A Few of my Favorite Things.......

I just received papers from the PhD. Engineers!  Check out the titles of the articles they hope to publish! Now take a guess, what do you think my job might be?

1.     The Current Status and Research Progress of Spinodal Decomposing Cu-15Ni-8snAlloy

2.     The Present Research Situation and Development of High Nitrogen Nickel-free Austenitic Stainless Steel

3.     Super Plasticity of Magnesium Alloys Prepared by Submerged Friction Stir Process

4.     Analysis on Chemical Industry Park Emergency Drill Escape Paths Based on Web GIS

5.     Functionalized Grapheme Sheets Filled Isotactic Polypropylene Nano composites

6.     Formation of Shish-Kebabs in Isotactic Polypropylene (iPP) by Application of a Dynamic Sheared Field and Morphology of Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) Fiber

7.     Study of Recycling Technology for Spent Lithium ion Batteries

8.     Risk Assessment of Multi-State Bayesian Network in an Oil Gathering and Transferring System

9.     Heat Transfer Characteristic on Expanded Graphite Paraffin PCM-heat exchanger used in instant heated HPWH

10. Fabrication of a AINiFeCoCr High Entropy Alloy by Spark Plasma Sintering

11. Effect of Thermal Frequency on AA6061 Aluminum Alloy Double Pulsed Gas Metal Arc Welding

12. Leaf Spring Analysis

13. A Review of Discrete Element Method

14. Parameters Identification of Viscoelastic Constitutive Model and Error Analysis for Uncured Rubber

15. Enhancement of Mechanical Properties and Corrosion Resistance of Titanium Alloy by Deep Burnishing Processing

16. Vibration Mechanism of Spur Gear Pair in Healthy State

17. Resolver-Based Rotor’s Position Detecting System Design of Motor

18. The Influence of the Cutter Installation Structure on the Quality of Cut Sugar Cane

19. Research Progress of Zirconia-based Ceramics Toughening Mechanisms

20. Application of Supercritical CO2 in Biomass Material Processing

21. Study on Three-Dimensional Characterization of Microcosmic Pores and Its Effect on Fatigue Performance

22. Effect of Rheological Property on Microcellular Injection Foaming Behavior of Propylene/organic Montmorillinite Composite

23. The Challenge of Stereotypical Child Care Role of Women in Child Care Policy

24. A Journals review of the Research on the Historical Origin of Marxism in China

25. Initial Reactant Concentration Controlled Synthesis of Double Layered Titanium Dioxide on FTO Substrate and Characterization of its Optical Properties

26. Oxidation Mechanism of Dibenzothiophene Compounds: A Computational Study

27. Enrichment of Large Diameter Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes (SWNTs) with Metallo-Octaethylporphyrins

28. Coal t Methanol Water Footprint of a Product

29. Hydrothermal Conversion of Lignin to Substituted Phenols

30. Conceptual Design of Coke-Oven assisted Coal t Olefins Process for High Energy Efficiency and Low CO2 Emission

31. Carbon Nanotubes Modified for ZnCo2O4 with a Novel Porous Polyhedral Structures as Anodes for Lithium ion Batteries with Improved Performances

32. Synthesis and Performance of Pour-Point Depressant of Vinyl Imidazole-2 Acrylamide-2-MethylPropane Sulfonic Acid-18-Methacrylate Terpolymer for High Wax and High Viscosity

33. Metal Free Electro catalysts for Oxygen Reduction

34. Solar-Powered Membrane Distillation Humidification-Dehumidification Desalination System Research

35. Amphiphilic Multiarm Star Triblock Copolymers 4/6AS-PCL-b-PDEAMA-b-PPEGMA for Controlled Anticancer Drug Delivery

36. Research Progress in Novel Antifogging Coating

37. Discuss the Impact of Globalization on China from Culture Perspective

38. Cellulose Nano whiskers Brushes by Surface UV Grafting with Poly (Acrylic Acid)

39. Inorganic Compounds @n-tetrad cane Microencapsulated Phase Change Materials

40. Naphthalene Acrylonitrile Dyes: Facile Synthesis, Structure, and Application as Fluorescent Probes for pH

41. Novel Phase Change Composites with Alkanes Stabilized in Ordered Mesoporous

42. Synthesis, Characterization and Application of Carbon Nanotubes

43. Plugging into Proteins: Poisoning Protein Function by a Hydrophobic Nanoparticle

44. Recent Study Sinicization of Marxism

45. Discussion about Music Theory in “New Folk Song”

46. Catalytic Reduction of Nitrogen Oxides with Carbon Monoxide

47. The States of Electrostatic Spray and Particle Size Distribution of Different Voltage

48. Ionic Liquids as a New Platform for Fiber Brittleness Removal

49. A Fast Way to Evaluate the Solvent Penetration Resistance of NFC Film

50. Influence of Viscoelasticity on the Performance of a Wet Clutch Friction Material

51. Synthesis of Dextran with Low Molecular Weight by Immobilized Dextransucrase and Dextranase

52. Synthesis and Characterization of AG Nanoparticles Decorated Mesoporous Sintered Activated Carbon with Antibacterial and Absorptive Properties

