the large amount of research work by his research team in implementing this watershed approach in the fields of rural sewage treatment, rural solid waste reuse and recycling, and agricultural non-point source pollution reduction and treatment. Afterwards, Professor ZHENG introduced one of his recent projects on integrated water pollution control at Wujingang Canal in the Lake Tai region as a synthesizing example. Finally, Professor Zheng also pointed out the importance of the improvement in environmental management to the success of water pollution control in China, especially in the aspects of public participation, the transparency of environmental decision-making, and environmental information disclosure. Professor ZHENG’s presentation was well received by the attending scientists from different countries.
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Fudan Professor Appointed Medical Officer for China Olympic Team in London
Professor Chen Shiyi, Director of Fudan University Sports Medicine Center and an expert in in orthopedic surgery and sports medicine, was appointed medical officer for China Olympic Team in London. This was the first time that the position was taken by medical experts from other part of China other than Beijing.
Known as the chief doctor for Chinese star hurdler Liu Xiang, Prof. Chen had served in Liu’s health care crew long before the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He has rich experience in health care for athletes in various sports games.
Prof. Chen plays a leading role in enhancing international reputation and authority of Fudan University Sports Medicine Center. Elected as Vice President for Asian-Pacific Knee-Arthroscopy Orthopedic-Sports Medicine Society (APKASS) in San Francisco this year, Prof. Chen would become rotating President for APKASS in 2016. Lately, Prof. Chen also received an invitation from Mr. Bruce Reide, Editor in Chief for American Journal of Sports Medicine (AJSM) to assume the position of editorial board member, the only one from Mainland China.
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Visit by the President of Malta University
A delegation from Malta University, headed by President Prof. Juanito Camilleri visited Fudan University on the afternoon of July 10th. Fudan Vice President Prof. FENG Xiaoyuan warmly welcomed the delegation. Information of the two universities was exchanged and possibilities for future exchanges and cooperation were heatedly discussed.
Founded in 1592, Malta University is the largest state university in Malta. Fudan Affiliated Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital has already established some contacts with Malta University and a delegation was going to attend a conference in Malta in late July. Both Vice President Feng and President Camilleri expressed the hope to start cooperation in the area of obstetrics and gynecology, and develop student exchange program as well as other forms of cooperation gradually. Apart from that, summer/winter school and collaborations in European / Mediterranean studies were also discussed.
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Fudan Alumni Appointed Dean of Harvard's Graduate School
On August 15, 2012, Havard Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) announced that Whipple V.N. Jones professor Xiaoli Meng, Chair of Department of Statistics since 2004, has been appointed Permanent Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS), Harvard University.
Meng, who was born in Shanghai in 1963 and earned his undergraduate degree in mathematics and a diploma in graduate study of mathematical statistics at Fudan University in 1982, subsequently completed M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in statistics at Harvard, in 1987 and 1990 respectively. Following service at the University of Chicago (he remains affiliated with its Center for Health Statistics), he joined the Harvard faculty in 2001. His research fields include statistical methods in various fields, statistical aspects of genetic and environmental problems, health and medical studies, and issues in astronomy and physics. That will be useful background at GSAS, where dozens of programs of study include not only traditional disciplines but also interdisciplinary fields, such as biological sciences in public health, joint law-Ph.D. and medical-Ph.D. tracks. The Harvard Gazette profiled his research interests shortly after this appointment.
Meng's University service include a variety of position like FAS's Faculty Council, the senior advisor to the dean (2007-2010), membership on the GSAS Graduate Policy Committee, and membership on the Committee on Undergraduate Education. He has also been Director of Graduate Studies for the Statistics Department.
Meng's continuous engagement with teaching and learning is of particular interest. During 2006-2007, he was one of nine faculty members to serve on the Task Force on Teaching and Career Development run by then-GSAS dean Theda Skocpol, FAS's most searching examination of teaching practice, improvement, and incentives and training for faculty members to excel as teachers—the foundation for current FAS efforts aimed at enhancing learning and teaching. In a presentation on the task force's findings and recommendations, Meng said that Harvard faculty members should have “a beautiful mind for research—and also have a beautiful heart for teaching.” (The task force report is available here.) He served as well on FAS's committee on pedagogical improvement from 2004 to 2010.
Meng also served on the search committee to identify a faculty director for the Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, FAS's institutional focus for faculty members' training and development for their classroom and mentoring roles. On his curriculum vita, the first category of keynote speeches and honorary lectures—preceding those focused on his discipline and research—lists those devoted to “pedagogy and professional development.”
Sounding themes of creativity, interdisciplinary research, and heightened interest in learning and teaching, President Drew Faust said in the statement:
In his scholarship, his pedagogy, and his mentorship of graduate students and undergraduates alike, Xiaoli Meng is a true innovator. He has brought a remarkable energy and enthusiasm to his role as a leader in an increasingly critical field, one that helps shape new knowledge across Harvard's diverse intellectual landscape. He will make an outstanding steward for our Graduate School and an advocate for its students.
Professor Meng has returned to Fudan for several times and contributed a lot for the acadamic exchanges between Fudan and Havard. With his efforts, an annual Fudan-Havard Summer School was held since 2009 and dozens of Havard students spent a month at Fudan to study and conduct joint research with Fudan students.
Meng has expressed on many occasions that "Fudan is the starting point of my career". In his mind, there is a sense that Fudan is his root of life and home of soul.
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