Chemical Engineering Celebrates New Collaboration with Wenzhou Institute of Biomaterials and the Longwan District (Wenzhou, China)
On April 5, delegates from the Wenzhou Institute of Biomaterials and Engineering and City Officials from the Longwan District traveled from Wenzhou, China to Northeastern for a special campus visit and welcoming ceremony. Wenzhou is a city in southeastern Zhejiang province in the People’s Republic of China. The day included tours of the Su Translational Nanomedicine Group and the Webster Nanomedicine Lab, meetings with faculty, and an afternoon exploring Boston.
Wenzhou Institute of Biomaterials and Engineering (WIBE) is a newly established institute of the Chinese Academy Science (CAS), and was officially co-founded by the CAS, the Zhejiang provincial government and the Wenzhou municipal government in 2011. With goals of transforming science and technology, WIBE has four main research fields: material, medicine, medical devices and translational Medicine. Additionally, WIBE has newly created divisions of Biomaterials and Regenerative Medicine, Innovative Drug, and Medical Devices.
In a sunlit Egan Research Center room with views of campus, faculty, staff, students, and media gathered to watch the welcome ceremony. The purpose of the welcome ceremony was to strengthen collaborations with Wenzhou Institute of Biomaterials and Engineering as well as the Longwan District of Wenzhou City where plans for a new research building are in development to support Northeastern’ s Chemical Engineering’s research and education. Several members of the Longwan District’s planning committee for a new section of the city, call the Hi-Tec zone, were in attendance. All will partner on scholarship related to nanomedicine and picomedicine.
During the welcome ceremony, Dr. Nadine Aubry, Dean of the College of Engineering and Dr. Thomas Webster, Professor and Department Chair, Chemical Engineering and Art Zafiropoulo Chair in Engineering praised the global and scholarship impact of the new collaboration with the Wenzhou Institute of Biomaterials and Engineering. “This ceremony represents another strong step we are taking with China to increase our research capacity. Blending our expertise in chemical engineering with the medical expertise of the Wenzhou Institute of Biomaterials and Engineering will strengthen our impact in medicine. Coupling this now with the resources from the Longwan District will result in worldwide innovation and commercialization,” Webster said.
Dr. Hao Chen, Acting-Director of the Wenzhou Institute of Biomaterials and Engineering, and Vice Director of Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, spoke of the new research buildings as well as the possibility of a student exchange program. WIBE and NEU further honored the new collaboration and respect for each other with traditional gift giving.
Professor Webster will lead his team participation and has already traveled to Wenzhou a few times. “This is the beginning of our good cooperation”, he remarked. In 2015, Professor Webster received the Wenzhou 580 and Thousand Talent Plan Zhejiang Province awards, while Professor Ming Su received the Thousand Talent Plan Zhejiang Province Award. Both awards were given to enhance Professor Webster’s and Professor Su’s collaboration with the Wenzhou Institute of Biomaterials and Engineering.