The First IMR-MTEC Joint Workshop on Materials Science and Engineering, co-hosted by the Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IMR, CAS) and the National Metal and Materials Technology Center (MTEC) of Thailand, was held at IMR from August 24 to 28. As a council member of the CAS Bangkok Innovation Centre, IMR received strong support from the Bureau of International Cooperation of CAS for this event.
Prof. WU Xinqiang, Deputy Director of IMR, delivered the opening address. He noted that the workshop marks an important milestone in the collaboration between the two institutes, highlighting the complementary strengths of IMR and MTEC in functional nanomaterials and additive manufacturing of natural rubber—an integration that exemplifies the synergy between "materials innovation" and "advanced manufacturing." Mr. Haitao Chen from the Bureau of International Cooperation expressed his congratulations on the successful convening of the workshop, emphasizing that the event represents a significant achievement under the cooperation agreement between CAS and the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation of Thailand.
During the workshop, 4 experts from MTEC and 7 scholars from IMR presented their latest research findings on cutting-edge topics including self-healing medical polymers, ferroelectric semiconductor information materials, 3D-printed natural rubber, 3D-printed superalloys and titanium alloys, magnetoelectric nanomaterials and their wave-absorbing properties, and rubber-based intelligent sensor devices. Participants engaged in in-depth discussions on key scientific and technological issues such as rubber vulcanization mechanisms, the influence of composite forms on electromagnetic wave absorption performance, fatigue resistance model construction, and stress-sensing response time.
During their visit, the Thai delegation toured the laboratories of the Division of Magnetic and Thermal Functional Materials, the Division of Superalloys, and the Public Technology Service Platform of the Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, engaging in productive exchanges with their IMR counterparts.
This workshop serves as a major academic event under the bilateral project between IMR and MTEC, aimed at deepening cooperation and promoting high-quality project implementation. The successful convening of the workshop not only stimulated academic exchange at the frontier of 3D printing, magnetoelectric nanomaterials, and flexible electronic devices, but also further consolidated the institutional collaboration between IMR and MTEC, creating favorable conditions for deeper and broader cooperation in the future.
