Recently,theChineseMinistry of Science and Technology (MOST)announced the project results ofthe National KeyResearch andDevelopment Programs(NKPs).The“China-MoroccoLaboratory ofMechanics ofThin-walledCompositeStructures”,akey project of theNKP“International Cooperation in Technology Innovation between Governments”, led by the group ofProfessorHuHengin the School of Civil EngineeringatWuhan University and jointly declared with Hassan II University in Morocco has been successfully established. The total project fund is 4 million yuan, of which 3.5 million yuan is allocatedbyChina, and the research and developmentperiodis three years. The laboratory isone of thefirsttenjoint laboratories ofChinaandArabcountriesestablishedby MOST.

TheNKP“International Cooperation in Technology Innovation between Governments” isa key special project ofMOSTin accordance with the requirementsof the Agreement of Bilateral (multilateral) Intergovernmental Cooperation in Science and Technology between China and Foreign Countries and tofulfillthe diplomaticcommitmentsoftheheadofstate. The collaborative project “China-MoroccoLaboratory ofMechanics ofThin-walledCompositeStructures” aims toimplementtheimportantinstructions of President Xithat“we shouldimplementtheSino-Arabscience and technologypartnershipandjointly establishcollaborative laboratories inkey areas of mutual interest.”This collaborative project is alsoa concrete response tothe Declaration onChina-Arab Cooperationin Building‘OneBelt,OneRoad’. The preliminary preparation is supported by the International Academic Cooperation Cultivation Programme of theDepartment of International Exchange and the Outstanding Innovation Programme of the Institute of Science and Technology. The establishment is also the outcome of the “China-France-Africa Tripartite Collaboration Platformon Higher Education” initiated by Wuhan University.

Driven by thedemandforlightweight, high strength, and multi-functional designof thin-walled composite structuresinadvanced industries,the projectisintendedto combine the advantages of data science and computing science to build a micro-macro analysis platform for thin-walled composite structures and promote the efficient development and application of high-performance composite structures. The application is of great significance in encouraging China-Morocco cooperation andexchangein the fieldof composite materials and enhancing intergovernmental innovation in science and technology.

The project leader,HuHeng, whomostlyengages in the research of computing solid mechanics and mechanics of composites, haspublished more than 70 SCI journal articles,has hostedseveral national research projects, including the Key International Cooperation Research Programme oftheNational Natural Science Foundation of China and China’s International Cooperation between Governments Key Programme of theNKP. He is also the Co-Editor-in-Chief of the top journalComposite Structuresin mechanics of composites, the director of the International Association for Computational Mechanics, the vice-chairman of the Mechanics Society of Hubei Province and the vice-chairman of the Composites Society of Hubei Province.

Rewritten by Chen Yu

Edited byCao Mi, Sylvia, Xi Bingqing