Keynote Speech by President of University of Minnesota, USA

Prof. Eric W. Kaler.jpg

SpeakerProf. Eric W. Kaler, President of the University of Minnesota

Time 2 p.m. July 3

VenueSpeech Hall, 2 Floor of the Auditorium, UCAS Yuquanlu campus

TopicGlobal, Innovative, and Open For Business: The American Research University in the 21st Century

AbstractProf. Eric W. Kaler will discuss the history and changing role of the American research university, its multi-faceted mission, its relationship to scientific discovery and innovation, and its partnership with industry. He will also detail his University of Minnesota's deep and important history with, and relationship to, higher education in China.

Introduction to the Speaker

Eric W. Kaler is President of the University of Minnesota. He received his B.S. (1978) from California Institute of Technology and his Ph.D. in chemical engineering (1982) from the University of Minnesota. Kaler's research interests are in surfactant and colloid science, statistical mechanics, thermodynamics, and materials synthesis. In 2010, President Kaler was elected to the National Academy of Engineering. In 2012, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano named him to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Academic Advisory Council. In 2013, he was named a Charter Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors.

The University of Minnesota is one of the most comprehensive public universities in the United States and ranks among the most prestigious. It is both the state land-grant university, with a strong tradition of education and public service, and the state's primary research university, with faculty of national and international reputation.