Preface

Title: Preface
Author(s): K. van Breugel, C. Miao
Paper category : conference
Book title: The 50-year Teaching and Research Anniversary of Prof. Sun Wei on Advances in Civil Engineering Materials
Editor(s): C. Miao, G. Ye and H. Chen
Print-ISBN: 978-2-35158-098-1
e-ISBN: 978-2-35158-099-8
Publisher: RILEM Publications SARL
Publication year: 2010
Pages: XVII - XVII
Total Pages: 1
Language: English

Abstract: Writing a forward in a book dedicated to Professor Sun Wei’s 50-year anniversary on Teaching and Research is first of all an honor, but at the same time a tricky job since it is almost impossible to do justice to her and to her numerous outstanding contributions to science. During the 1st International Conference on Microstructure Related Durability of Cementitious Composites in Nanjing in 2008 a special volume was issued, over 1000 pages thick, with a selection of papers authored by Professor Sun. It was a selection out of more than 400 papers and covered a wide range of topics professor Sun Wei has been dealing with. Contributions are found on basic theories and applied technologies of high performance concrete, high and ultra-high performance fiber reinforced cementitious composites, missile and explosion resistant concretes, theories and methods for evaluation of durability and service life predictions of structural concrete under coupled actions, development of environment friendly concretes and smart concretes, phase change materials and cement-based intelligent composites.

For those who have never met Professor Sun Wei personally, the indicated special volume must be more than enough already to become impressed by her academic expertise. But Professor Sun Wei’s career is not restricted to academic studies. As consultant for the industry Professor Sun Wei has been involved in a number of famous civil engineering projects, like the Three-Gorges Dam, the Second Yangtze Bridge in Nanjing and the Nanjing Subway, etc. Her scientific and innovative work has been awarded with many prestigious prices. It is not surprising, therefore, that professor Sun had been appointed academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. This appointment has most probably been the best way to express the academic world’s recognition of Professor Sun Wei’s expertise in science, research and teaching.

Professor Sun Wei’s home base is Nanjing, where she has a chair as full professor at Southeast University. In 1958 she started her career in teaching and research. Already before China decided to follow a more open policy and started to promote international contacts professor Sun Wei spent a research visit at the Syracuse University in the USA. In this respect she was a pioneer. In the decades that followed she collaborated with many researchers from high ranked universities from all over the world. Her great personality and outstanding expertise made her a favored speaker at international conferences and symposia. Not only her interest in and willingness to collaborate on an international level, but even more her vision that internationalization of science and research was imminent gave her the drive to explore the possibilities for establishing international contacts.

With this publication the authors want to express their recognition for Professor Sun Wei’s many outstanding contributions in the area of concrete and concrete technology and for sharing her wide expertise with so many colleagues in the academic society, inside and outside China.

Online publication: 2010-04-22
Publication type : full_text
Public price (Euros): 0.00