KNOXVILLE — Kuangdi Xu, the president of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the president of the China-US People’s Friendship Association, will visit the University of Tennessee next Wednesday, Oct. 3, to present “The Development and Technical Innovation of the Iron & Steel Industry in China” as part of the College of Engineering’s Distinguished Lecture Series.
The presentation will take place at 1:30 p.m. in the Shiloh Room of the University Center.
Xu graduated from the Beijing Institute of Iron and Steel Engineering in 1959. He held various teaching positions in a number of higher learning institutions, including Beijing Institute of Iron and Steel Engineering, Shanghai Institute of Technology, Shanghai Institute of Mechanical Engineering and Shanghai University of Technology.
He was also a visiting scholar in the Department of Metallurgy at the Imperial College of the United Kingdom. In addition to his engineering degree, Xu received the honorary Degree of Doctor from Hong Kong University and an honorary Doctor of Engineering from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
Recognized as an eminent metallurgist in China, he has also been elected as a foreign member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) in the United States, a foreign member of the Royal Academy of Engineering in the United Kingdom and a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences. He is also an honorary fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) in the United Kingdom.
Xu was elected as vice-mayor of Shanghai Municipality in 1992 and mayor in 1995. He was named as president of the Chinese Academy of Engineering in 2002.
In his academic career, Xu has been engaged in the study on the theory of secondary refining of molten steel and the development of related technologies. He has played a critical role in the development of a new process for stainless steel-making.
As one of the pioneers in the development of injection metallurgical technology in China, Xu has made special contributions to its dissemination and application. He led a research team that developed the SGDF injection dispenser, which is used by nearly 80 companies in China, and facilitated the wide adoption of injection metallurgical technology throughout the country.
In his lecture, Xu will review the major achievements of the Chinese iron and steel industry, including the development of new materials, environmentally friendly manufacturing and the extraction of useful hydrogen from the waste gas of metallurgical furnaces.
Xu’s wife, Luoping Xu, who is a professor at Shanghai University, will accompany him on the visit as well as representatives from the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the Chinese Academy of Science. Members of the Chinese delegation are special guests of UT and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and will tour ORNL and UT facilities during the two days prior to Xu’s lecture.
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Contacts:
Jay Mayfield (865-974-9409, jay.mayfield@tennessee.edu)
Kim Cowart (865-974-0686, kcowart@utk.edu)