October 20, 2008
Bowling
Green, Ky. - Two high-ranking diplomats from the Chinese Embassy to the United States in Washington are visiting Western Kentucky University this week to discuss ongoing environmental work in China by WKU’s China Environmental Health Project (CEHP).
Jin Ju is Minister-Counselor and Dr. Luo Hui is First Secretary to his Excellency Zhou Wenzhong, China’s Ambassador to the United States. They are both officials with China’s Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and work in Washington to develop and enhance cooperation in scientific and technology issues between the United States and China. They will visit WKU Tuesday and Wednesday.
WKU’s CEHP, with major support from the U.S. Agency for International Development and the ENVIRON Foundation, is in its third year and works to enhance public health in China through university partnerships that enhance Chinese academic infrastructure in water resources development and air quality. Major support for CEHP has been made possible through the efforts of U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
“We are very pleased to have developed such a beneficial relationship with MOST through the efforts of Minister-Counselor Jin and First Secretary Luo,” said Dr. Chris Groves, CEHP Director and WKU professor of Geography. “We clearly have common goals in working to enhance public health in China.”
As a program of the Hoffman Environmental Research Institute within WKU’s Applied Research and Technology Program (ARTP), the CEHP also works to engage WKU students and faculty in the work, across several departments.
While at WKU the diplomats will tour the Hoffman Institute and other ARTP programs on Tuesday and the Institute for Combustion Studies and Environmental Technology (ICSET) on Wednesday morning. Dr. Wei-Ping Pan, ICSET’s director, manages the air quality component of CEHP.
The diplomats also will visit Mammoth Cave National Park (MCNP) on Tuesday to discuss an evolving “Sister Park” relationship with Libo China’s Zhangjiang National Park and will tour the cave with MCNP Superintendent Pat Reed and other park officials.
A consortium from MCNP, WKU and the Mammoth Cave International Center for Science and Learning has been working with the National Park Service Office of International Affairs to develop the Sister Park program, and the MOST diplomats have been helpful in moving the program forward. “While many such programs end up being largely ceremonial, with MOST’s help this one will work hard to produce measurable results in such areas as biodiversity protection, sustainability and public health,” Dr. Groves said.
Dr. David Keeling, head of WKU’s Department of Geography and Geology, noted that “the China Environmental Health Project is building important research and socio-economic relationships between our two countries, and is providing practical training for both U.S. and Chinese students and faculty. This visit to WKU by Chinese embassy officials is an important indication of the strength of these growing relationships and recognition of the importance of Dr. Groves’ research in China.”
In September, Dr. Groves and Dr. Pan participated in a China Environmental Health Project workshop hosted by Anhui University of Science and Technology, USAID and WKU in Huainan, China. More than 350 people attended the workshop on the project’s air quality and public health efforts.
More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu and at http://wkunews.wordpress.com/. If you’d like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.
For information, contact Chris Groves at (270) 745-5974.
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