Brief News

Li Jinghai Visits India

FRom Dec. 15 to 21, Li Jinghai, Vice President of CAS paid a visit to India with his entourage. During his stay in India, Li Jinghai attended the Eighth International Conference on Gas-Liquid-Solid Reaction Engineering in New Delhi, renewed the cooperation agreement with Indian National Science Academy (INSA) on behalf of CAS and presented himself at the Seminar on Structural Biology co-held by CAS and INSA in Bangalore.

Zhan Wenlong, Ding Zhongli and Yin Hejun Appointed Vice Presidents of CAS

On Jan. 1, 2008, the State Council of PRC announced the appointment for Zhan Wenlong, Ding Zhongli and Yin Hejun as vice presidents of CAS.

Before they took the new posts, Mr. Prof. Zhan Wenlong was Director General of the Lanzhou Institute of Modern Physics and Deputy Director of the National Laboratory of Heavy Ion Accelerator; Mr. Prof. Ding Zhongli was Director General of the Institute of Geology and Geophysics; Mr. Prof. Yin Hejun was Director General of the Institute of Electronics and later Director General of the Bureau of High-tech Research and Development of the CAS head office.

Meridian Project Initiated

On Jan. 5 morning, the launching ceremony of the eastern hemisphere space environment ground-based comprehensive monitoring meridian chain (Meridian Project for short), one of the national major S&T infrastructure projects, was solemnly held in Beijing.

Along the 120oE meridian line, the Meridian Project aims to build a large-scale space environment ground-based monitoring system under joint operation by making use of the existing 15 observatories distributed near 30oN starting from Mohe in the north, via Beijing, Wuhan to Hainan in the south and extending to the Zhongshan Station in Antarctic, as well as beginning from Shanghai in the east, via Wuhan, Chengdu to Lhasa in the west, which will continuously monitor the surface of the earth, the upper and medium atmosphere, ionized stratum and magnetic layer from above 20 to 30 km to several hundred km, and the geomagnetic field and electric field in the interplanetary space environment with a distance of more than ten radiuses of the earth, wind field, density, temperature and composition of the upper and medium atmosphere, as well as relevant parameters in the interplanetary space by such diversified means as geomagnetism (power), radio, optics, sounding rocket, etc. Such project will mainly consist of chains, where chains and network are combined. With a total investment of RMB 167 million Yuan and a construction period of 3 years, three systems, namely space environment monitoring system, data and communications system and research and forecasting system, will be eventually completed.