Program History & Background:

This program would not have been possible without a long chain of passionate people. Each link of the chain is crucial.

The program goes all the way back to Dr. Hayley Shen’s uncle, whom she and her husband Dr. Hung Tao met for the first time in 1985. He arranged for the two of them to visit China. As the head of the Ministry of Agriculture of Liaoning Province at the time, he introduced them to hydraulic engineers in the Northeast provinces. During that trip, they also met colleagues in other hydraulic and water resources institutions. They began collaborations with Chinese researchers and academicians in river and sea ice areas. In 1998, they visited National Science Foundation to present a collaborative research proposal in the Bohai Sea region. The Yellow River flows into the Bohai Sea. Both the river and the sea freeze in winter and both are closely linked to the livelihood of large populations, bringing about a wide range of engineering, ecology and environmental issues. The management of this region based on advanced engineering is important and could benefit greatly from international collaboration.

After the presentation attended by many officers from NSF, Alex DeAngelis who was then the director of the International Education East Asia Division, asked Hayley and Hung Tao to consider a proposal for a Research Experience for Undergraduate Students (REU) in China. This was a totally new idea to everyone at that time, but with the network they had in China it was possible. Hung Tao immediately visualized the entire program: it had to start with a sufficient critical mass to ease the cultural shock for students both in the living and the academic environment. The research theme would be Marine Science and Engineering. With the help of Professor Huiding Wu and Professor Qinjing Yue, two top universities in coastal cities next to the Bohai Sea were selected: Dalian University of Technology and Qingdao Ocean University (now the Ocean University of China). Each year, there would be scholarships for fifteen students to work with Chinese mentors and their graduate students at these two campuses for a ten week period in summer.

The initial phase of this program lasted three years and was very successful. Hayley and Hung Tao returned to NSF with four of the alums from the program at the end of this phase to present the experience. The program grant was extended five more eyars. During that meeting, NSF officers asked Hayley and Hung Tao about their vision for the future of such a program. Their idea was to involve industry participation. Although this was some time before the The World is Flat (T. Friedman, 2005) was published, it was clear that international business had already gone far beyond trading goods and setting manufacturing sites. Intellectual resources were becoming reasons for housing branches of research and development abroad. Hence, it was important that the educational system work with industry to maintain global competitiveness.

Thus, during the second phase of this program, Hayley and Hung Tao sought a new model that would involve industrial support. In 2006, they met with Charlie Craig, a member of Clarkson’s trustees, and also the Vice President of Research of Corning, Inc. Due to the success of Clarkson University’s Center for Advanced Materials Processing (CAMP), they felt that the theme of materials research would be a successful way to obtain industrial as well as CAMP’s support. Charlie agreed to it, and immediately connected Hayley and Hung Tao to Dr. Youchun Shi of Corning-China, who recommended professors at several campuses working on materials development for renewable energy applications. CAMP director Dr. S.V. Babu also agreed to co-sponsor the initiative. Everyone was ready to move into the new generation of this program. A test run was carried out in 2008-2009 at Tsinghua University. In 2011, funding for the new phase in Advanced Materials for a Sustainable Development began. This three-year program provided six undergraduate students with research opportunities at Nanjing University, Tsinghua University, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Hung Tao stepped out of the program in this new phase. With Hayley’s experience in the research in granular materials, she became the program’s director and Yongming Liu, a young professor in structural materials led the program in 2012.

The new phase will come to an end this year. Hayley and Hung Tao both hope that new leadership will emerge to continue the evolution of such programs.