Recently, Dr. Zhonglin Wang from Georgia Institute of Technology (GT) visited the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE), College of Engineering (COE), Peking University (PKU) to promote the current collaborations between the two departments. He was warmly received by MSE chair, faculty and students, including Professor Huai Yang, the former MSE chair, Professor Anyuan Cao, the current MSE chair, Professor Shuxiang Dong and Xiaowei Zhan, and many PKU-GT joint Ph.D. candidates.

According to MSE chair Anyuan Cao, Prof. Zhonglin Wang, Hightower Chair Professor in Materials Science and Engineering at GT, has been supporting the development of MSE at PKU for many years, including the establishment and running of the PKU-GT joint Ph.D. program in Materials Science. He thanked Wang for his great support and expressed aspiration to build the program into a very successful project. Former chair Huai Yang gave a development report of MSE’s faculty recruitment, undergraduate and graduate programs, and research highlights in the past several years.

Wang mentioned that the MSE department at GT valued the joint program very much. He asked the students about their application status and if they are facing any problems. He asked all the faculty and students to help overcome the current difficulties and make sure that the program goes successful.

Launched in 2009, the MSE Joint Ph.D. program offers a unique opportunity for students from both institutions to interact and work together in a globalized environment. Students can apply for admission into the joint program from either the MSE department at Peking University or the School of MSE at Georgia Tech. Joint program students have 2 advisors – a main advisor at their primary campus and a co-advisor at the secondary campus. Most of the classes and research will take place at the primary campus. However, students are required to spend at least one year taking classes and participating in research working with the co-advisor at the secondary campus. All classes are taught in English and a single doctoral dissertation will satisfy the thesis requirements of both institutions.