Peking University, Oct.23, 2014: Harvard professor James Anderson visited PKU from Oct 16 to 19 as one of the candidates of the award “Peking University Global Fellowship”. During the visit, he gave a speech on the challenge of climate change and stressed the importance of collaboration between Harvard and PKU.

President Wang meeting with Prof. Anderson

The awarding ceremony was held on the morning of Oct 17. President Wang Enge met with Prof. Anderson and gave him the medal as well as a letter of appointment as a guest professor at PKU. Later in the afternoon, Prof. Anderson delivered the speech named “Chemistry and Physics of Climate Change and Global Challenges: Research Collaboration between Harvard and Peking University” in Yingjie Overseas Exchange Center. Centering on the climate change, Prof. Anderson talked about global environmental problems and expected deeper cooperation between Harvard and PKU.

Icebergs in the Arctic waters are melting rapidly, said Prof. Anderson, which indicates not only the vulnerability of the climate system but also the severity of global warming caused by human activities. Also, Prof. Anderson pointed out that the biggest disadvantage of the research on climate and environmental change is the lack of observations on especially the polar, oceanic and some other remote areas. Cost-effective and high-resolution UAV can help with the problem and air pollution monitoring as well.

Prof. Anderson delivering the speech

Prof. Anderson said that China and the U.S. have great influences in the field of global climate change. Harvard and PKU from both sides have deeply-rooted foundations of collaboration, and thus he hoped that we can work together to solve the problem of climate change.

Background Information:

Peking University Global Fellowship is one of the serial important moves aiming to construct PKU as a world-class university. The programme invites top scholars in various fields from the world to deliver speeches, open courses and cooperate on studies at PKU, in order to help promote academic research and cultivate innovative talents.

Prof. James G. Anderson earned his B.S. in Physics from the University of Washington and his PhD in Physics and Astrogeophysics from the University of Colorado. He joined the faculty of Harvard University in 1978 and served as Chairman of the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology from July 1998 to June 2001. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In addition, he received the United Nations Vienna Convention Award for Protection of the Ozone Layer in 2005; the United Nations Earth Day International Award; the American Chemical Society’s National Award for Creative Advances in Environmental Science and Technology, etc.

Written by: Xiao Yunyun
Edited by: Yan Shengnan
Source: PKU News (Chinese)