U-M partners with Chinese university for research

Wednesday, March 31, 2010 | Source: Concentrate

Research at the University of Michigan is going global now that it has signed an agreement with a major Chinese university to jointly fund renewable energy and biomedical research projects.

U-M and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, based out of Shanghai, have launched two programs that will receive $3 million from each university over the next five years. That money will fund research grants that can go as high as $200,000.

The two universities have been developing a relationship for 13 years, allowing this deal to bear $6 million in research funding fruit. Stephen Forrest, vice president for research, adds that U-M's global reach makes future international partnerships possible, but he couldn't think of anymore that might come to fruition soon.

"The world is big and the future is long," Forrest says. "Many things can happen. I think this type of global research is a trend that will continue."

Both universities have issued a call for proposals and the first grants are expected to be awarded in June. Proposals must have researchers from both U-M and SJTU.

The new partnership hopes to develop new technologies that reduce global carbon emissions, a primary cause of climate change, in the renewable energy end. Think: Research in improving coal technology and creating cleaner vehicles. The biomedical half will focus on technological advances that improve human health, such as minimally and non-invasive therapy and bio-nanotechnology.

This is not the first time a regional university has reached across an ocean or two to form a partnership with a foreign institution of higher learning. Lawrence Technological University has formed partnerships with a number of Indian universities in what is becoming a growing trend in higher education.

Source: Stephen Forrest, vice president for research for the University of Michigan
Writer: Jon Zemke