On Nov 23rd to 25th, Dr. Xiaotao Bi visited Hunan Academy of Forestry (HAF) in Changsha, Hunan, China. He attended meetings on the plan of opening a branch of C-CJCBERI in Hunan and delivered an academic lecture. He was accompanied by the Party Secretary of HAF, Mr. Guosheng Zhou, to visit the national forestry demonstration park of HAF Experiment Forest, Hunan National Forest Economy Demonstration Base, Hunan Predators Breeding Center, the National Engineering Technology Research Center for Camellia, and the National Demonstration Base for Integration of Forestry and Oil.
In the meetings, Dr. Bi introduced the background and vision of C-CJCBERI. The Director of HAF, Dr. Changzhu Li, also a faculty member of C-CJCBERI, introduced the development of the HAF Bioenergy Innovation Group and shared ideas of developing C-CJCBERI's branch at HAF. They also discussed the goal and work plan of the branch with the researchers in bioenergy, bioligical engineering, and environmental engineering fields at HAF. The key research areas and objectives in the next three years were initially set.
Dr. Bi also met with Crisitano Varotti, Italian representative in China for Le Marche government, Professor Xingzhong Yuan, Associate Head of the Department of Environmental Science and Engineering at Hunan University, Professr Lijuan Jiang from China Central South University of Forestry and Technology, and Yannan Hou, Director of Afforestation Sector of Department of Forestry in Hunan Province.
Dr. Bi was appointed (5-year term) as the Academic Committee Associate Director of the Hunan National-Local Joint Engineering Lab for Energy Plant High-efficient Conversion, China National Development and Reform Commission. He was invited to give a talk on "Microwave-assisted catalytic pyrolysis of switchgrass for improving bio-oil and biochar properties", which over 40 researchers and graduate students from HAF, Hunan University, and China Central South University of Forestry and Technology attended with great interest. His visit strengthened the partnership on bioenergy between China and Canada.
