Materials science has become widely recognized as a specific and distinct field of science and engineering. Many of the most pressing scientific problems that humans currently face are due to the limitations of the materials that are available and, as a result, breakthroughs in materials science are likely to have a significant impact on the future of technology.

In Austria materials science is a very important field of research. Over 100 companies deal with the metal research with a turnover of 43 billion Euro, an export quota of 90 percent and a budget for research and development of about 400 million Euro a year. The Austrian Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology (BMVIT) has made a crucial contribution to the development of this technology in Austria. Out of the total BMVIT budget for the promotion of R&D, twelve percent are spent on manufacturing or production related projects and eleven percent are spent on advanced materials.

On Wednesday, 20 January 2016, a China-Austria roundtable on Advanced Materials will be held jointly by the Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IMRCAS) and the Science and Technology Section of the Austrian Embassy (OSTA). We would like to invite you to the roundtable and the Science-2-Science meetings for a focussed one-day exchange between Austrian and Chinese researchers in the field of advanced materials.

Please find attached the preliminary agenda. If you are interested in joining the event, please provide the following information by 11 December 2015 to Ms. LI Shuyan (syli@imr.ac.cn) who will act as contact point for organisational matters: your CV and the enclosed registration form in which you are invited to write your name next to the Austrian partners (up to four) with which you would like to hold bilateral Science-2-Science talks. Should you have any questions regarding content, please contact Ms. WANG Bo (office@austria-scitech-china.org).

Yours sincerely,

DDI Helmut SPITZL, MSc
Austrian Embassy Beijing, Section of Science and Technology
1480 Beijing Sunflower Tower, No. 37 Maizidian Street, Chao Yang District, Beijing 100125
office@austria-scitech-china.org, Tel. +86-10-8527 6040

Prof. Rui YANG, Director
Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences
72Wenhua Road, Shenyang 110016

Tel. +86-24-2397 1500

Wednesday, 20 January 2016

Location: 72 Wenhua Road, Shenyang, Liaoning, IMRCAS, room: tbd

09:00              Registration

09:30              Opening Speeches (welcome remarks by leaders from both sides)

09:45              Introduction of the Austrian researchers (short presentations of 2-3 minutes)

10:45              Tea Break

11:15              Lab Tour

12:00              Lunch

13:30              Science-2-Science Meetings (part 1), room: tbd

15:00              Tea Break

15:30              Science-2-Science Meetings (part 2), room: tbd

17:00              End, transfer by bus to joint dinner

18:00              Joint dinner, location: tbd

Contact persons

§         Austrian Embassy: Ms. WANG Bo
E-mail: office@austria-scitech-china.org; Tel.: 010-85276040

§         IMRCAS: Ms. LI Shuyan
E-mail: syli@imr.ac.cn; Tel.: 024-23971500

For detailed information on Austrian participants (incl. CVs) please have a look at
www.austria-scitech-china.at/advanced-materials/
The Science-2-Science meetings will be held from 13:30-17:00 and will have a duration of approximate 30-45min. You will later be informed on the exact time for each meeting.