53. Combining of Acid and Enzyme Treatment Modification to Characterize Structure of Starch Octenylsucccinate

54. A Robust Method for Determining Water-Extractable Alkyl phenol Polyethoxyates n Textile Products by Reaction-Based Headspace Gas Chromatography

55. Migration of Ti from Nano-TiO2-Polyethylene Composite Packaging into Food Simulants

56. Influence of SorbinTrioleate on Crystallization Kinetics of Palm Oil

57. Study on Preparation and Performance of Cationic Guar Gum in the Ionic Liquid

58. Optimization of Ultrasonic-Assisted Extraction of Phenolic Compounds, Antioxidants, and Anthocyanin from Sugar Beet Molasses

59. Characterization of Tofu Prepared fr0m Dehusked-Soybean Seeds

60. The Influence of Brine Concentration and Curing Time on Pig Elbows During Brine Salting and Vacuum Environment

61. Synthesis of Organic Polymer by Artificial Photosynthesis

62. Research on Preparation and Properties of Chemi-Mechanical Pulp from the Waste Poplar Wood

63. Effects of Hornification of Softwood Fibers on the Characteristics of Acid Hydrolysis Products

64. Hydrous Ferric Oxide (FHO)-Load Granular Activated Carbon as Catalyst to Reduce COD and Color of Eucalyptus CTMP Pulping Effluent by Ozone

South China Botanical Garden

We are fortunate to have the South China Botanical Garden in Guangzhou!  Two Bus connections, a metro and about an hour will put you five miles North of Guangzhou and right at the entrance of the amazing garden.  It was hard to believe that you could be on the loud busy city street then walk into a beautiful peaceful garden.  We left early in the morning to catch the 7:30 bus so the garden would be cool for our morning walk.  The road around the perimeter was lined with tall beautiful trees that threw shade all along the walkway.  It was easy to spot Chinese groups of senior citizens gathered to do their morning Tai Chi, accompanied by their recorded Chinese music.  Most of the flowers were past their bloom but we did capture a few that were still glorious for the end of October!

FIRST Robotics at South China University of Technology

I have great memories of working with the five Canyons District High Schools in the First Robotics partnership.  The high school teams and their dedicated advisors were able to create  A-1 class robots that competed well in the region as well as Hillcrest High School and Brighton High School moving to the National Competition the first year they competed.

Last week as I finished my classes on the seventh floor of teaching building #31, I could see a gathering of students on the main floor.  As I made it down the stairs students were managing computers outside a secure area.  It was the lunch break so many students had stopped by to watch the exhibit.  Soon there were small plastic balls flying outside the area and students were excited about what the robots were doing.  The sound of Chinese students watching the demonstration echoed all through the building. 

There were two sets of robots, three robots were a blue team and three were a red team. The students on the exterior of the netting were driving the robots around the jumps and lifts, on two wheels at fast corners and all sorts of stunts were being performed.  I was unable to read the Chinese sign but my best guess is First Robotics has arrived at SCUT!

Phantom of the Opera at the Guangzhou Opera House

The Phantom of the Opera, a hit musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, staged its first show in Guangzhou city in Guangdong province on Sept 22. The southern Chinese city is the second location on the mainland, after Shanghai, to host the show that is scheduled to be staged in Beijing in November.

The Guangzhou Opera House has a giant chandelier and takes the look of 19th-century Paris while hosting the musical that is being staged through Sunday.

The investment on the show in the two Chinese cities cost 90 million yuan ($14 million), a record for the country's market for musicals, according to Tian Yuan, general manager of Beijing-based One World Culture Communications, a subsidiary of China Arts and Entertainment Group that organized the tour.

"The Chinese market for musicals has grown a lot in the past 10 years, which is part of the reason why we dared to introduce such an expensive production," Tian says. "Theaters have also sprung up across the country with heavy investments from the government."

The Phantom of the Opera is regarded as "the diamond on the crown" of Webber's musicals, Tian says. It debuted in London's West End in 1986 and has been staged more than 74,000 times in 27 countries, attracting at least 130 million viewers, before coming to Guangzhou.

"The show is magic. I mean that both literally and in terms of the emotional involvement of the audience while watching the incredible story," says Philip Godawa, the musical's director.

And, it isn't far-fetched. The stage setting, for instance, suddenly changes from the dressing room for Christine, the musical's heroine, to a subterranean "lake" enshrouded in mist.

