Recently, the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) announced the project results of the National Key Research and Development Programs (NKPs). The “China-Morocco Laboratory of Mechanics of Thin-walled Composite Structures”, a key project of the NKP “International Cooperation in Technology Innovation between Governments”, led by the group of Professor Hu Heng in the School of Civil Engineering at Wuhan University and jointly declared with Hassan II University in Morocco has been successfully established. The total project fund is 4 million yuan, of which 3.5 million yuan is allocated by China, and the research and development period is three years. The laboratory is one of the first ten joint laboratories of China and Arab countries established by MOST.

The NKP “International Cooperation in Technology Innovation between Governments” is a key special project of MOST in accordance with the requirements of the Agreement of Bilateral (multilateral) Intergovernmental Cooperation in Science and Technology between China and Foreign Countries and to fulfill the diplomatic commitments of the head of state. The collaborative project “China-Morocco Laboratory of Mechanics of Thin-walled Composite Structures” aims to implement the important instructions of President Xi that “we should implement the Sino-Arab science and technology partnership and jointly establish collaborative laboratories in key areas of mutual interest.” This collaborative project is also a concrete response to the Declaration on China-Arab Cooperation in Building ‘One Belt, One Road’. The preliminary preparation is supported by the International Academic Cooperation Cultivation Programme of the Department of International Exchange and the Outstanding Innovation Programme of the Institute of Science and Technology. The establishment is also the outcome of the “China-France-Africa Tripartite Collaboration Platform on Higher Education” initiated by Wuhan University.

Driven by the demand for lightweight, high strength, and multi-functional design of thin-walled composite structures in advanced industries, the project is intended to combine the advantages of data science and computing science to build a micro-macro analysis platform for thin-walled composite structures and promote the efficient development and application of high-performance composite structures. The application is of great significance in encouraging China-Morocco cooperation and exchange in the field of composite materials and enhancing intergovernmental innovation in science and technology.

The project leader, Hu Heng, who mostly engages in the research of computing solid mechanics and mechanics of composites, has published more than 70 SCI journal articles, has hosted several national research projects, including the Key International Cooperation Research Programme of the National Natural Science Foundation of China and China’s International Cooperation between Governments Key Programme of the NKP. He is also the Co-Editor-in-Chief of the top journal Composite Structures in mechanics of composites, the director of the International Association for Computational Mechanics, the vice-chairman of the Mechanics Society of Hubei Province and the vice-chairman of the Composites Society of Hubei Province.

Rewritten by Chen Yu

Edited by Cao Mi, Sylvia, Xi Bingqing