Bingyu Zhao - China

What I did

During my visit, I presented my research plan to the executive board of FSP-Powerland Inc. The board members were happy to learn about our detailed research plan, and they made the final decision to support our research. They donated $20,000 to the Virginia Tech Foundation, which helped us set up the lab in 2017. The board also promised to donate $40,000 each year for the next five years.

Short-term accomplishments and long-term goals

For my trip to NAU, I met my former graduate student, Dr. Bin Xu, who is the associate dean of the College of Grassland Science at NAU. Dr. Bin Xu arranged a series meetings with other colleagues in NAU.

Most importantly, I met Dr. Jie Chen, who is the acting director of the Office of International Relationship in NAU. Dr. Chen was working in the graduate school of NAU before taking the position in the Office of International Relationships.

When I met with Dr. Chen and his colleagues, I presented a brief introduction to our college, including some information about our 12 departments. We specifically discussed the possibility of recruiting graduate students who are qualified for Chinese government scholarships. Presently, all potential students are applying to the scholarships by themselves without help from either NAU or Virginia Tech. It would be great if NAU and CALS could help the students identify CALS faculty who are interesting in serving as supervisors. This would significantly increase the student's chance of securing the Chinese government scholarship.

Dr. Chen also suggested that NAU faculty who helped recruit graduate students should have the opportunity to visit Virginia Tech, so they may further develop research collaborations with CALS faculty in the future. The cost of their visit would be covered by funds available at NAU.As the first step, Dr. Bin Xu is planning to visit Virginia Tech in spring 2018.

Dr. Chen also expressed a strong interest in inviting CALS deans and faculty to visit NAU and further discuss other possible collaborations in the future. I will be more than happy to help facilitate future visits and collaboration!