The President of University of California,Santa Cruz, George Blumenthal and Joel Ferguson, Associate Vice Provost; and Doug Lin, Professor of Astronomy, paid their visit to Peking University on October 21, 2015. The President and his crew were welcomed by Lin Jianhua, President of Peking University; Luis Ho, Director of Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics (KIAA) at Peking University.
The conversation began with the Thirty-Meter Telescope Project discussed previously. President Blumenthal informed of it being ranked top on the next five year’s TMT Project Plan, and emphasized the community’s increasing effort on proposing more astronomy projects. President Blumenthal then suggested the enhancement of university collaborations between the U.S. and China. He stated besides the 10 Plus 10 Program that we have at the present, he is aiming to expand it to a larger Exchange Program by bringing more universities on both sides into the exchange. By exchanging, the President stressed his will on not only sending more Chinese students over to the USA, but also promoting and admitting more U.S. students to study in Chinese Universities. President Lin agreed with President Blumenthal’s suggestions, he added that sending a group of Professors and students to their campus in the U.S. for academic communication could be a possibility in the future.
When asked about the Ocean Sciences Program at Santa Cruz, President Blumenthal pointed out their university’s geographical advantages, highlighting their strength in the study of ocean mammals. Furthermore, President Blumenthal and Professor Doug Lin elaborated on their campus’ outstanding strength in Human Genomics, having the first draft of the human genome completed by a computer scientist of their university. With the massive genomic database that they currently have and the university’s great reputation for reliability, the team expressed their interest in establishing international genomic collaborations with China in order to collect medical data across borders for the benefit of all human beings. President Lin and his colleagues listened attentively and agreed on the possible beneficial impacts.
The meeting continued with a light touch on a few other academic departments of Santa Cruz, and ended with President Lin’s question on what modifications should be made to China’s educational system so that it reinforces students’ open-mindedness and desire for exploration. In response to this question, President Blumenthal gave an example mentioning that 70 percent of the undergraduate students in their university conduct researches under the supervision of faculty members, even though it is not compulsory. Blumenthal believed that by doing so ,it can help the students to think outside of the box. President Lin thanked President Blumenthal for his advices and his visit as the meeting came to an end.
Written by: Zhao Zhujun
