As China and Egypt mark the 70th anniversary of their diplomatic ties this year, cooperation between the two countries in education and science is continuing to expand thanks to closer exchanges under the Belt and Road Initiative.
At Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT) in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, researchers from China and Egypt are advancing a joint project aimed at solving technical problems in gas-turbine power generation.
Nasser Sayed, an associate professor from Egypt's Menoufia University, is working with a team led by Hou Lei, a professor at HIT's School of Astronautics, to apply theories in nonlinear dynamics and vibration control to predict and mitigate abnormal vibrations, an effort intended to improve unit stability and support upgrades to gas turbines used for electricity generation.
Sayed said the collaboration has reshaped his approach to research and shifted his focus from pure theory toward turning ideas into practical products.
"The work with the team here is changing my ideas about research in general. My research at first was just theoretical. Now, [it has] converted the idea from theory to product," said Sayed.
The partnership is supported by China's national key research and development program under an intergovernmental international science and technology innovation cooperation initiative.
With the help of the very program, HIT and Menoufia University have jointly established a China-Egypt joint laboratory to address shared technological bottlenecks faced by the gas-turbine industry, a key component of natural-gas power generation.
"As Egypt has strong capabilities in the technology of active vibration control, we work together to combine [our researches] to provide much stronger theoretical support for forward design," said Hou.
Based on the research's progress, Sayed has been selected for Talented Young Scientist Program sponsored by China's Ministry of Science and Technology.
Visiting China for the first time, he said he hopes more Egyptian students can come to China for academic exchanges.
"I think now we plan to bring some students from Egypt to Chinese (China). The lab here is very advanced and world-class. The Chinese institution admittedly search about new idea and new technology to improve their people's life. For the life, work, for the research, China is really an attractive country," said Sayed.
China, Egypt deepen research ties as joint team tackles tech challenges
