This award supports a U.S.-China Workshop on Trenchless Technology and Critical Underground Infrastructure Issues to be held in Wuhan, China October 8-10, 2007. The workshop will be complemented by field visits following the conference to familiarize U.S. and Chinese participants with collaborative opportunities. The U.S. PI is Dr. Mohammad Najafi, Director, Center for Underground Infrastructure Research and Education (CUIRE) and an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Arlington. The counterpart organizer is Dr. MA Baosong, Professor and Vice Head of the Department of Drilling and Foundation Engineering, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan). The goals of the workshop are to identify areas appropriate for collaborative research, student exchange and to establish university-industrial linkages for joint applied research.
The proposed workshop is an important interdisciplinary opportunity for U.S.-China bilateral cooperation and has significant potential to drive an agenda for applied research at the nexus of university and academic interests. China is fertile ground for testing new technological breakthroughs in this young and emerging field. It is critical for China and the United States to pursue technologies which improve the environment. Trenchless and associated forward looking technologies provide a sustainable and efficient civil infrastructure using IT to improve the environmental health of society. The workshop will include three participants representing underrepresented groups, all of whom will be introduced to China's research efforts for the first time.
