March 29, 2010 –
Learning about CALIT2 and opportunities for collaboration.
China’s Anhui province lies 600 miles south of Beijing and 100 miles west of Shanghai, about 6,500 miles across the Pacific Ocean from Irvine. But when 22 university presidents and educational leaders from the province visited the UCI division of CALIT2 on March 18, they saw how easily technology can bridge the distance between the two continents.
The Chinese delegation is affiliated with the U.S. China Business Institute. Based in Beijing and Pasadena, Calif., the organization provides education and communication services in an effort to enhance mutual understanding and improve bonds between the two countries.
UCI alumnus Alexander Kim, deputy director and community liaison to the Asian American community in Governor Schwarzenegger’s Los Angeles office, arranged the group’s visit with UCI’s Office of Advocacy and Government Relations.
After meeting with institute director G.P. Li, who gave the group an overview of CALIT2 and discussed global business and academic partnering opportunities, the visitors toured the Visualization Lab, seeing both versions of the HIPerWall in action; watched a demonstration of Telios, the Telepresence Interactive Operating System being developed for telemedicine applications; and experimented with BATs – Bionic and Assistive Technologies that turn everyday items like hats and shoes into custom devices for solving real-world medical problems.
Experiencing BATS devices
The delegation also met with an Irvine Chamber of Commerce official to discuss economic development opportunities, and with members of University Extension, who detailed UCI programs available to international students.
The visitors were enthusiastic about the demonstrations and about possible future collaborations, according to delegation coordinator Tony Liu. “The delegation was very impressed with the technology transformation and its use on medical equipment, environmental issues and entertainment,” he said.
“Also, we saw that the technology collaboration among universities in the U.S. and China will play a crucial role, and can be reached through various means, such as student exchange, faculty exchange, project information-sharing, seminar hosting and even administrator training.”
— Anna Lynn Spitzer
