.............................................................................. --cover page 1-- INTRODUCTION To THE CHINESE ACADEMIC LINK, USA **************************************************************************** ---A non-profit organization dedicated to academic exchange: *Information Services *Academic News Broadcasting *Conferences, symposia and workshops *Consulting *Electronic Communication Networks *Special Projects *Publication *Social Activities Together, we make a difference for China and the world! ========================================================================== WASHINGTON, D.C., USA 1992 ................................................................................ --cover page 2-- CHINESE ACADEMIC LINK, USA INC. 3640 Veazey Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20008 U. S. A. President: Dr. Ni, Tao (University of Maryland at College Park) Tel: (301) 422-3025 (home) (301) 258-2521 (work) Vice Presidents: Huang, Guyang (Executive Vice President & Director of AEIC) Tel: (413) 549-6651 (home) Hu, Sen (Vice President for Academic affairs) Tel: (708) 864-2588 (home) (708) 491-5487 (work) Chen, Jienan (Vice President for Public Relations & Financial Affairs) Tel: (904) 334-5899 (home) (904) 392-7877 (work) Fax: 904-392-6532 The CAL Board of Directors: Name Affiliation Email Chen, Jienan Univ. of Florida jnc@pine.circa.ufl.edu Cheng, Eddie Ohio State Univ. echeng@pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu Deng, William Univ. of Arizona xiaojian@ccit.arizona.edu Hu, Sen Northwestern Univ. hu@math.nwu.edu Huang, Guyang Univ. of Massachusetts ghuang@risky.ecs.umass.edu Jiang, Jianping Univ. of Cal. at Irvine jpjiang@vmsa.oac.uci.edu Ni, Tao Univ. of Maryland tonini@eng.umd.edu Qin, Zhengdi Tech. Res. Centr./Finland qzd@tko.vtt.fi Tang, Puqi Purdue University tang@math.purdue.edu Yuan, David Univ. of S. California yuan@teri.bio.uci.edu Zhu, George Univ. of Massachusetts zhu@risky.ecs.umass.edu The Academic Exchange and Information Center aeic@wam.umd.edu ................................................................................ -1- INTRODUCTION The Chinese Academic Link (CAL) is a non-profit organization operated mainly by Chinese students, scholars and professionals overseas, primarily in North America and Europe. Founded in November 1991 by a group of Chinese students and scholars, CAL is intended to LINK domestic and overseas Chinese scholars and professionals to promote educational, scientific and cultural exchanges between China and the rest of the world, particularly the U.S., and to enhance international cooperation in academia. MEMBERSHIP CAL advocates voluntarism and its entire membership is composed of volunteers keenly interested in scholarly exchange. All files, documents, publications, and activities, except for personal information, are open to the public. Admission to CAL membership is unrestricted. One can become a CAL member simply by filing a member registration form along with a membership fee with the AEIC (see below). Membership application forms and information can be obtained by sending requests electronically to "aeic@wam.umd.edu" or by postal mail to: Dr. Dong-Ping Deng, 68 MT Vernon Ave, APT E-9, Patchogue, NY 11772, USA, or Prof. Xiaowen Li, Center for Remote Sensing, 725 Commonwealth Ave., BU, Boston, MA 02215, USA. ORGANIZATION CAL is officially registered and headquartered in Washington, D.C., USA. Its administration includes the President and Vice Presidents, the Board of Directors, and the AEIC (see the relevant section). The Board of Directors is composed of 21 members who are elected by the general membership to serve a two-year term. The President and Vice Presidents are annually elected by the Board of Directors within the Board. The Board of Directors is the decision- making and governing body of CAL, which delegates the executive powers to the President and Vice Presidents. There is also an Advisory Board made up of prominent scholars, business leaders and public figures invited by CAL to provide advice and other forms of assistance. SERVICES The main theme of CAL's mission is to provide information services and attainable resources for individuals and organizations interested in academic exchanges. Specificaly, CAL pursues international academic conferences and symposia to be held in China in cooperation with domestic academic institutions; seeks opportunities for overseas Chinese scholars to actively participate in the development of their homeland, such as to give lectures, seminars and workshops, to provide information and consulting services for domestic research and development projects, and to attend conferences and symposia in China; provides assistance to domestic scholars for participation in international academic activities; promotes academic exchanges across the Taiwan Straits; helps international scholars identify collaborators in China, or vice versa; introduces academic works by Chinese scholars to their international counterparts, and so on. In addition, CAL provides information services for overseas Chinese students and scholars to further their career advancement. (This paragragh is optional) THE ACADEMIC EXCHANGE AND INFORMATION CENTER The Academic Exchange Information Center (AEIC) is the executive branch and service center of CAL, which is the formally registered umbrella organization. The Director of AEIC is a member of, and appointed by, the CAL Board of Directors. ................................................................................ -2- AEIC was organized prior to the formation of CAL through the computer networks. All the volunteers who joined AEIC work thus became the de facto CAL members before the formal registration of CAL membership was completed. As of May 22, 1992, there are 101 volunteers on the AEIC network, most of whom are from the US, Canada, Australia and Europe, with various citizenship. AEIC carries CAL's mission through its functional divisions, such as the Academic News Broadcasting Service, the Computer Division and the Division of Special Projects (see relevant sections). There are also some ad hoc task forces and communication groups for different objectives at different times. One of them is the Three Gorges Project (TGP) communication group, which is designed for exchange of views and collection of scientific information on the environmental, economic and social impact and risk analysis of this dam project, in cooperation with other relevant overseas Chinese professional societies as well as international organizations. Through its computer network, AEIC performs automatic information reply and document (information package, news release, CAL work files) archives, accessible electronically by all e-mail users. The e-mail address to learn more about AEIC services and work is: aeic@wam.umd.edu. For inquiries, please direct correspondence to the director of AEIC, Dr. Guyang Huang, Dept. of Biochem. & Mol. Biol., LGRT, Univ. of Mass., Amherst, MA 01003, USA, or through email to "aeic@wam.umd.edu" (the AEIC work net). THE ACADEMIC COMMITTEE CAL understands that her mission as an ACADEMIC LINK can be better served by seeking collaboration with and helping other overseas Chinese organizations whose objectives are to promote exchanges with China from different perspectives. In the sense of coordinated effort, CAL has an important role to play in unifying the various forces. There are at least 11 existing academic organizations for Chinese scholars and professionals in the U.S. Among the some 100 volunteers of CAL, many are active members, and some have played a leadership role, in these organizations. Therefore, CAL has her natural connections with all those organizations. CAL seeks to take a leadership role in understanding the "market" --- what China needs from the West, and thereby formulating specific ideas and proposals for joint projects with other overseas Chinese groups and international organizations, based on the "market demand." The Academic Committee, chaired by Dr. Sen Hu from Northwestern University, is created for such purposes. Dr. David Yuan, Dr. Puqi Tang, and Dr. Yegang Wu, who heads the CAL/US Liaison, are the vice Chairs of the committee. CAL has been working on the following prospects: (1) Establish regular communication channels with domestic academic institutions, such as the Youth Committee of the Euro-America Alumni Association, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Natural Science Foundation of China. (2) Set up an electronic network for communication with orther overseas Chinese academic organizations. (3) Form a coordinating council consisted of representatives from various overseas Chinese academic organizations to exchange information, ideas, resources, etc. and develop joint projects. The network is coordinated by Dr. Yegang Wu and Dr. Hao Jia. THE ACADEMIC NEWS BROADCASTING SERVICE CAL Academic News Broadcasting includes the distribution of academic news and information from domestic as well as overseas publications, news media, public networks, and other sources, through AEIC News Release. The Academic News Broadcasting Service, headed by Mr. George Zhu from the University of Massachusetts, assumes all the academic news broadcasting duties. The AEIC News Release is an official electronic publication of the AEIC. It is broadcasted on a regular basis, with an frequency of one package per week on average, to numerous computer-mediated national and international networks, such as AEICnet, China-net, China News Digest, China Study Forum and soc-culture-china, as well as many concerned organizations and local Chinese students and scholars communities. The AEIC News Release carries information on a variety of academic exchange opportunities for overseas Chinese students and scholars, such as giving lectures or organizing seminars and workshops, as well as attending international and domestic symposia and conferences held in China. It also ................................................................................ -3- provides information services related to educational and career opportunities for Chinese students and professionals both at home and abroad. In the meantime, the AEIC News Release timely reports various academic projects and activities within CAL/AEIC and other domestic and overseas professional organizations. The AEIC News Release has so far published over 40 issues along with several information packages, which have reached an estimated 30,000 readers in North America, Europe, Australia and China, well received by the overseas Chinese students and scholars community. The Academic News Broadcasting Service plans to publish a Chinese/ English printing journal, to be called <>, aimed primarily at domestic readers. We wish to cooperate with any academic groups, professional organizations and publishing units inside and outside China, including Taiwan and Hong Kong, such as to exchange academic information and resources, to co-publish academic newsletters and journals, and to collaborate in the distribution of such information and publications. ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION AND SERVICE RESOURCES With access to eventually all forms of advanced electronic communication and information facilities, CAL/AEIC members and volunteers rely primarily on email systems to communicate. We also provide an email server for others to retrieve/update information. All archiving and information distribution services are handled automatically through email server systems. The CAL Board of Directors even hold some of its board meetings by email conference. (This paragragh is optional) AEIC has a database of over 400 Chinese educational and research institutions and academic societies. This database is open to the general public free of charge. The database author and manager Dr. Guyang Huang has developed customized search in the database for interested customers. Many CAL volunteers have expertise in computer and information systems, and some have pioneered in establishing electronic communication networks and news broadcasting systems connecting overseas Chinese students and scholars from various professional backgrounds. With its wealth of human talent, CAL is poised to play a leading role not only in enhancing communications among overseas Chinese students, scholars and professionals, but also in promoting computer communication and information systems in China. The Computer Division of AEIC, currently headed by Ying Chen from the University of Chicago, is designed to provide computer-related services for CAL/AEIC and to help domestic institutions and colleagues to learn, develop and use email communication systems. Dr. Dong-Ping Deng from the Brookhaven National Lab serves as the coordinator for the Technical Service for computer communications and databases, joined by Dr. Yang Wang from Georgia Tech and Dr. Zhengdi Qin from Finland. CURRENT AND FUTURE PROJECTS Based on domestic needs and technical feasibility, CAL organizes and undertakes special projects in collaboration with international and domestic institutions and colleagues. Several such projects are currently underway. These projects are registered through and managed by the Division of Special Projects under AEIC and are described briefly below. Thesis Abstract Project (TAP). This project, proposed and coordinated by Dr. David Yuan from the University of California at Irvine, is intended to compile abstract collections of overseas Chinese students' Ph.D. dissertations and Masters theses so as to present a infromative picture of the research areas and academic achievements of overseas Chinese students. Such collections may enable domestic colleagues to learn new developments in various fields in science and technology and may also serve as a reference source for cooperation and recruiting purposes. Math Aid Project (MAP). Initiated and coordinated by Dr. Puqi Tang from Purdue University, this service is designed to communicate the most up- to-date information on new developments in the mathematics profession to domestic colleagues to keep them informed of the cutting edge trend in ................................................................................ -4- Mathematics. It will also attempt to provide assistance to domestic Chinese mathematicians in collecting needed information and establishing connections with their international counterparts. Financial Aid Database (FAD). Helped by Mr. Yuan Liu from Canada, Professor Xiaowen Li from Boston University has been developing a database containing lists of US financial aid sources for foreign undergraduate students. This database will be very helpful to Chinese students who wish to come to the U.S. for undergraduate studies, in terms of looking for financial assistance and identifying potential sponsors. Summer Workshops. In cooperation with the Natural Science Foundation of China and various academic institutions, CAL plans to organize a series of summer workshops and seminars in China to exchange new ideas and information on a number of topics, including math and physics; Computer and information science and technology; chemistry and biomedical and molecular biology; agriculturial, environmental and forest sciences (green sciences), engineering, etc. Presentations will be invited from domestic and overseas Chinese scholars, as well as international experts. CAL is also actively looking for international sponsors and hopes to attract participants from other countries, especially the Third World. <> project (WSW). In order to promote the career advancement and prestige of the new generation of overseas Chinese professionals, Jienan Chen from the University of Florida, together with Dr. Zhenqin Li from the Biosym. Technologies, Inc. and Ying Chen from the University of Chicago, have made the prospectus of Chinese Professionals <> (WSW) project. The feasibility study of this project is still underway. We are looking for cooperations with domestic institutions as well as overseas Chinese organizations. For information about this project, please contact Jienan Chen, 1453 Fifield Hall, University of Florida, Gainesville, Fl 32611, USA, or at . In addition, CAL/AEIC has been involved with projects initiated by some individuals as well as other overseas Chinese groups. For example, AEIC has helped to promote the publicity of the Hope Foundation intended to provide inspiration and financial assistance to needy high school students and dropouts in China to enable them to achieve their educational goals. Some CAL members, such as Dr. Zuofeng Li from Washington University, have participated in the organization of the foundation. HOPE CAL volunteers understand that as educated individuals we all have an exceptional obligation to contribute to social development and civilization in the best interest of humanity. As China marchs towards the tenty-first century along with other nations in the global community, her daughters and sons, wherever they may be, must be active participants, instead of quiet observers, in the development of their homeland. However, real contributions have to come from hard work and team effort. As the work gets carried along, CAL is growing harmoniously and healthily. It plans to have its Canada and Europe Chapters in the near future. In promoting international academic exchanges at the grassroots level, CAL is proud to make a share of contribution through her unique way. Together, we CAN make a difference for China and the world! ----------------------------------------------------------------- Editor-in-chief: Jienan Chen Executive Editors: George Zhu, Guyang Huang Editorial Board: Jienan Chen, Dong-Ping Deng, Sen Hu, Guyang Huang, Yegang Wu, George Zhu Technical Reviewers: Ying Chen, Xiaowen Li, Zhenqin Li Printing: Tao Ni, David Yuan ------------------------------------------------------------------ --back cover-- ................................................................................