On Jan 17, 2010, the State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology holds the Annual Academic Committee Conference 2010 in Third Conference Room (Room 314) in Main Building of Beijing Normal University. Academician An Zhisheng, Director of Academic Committee presides the conference and about 40 attendees including researcher Tian Junliang, researcher Fu Bojie, researcher Song Changqing, Professor Liu Baoyuan, Professor Zhang Dayong, Professor Shi Peijun, Professor Peng Changhui, Professor Dong Wenjie, Professor Li Xiaobing, Professor Zou Xueyong, Professor Gu Wei, Professor Gong Daoyi, Professor Chen Jin, Director Zhou Wenneng of Bases Administration Division, Basic Research Department of Ministry of Science and Technology, Director Ming Ju of Basic Research Division, Science & Technology Department of Ministry of Education, Director Gao Shangyu and Deputy Director Dai Jie of Science & Technology Division of Beijing Normal University and main research and management staff of ESPRE attend the conference.

Firstly, Professor Shi Peijun, Director of ESPRE gives Annual Work Report 2009 and 2005-2009 ESPRE Work Summary. Annual Work Report 2009 briefly introduces the construction progress of ESPRE in 2009, including talent team, research achievements, experiment conditions and communication and cooperation with others. 2005-2009 ESPRE Work Summary summarizes the research condition of ESPRE during 2005-2009 and introduces the preparation for State Key Laboratory Assessment in March, 2010.

 

After listening to the report and reading the materials, the Academic Committee puts forward the following suggestions for preparation of the application of the assessment report:

1. The objective and significance of construction should be clarified. There should be a main direction and internal logical relationship in lab’s orientation and research themes, and diagram and chart illustration is preferred.

2. The internal connection between the major research themes, and the lab’s influence and status in China and abroad should be mainly introduced. Also, the relationship between the lab’s software and hardware construction and its research directions should be described.

3. For Director Shi’s reports, there should be difference in introducing the overall research achievements and research achievements in every direction. Besides basic research, achievement should also emphasize application and social service effect.

4. In talent team cultivation, team building, talent introduction and cultivation should be mainly introduced.

 

Director Zhou Wenneng of Bases Administration Division, Basic Research Department of Ministry of Science and Technology points out that we should understand the State Key Laboratory Assessment correctly. Assessment is a management method which aims at work promotion. In the assessment, “Strength is essential, expression is crucial.” As for talent team, the key words are “past and future”, i.e., both the work achievement in the past and the development in the future needs a good team. In 2008, Ministry of Science and Technology revised the State Key Laboratory Assessment Rules with a “quantity to quality, qualitative to quantitative” change, which is worth notice.

 

In the third part of the conference, the Academic Committee listens to the research achievement reports by 8 research groups of ESPRE and puts forward 4 symbolic achievement frameworks, and hopes that they can be modified and improved as soon as possible.

 

The academic conference summarizes the research directions of ESPRE, clarifies the current task and indicates the potential problems during State Key Laboratory Assessment. In consideration that the State Key Laboratory Assessment Application is to be submitted soon, the Academic Committee hopes that ESPRE can not only attach importance to the embodiment of major research directions and presentation of symbolic achievements, but also further check the data to ensure the accuracy, realness, comprehensiveness and characteristic of the application. It’s hoped that ESPRE can achieve great success in the assessment.