Six large candelabrums rise from the stage floor, making for strong visual effects. The Phantom and Christine sail across the lake on a boat to his lair beneath the opera house.

It took 22 days to assemble the complex stage at Guangzhou Opera House with 23 containers of props and clothes. The stage floor with 150 "secret" doors was specially made and delivered to Guangzhou by air.

Shanghai Grand Theater was the only theater that Really Useful Group, the producer of The Phantom of the Opera, could find in China to meet the demands of stage setting when the musical made its mainland debut in 2004, Tian says.

The musical returned to Shanghai in 2013, and chose Guangzhou Opera House this year as it was willing to modify its stage for the show, while the newly built Beijing Tianqiao Performing Arts Center seemed like another good venue as the country's only theater designed for musicals.

I couldn’t have said it any better than THE CHINA DAILY. This performance was breathtaking.  I saw “Phantom” in NYC on Broadway at least ten years ago,  I still remember that feeling of seeing it for the first time!  The Guangzhou Opera House did well for itself.

Campus Construction

There appears to be heavy growth at South China University of Technology.  There is an increase of students, bicycles, scooters, long lines, cars and new construction everywhere.  Campus buildings are beautiful, solid granite and marble are on the floors and walls for seven or eight floors with very large vestibules on the main floor that accommodates a great view of the classrooms. 

We walk daily, usually after our morning classes, around the lake on the upper north campus where most of the growth is visible.  Massive machinery does most of the work, however there is still much of the work done by hand.  The new curb and gutter is solid granite and hand installed by Chinese laborers.

 Hand installed granite curb and gutter.

 New teaching building on upper campus

Shopping in China

First of all I need to confess that I am not a shopper, and shopping is never high on my list.  I prefer going with a list or a project get the things that I need and checking out, pay my bill and get on with life. Browsing and checking out what is new is never something I like to do.  Both Kaci and Ashley have nurtured shopping as an art and can spend time enjoying shopping for hours, they did not learn that skill from me.

Shopping in China however has added a few more layers to that adventure.  Grocery shopping doesn’t take a long list, largely because we usually walk to the store or ride the metro or subway.  All three are limiting on how much you are able to purchase. You can only buy what you can carry.  No Costco runs to load the car and be done for a month, two shoulder bags that won’t damage your spine just about does it. 

The next layer of adventure is labeling.  Nothing is familiar even colors on Oreos are different.  Then everything is labeled in Chinese, if by chance it is an American product they are over labeled in Chinese.  I know that isn’t surprising but it makes grocery shopping a treasure hunt.  Even with my iPhone translator up and running I have become a pantomime expert.  My favorite was trying to fine spray starch. 

Chinese laundry is an American Myth.  There are no Chinese laundries anywhere near my apartment, or anywhere I have traveled.  As a result of that, I needed to iron shirts for Craig. Since we don’t have a dryer, the shirts are all wrinkled coming from the spin cycle of the washer then hung outside, starch became a necessity.  Off to the local grocery store to find starch. The nice Chinese ladies in the market really do try to be helpful but they do not speak any English.   After my iPhone translator pulled up the Chinese characters, I was escorted to the potato section, then the corn section, then my pantomime skills kicked in and I demonstrated ironing, off to the ironing board section, then to the steamer section and last of all to the iron section.  It must have been very entertaining to watch me with my iPhone in one hand and my best effort pantomiming spraying starch and ironing.  Suddenly I felt just like Carol Burnett!  I never found the spray or liquid starch and Craig walks around campus and church with water sprayed on his collars and cuffs and my best attempt at ironing sans starch! (Don’t invite me to a Charade party, you will looooose!)

Shopping at the mall is more entertaining than going to a movie.  Loud speakers, Christmas carols, barkers, demonstrations on all levels, Chinese people yelling “hello, hello” as you try to absorb the whole event, and mobs of people wandering the walkways.  I will never complain about crowds of people or long lines in the U.S. again.  Overwhelming but so entertaining! I might become a shopper after all.

Chinese Internet

Chinese Internet is a source of continual frustration.  It is censored and distributed only by the government; it makes me smile every time I get a message to “contact my internet provider.”

Accessing the Internet is a feat all by itself.  The university provides our server.  In 2013 when we were here it was a struggle to use the Internet, two years later it is near impossible to use the Internet.  The university has increased in size more that 20,000 students and professors to cover that increase in population without any change or upgrade in the server that provides Internet access to both professors and students. When the students are not in class and trying to research or write papers “good luck” with using the Internet.  If I really need to get something done I set an alarm for 3:00AM to use the Internet.

Think of the worst Internet service you can imagine, Comcast, Time Warner, or Cox Network are the services I have experienced. All are a thousand times better and more available that the Internet service provided in China!

Enough said, that is Chinese Internet in a nutshell!