Visit ot Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics

"David Watson and I spent two weeks at the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics. Changchun is the automobile town of China, where large car manufacturers such as Wolkswagen, Audi etc.. have established factories. It is also the birthplace of the Chinese laser.

As one of the 40 Senior Visiting Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences tihs year, I was invited to give a series of lectures about commercialisation of research., MEMS hermeticity, MOEMS packaging and the basic understanding of an accelerometer for automative applications.

David and I were treated very well with lunches and dinners every day in a restaurant. The accomodation was superb and our hosts were extremely nice to us. With a research income of around £200M, the Insitute is a formidable force to reckon with and a good partner for future collaborations.

One note of advice, do not visit the Institute in Janaury/February, with -20 degrees Celsius outside, it was difficult to enjoy the sights in town :)"