A new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between IMDEA Materials Institute and China’s National Engineering Research Centre of Light Alloy Net Forming (NERC-LAF), will serve to promote academic and research collaboration between the two institutions.
NERC-LAF is a research centre of China’s Shanghai Jiao Tong University, recently named as one of the world’s top 50 Universities in US News & World Report’s Best Global University Rankings.
The MoU, which was signed on Friday by IMDEA Materials’ Acting Director, Prof. José Manuel Torralba, and NERC-LAF’s Director, Prof. Liming Peng, covers several areas of potential cooperation between the two institutes, including the organisation of joint seminars, and the development of collaborative research projects.
The possibility of jointly directed PhD projects, co-authored scientific publications and mutual support for international project and funding applications in China, Spain and the EU were also highlighted.
IMDEA Materials Scientific Director, Prof. Javier LLorca, holds the position of Visiting Chair Professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, while two of the Institute’s alumni, Drs. Hong Liu and Jingya Wang (also in attendance at Friday’s meeting) are researchers at NERC-LAF.
NERC-LAF is focused on the design of advanced high-performance alloys for the development of light-weight technological applications.
The centre’s research lines coincide with those of IMDEA Materials Institute in a number of areas, including structural and biomedical magnesium alloys, materials processing simulation and alloy processing.
The next step in strengthening ties between the institute and the university will include a visit from a delegation of IMDEA Materials researchers to Shanghai in October.
This will include the participation of three of IMDEA Materials’ research group leaders, Prof. Jon Molina (Micromechanics and Nanomechanics), and Drs. Damien Tourret (Modelling and Simulation of Materials Processing) and Mónica Echeverry Rendón (Biometals, Coatings and Devices).
This MoU is just the latest step by IMDEA Materials Institute to further develop its international reach as one of Spain’s leading materials science research centres.
In May, the institute signed an agreement with China’s Yanshan University to establish the International Joint Laboratory on Intelligent Computing Integrated Metallic Materials Innovative Processing.
