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CAEDOP WEB Site
In the early 80's, the housing conditions in Mainland China were rather poor, particularly the sanitary facilities. It would be very difficult if not impossible to attract visiting educators from the U.S. to serve with such poor housing conditions or too expensive to put them in a hotel for any length of time. Recently, the housing conditions and the living standards in China have been improved remarkably. Most educational institutions have built guest houses with modern kitchen and bath room facilities. In addition, China has rebuilt many historical and scenic sites to attract tourists. These improvements have created a more favorable condition to attract visiting scholars.
In the United States, on the other hand, many Chinese-Americans who came to USA after world II have been well educated and made contributions to scientific and technological fields in this country over the years. Most of these Chinese-Americans are eager/planning at an appropriate time to visit/ revisit their motherland which they have not seen for at least 30-40 years. Recently, many companies, organizations or even governmental agencies in the U.S. are downsizing for economic and other reasons. As a result, many senior professionals are taking early retirement and out of work not because of the lack of skills, but lack of opportunities. While they are still relatively young and energetic, their desire/ambition to work can be fulfilled by contributing their talent/skills to the technological communities in China. Because of the interest in revisiting their motherland, some retired or semi-retired Chinese-American professionals, particularly those who have not been back to China for a long time, may even be willing to teach with little or no compensations if the timing is convenient to them.
The needs of scientific and technological assistance in PRC are obvious while the supplies of technical professionals (Chinese and non-Chinese-Americans) in the U.S. are plentiful. Based on the demand and supply of man-power as well as the favorable conditions both in China (housing improvements and tourist attractions) and in the U.S. (eagerness/availability of professionals), the CAEDOP should be easily implemented and the success of the Program is predictable. Back to Top
Occasionally, some experts (both Chinese and non-Chinese origins) in the U.S. have been invited by some universities in China to teach on a short term visiting basis. However, both the effort and the impact are minimal. Recently, many Chinese-Americans have gone back to China to tour their motherland or to do businesses in China Mainland, very few go to teach in the educational institutions, however. This is partially due to the lack of a viable program to encourage such teaching assignment.
Note that scientific exchanges should have no boundaries, private effort would be more effective. To maximize the impact of people to people initiatives in the private sectors, a systematic educational assistance program involving all technical fields (sciences, engineering, medicine, management, etc.) at all levels of technical education (graduate schools, colleges and junior colleges, technical high schools, etc.) is herein proposed. Back to Top
After the initial stage, it is anticipated that many younger Chinese-American as well as non-Chinese-American professionals in all ethnics and age groups in the U.S. and perhaps around the world will participate and contribute to the Program because of its flexibility, noble cause, and an opportunity to grow.
Changing its policy from "plan economy" to "market economy," Chinese economic growth has been more than 10% per year for the last 5-10 years. China is becoming a dominant force of the global economy. To build/modernize the country, China has been undertaking huge infrastructural construction projects, such as power plants, roads, dams, high-rise buildings, new towns, etc. China's construction nowadays is the fastest growing industry in Asian-Pacific regions. This is the added opportunity for the visiting professionals, particularly the younger ones, to explore or build their future career with a China connection.
Similarly, China's scientific and technological communities will not only be benefited by the participation of these highly skilled professionals to advance the country's technologies and scientific products, the hosting institutions and its faculties will also have the opportunities to explore and make a U.S. connection for further cooperation and future career development via American and/or Chinese-American visiting educators. Back to Top
To administrate the Program, it is intended that a non-profit organization will be established. The Program will be led by Dr. Leon R. L. Wang, former Chairman and Professor-emeritus of Civil Engineering Department at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. Initially, the operation of the Program will be handled by a few volunteers. An advisory Board will be appointed to advise the operation. As the Program grows, a paid staff may be needed.
(2)
Finance
As indicated before, the initial operation of CAEDOP will be mostly
done by volunteers. Most services, if not all, will be provided on free
of charge or at-cost basis. Also, as CAEDOP is intended to be non-profit,
donations will be solicited from individuals and organizations to defray
the operational expenses, such as mailing, telephone/fax bills, etc. In
addition, it is intended to apply for grants from governmental agencies
and private foundations to partially supports the operations of the
Program. In summary, the finance for CAEDOP will be through individual
donations and grants from public and private educational foundations.
(3)
Qualification of the Leader
Dr. Wang has been an educator for more than 30 years after receiving
his Doctor of Science (Sc. D.) degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT) in 1965. In addition, he has been very active in professional and
community services. Professionally, he is a Past President of Mohawk-Hudson
Section and Norfolk Branch as well as a Past Chairman of the Executive
Committee of the Technical Council on Lifeline Earthquake Engineering (TCLEE)
of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). He was a charter Director
of Chinese-American Association for Natural Disaster Reduction. In community
services, he was a Past Chairman of Education Committee of the Chinese
Community Center (CCC) in Albany, NY in the 1970's, a Past President of
the Chinese Association of Greater Oklahoma City (CAGOKC) in early 1980's.
From the late 1980's, he has been a member, an advisor, a director, a Past-President
of the Eastern Virginia Chapter of Organization of Chinese-Americans
(OCA/EVC). Back to Top
- Aseismic Office of Construction Bureau of Yunnan Province, Kunming
- Beijing Polytechnic University, Beijing
- Beijing Mechanical & Electrical Engineering Institute, Beijing
- China Academy of Building Research, Beijing
- China Aerospace Corporation, Beijing
- China Association of Construction Education
- Chongqing Jianzhu University, Chongqing
- Dalian Institute of Light Industry, Dalian
- Dalian Maritime University, Dalian
- Dalian Medical University, Dalian
- Dalian University, Dalian
- Dalian University of Technology
- Dongbei University of finance and Econmic, Dalian
- Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin
- Harbin University of Civil Engineering and Architectures, Harbin
- Institute of Engineering Mechanics, Harbin
- Institute of Geophysics, Beijing
- Liaoning Normal University, Dalian
- Ministry of Construction/Education Department, Beijing
- Municipal Engineering Institute of Beijing, Beijing
- Nanjing Architectural and Civil Engineering Institute, Nanjing
- Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xian
- Shenyang Architecture and Civil Engineering Institute, Shengyang
- South China Construction University, Guangzhou
- South China University of Technology, Guangzhou
- Tsinghua University, Beijing
- Xian University of Architecture and Technology, Xian
- Yunnan Polytechnic University, Kunming
- Yunnan University, Kunming
- Zhongshan University, Guangzhou
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