Visits to Shanghai Jiao Tong University and East China Normal University

October 13, 2015

Dr. CS Chin, Head of Civil Engineering Department, Dr. Stephen Wilkinson, Dr. Jun Xia, and two other students (Mr. Choorackal Eldho, and Mr. Yida Guo) paid a research visit to Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) and East China Normal University (ECNU) on September 24, 2015 as part of a research exchange as well as to solidify the collaboration between these instituting including sharing techniques, equipment and testing facilities.

The joint research seminar was hosted at SJTU by Prof. Yang from the Civil Engineering Department. Prof. Yang introduced the essential information about Civil Engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, followed by a summary of the extensive range of research activities and achievements of the Green Construction Material and Innovative Structure Research Team. Prof. Chin introduced the major successes of Civil Engineering at XJTLU including in relation to its faculty members, facilities, and research funding and activities. Several research presentations were given by Dr. Stephen Wilkinson, Dr. Jun Xia, Mr. Choorackal Eldho, Prof. Qingfeng Liu from SJTU and Prof. Varenayam Achal from ECNU. The research seminar covers board topics related to sustainable construction materials, microstructure quantification, ion flow in concrete, ultra-high performance fibre reinforced concrete, bio-mineralization, and concrete patch repair considering resistance to chloride induced damage. The discussion following the research seminars highlighted the strong overlap in the arears of research interest of the two departments including finite element analysis of concrete material, use of waste material to achieve sustainable construction material development, and concrete durability analyses and enhancement.

The delegation team from XJTLU also visited the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Testing Center and the Mechanical Testing Lab. The XJTLU team then visited the Global Institute for Urban and Regional Sustainability at East China Normal University and toured the research lab of Prof. Varenayam Achal. The existing collaboration between XJTLU and ECNU was enhanced through a discussion of the specific details of a research project which is running during the current academic year. The potential for further research collaborations in association with the activities of the Research Institute for Sustainable Materials and Environment(可持续发展材料和环境研究院)was identified.

Dr. Stephen Wilkinson introducing research on microstructure characterization using micro-imaging techniques (Photo courtesy of representative from SJTU)

Group photo in front of the School of Naval Architecture, Ocean and Civil Engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (Photo courtesy of representative from SJTU)

Group photo in the Global Institute for Urban and Regional Sustainability at East China Normal University (Photo courtesy of representative from ECNU)

October 13, 2015