PUC professors are part of Purdue delegation traveling to Hong Kong to advance research

For the second consecutive year, Purdue University Calumet professors are teaming with faculty and staff from Purdue’s West Lafayette campus to advance collaborative research opportunities in China during a trip to Hong Kong June 10-13.

With last spring’s initial Purdue Research Center Abroad Program having produced several successful joint international research projects, participants this year look to build on those relationships. In fact, the Purdue group is optimistic about working with colleagues at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Polytechnic University to develop additional joint research grant proposals and collaborate on instructional teaching projects.

The visit also will serve to cultivate alumni relationships with Purdue graduates residing in Hong Kong. The Purdue Alumni Association in Hong Kong and Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute is co-sponsoring a research forum.

“The major goals of the program are to facilitate an exploratory effort to develop international research collaboration, encourage the planning of research or instructional projects that demonstrate the benefits of collaboration between research centers/institutes on Purdue campuses and in Hong Kong, and to develop joint grant proposals to American and/or Hong Kong funding agencies,” said George Hong, Purdue Calumet associate vice chancellor for research and professional development and originator of the program.

Expected to join Hong from Purdue Calumet are Professor and Head of the Dept. of Communication & Creative Arts/Director of the Center for Global Studies Yahya Kamalipour, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering/Water Institute Interim Director George Nnanna, Associate Professor of Physics & Astronomy/Director of the Center for Computational Science Shawn Slavin and Associate Professor of History/Head of International Programs Kathy Tobin. Seven faculty and staff members from West Lafayette also are attending.

Each attendee plans to further a specific research project in collaboration with Hong Kong colleagues. Hong’s project is entitled, “The Poverty of Social Rights and China’s Urbanization.” Kamalipour’s project, “Global Media Research Collaboration;” Nnanna’s project, “Water Stress and Water Utilization Efficiency in Crops Plants; Slavin’s project, “High Performance Computation and Computational Science;” and Tobin’s project, “Population Concentration and Security Comparative Study of Urban Vulnerability.”

“We are especially excited to foster international research collaborations with existing research centers and institutes at Purdue Calumet and Purdue West Lafayette,” Hong said.

Of the nearly 400 international students enrolled at Purdue Calumet last academic year, 220 were from the Peoples Republic of China.

News Release Date: June 4, 2008