[Report]Visiting Professor Prof. Dongfang LIANG stayed for joint research with Dr. CHO in Dec.

IROAST Visiting Prof. Dongfang LIANG from the University of Cambridge stayed at Kumamoto University from December 20-27 for joint research with Professor Hiroshi CHO (FAST*), with the support of the “IROAST Visiting Professor and Visiting Associate Professor Invitation Program”.

In this visit, besides offering a lecture at the 139th IROAST seminar held on Dec. 20, Prof. Liang visited the areas affected by the 2020 water disaster along the Kuma River in southern Kumamoto Prefecture to gain insight into the geographical characteristics of the river and the disaster management technologies employed in the region. He also paid a visit to the Midori River and Kikuchi River to examine traditional river training structures such as gabion spur dykes.

During his time in Kumamoto, he toured the experimental facilities in the Hydraulics Experiment Building and joined in experiments conducted by students from the River Environment Laboratory. He had a talk with Prof. Cho and Dr. Inagaki on further exchange plan. Before departing for Cambridge, he participated in a joint field survey conducted by Kumamoto University and Setsunan University, focusing on the local riverbed topography in Osaka along the Yodo River.

 During this visit, Prof. Liang gained a comprehensive understanding of the research activities and plans at the River Environment Laboratory of Kumamoto University and Prof. Liang and Prof. Cho identified several research topics of mutual interest, which will help accelerate international collaboration.

They are preparing to present their joint research at an upcoming international conference and will work on co-authoring papers for international academic journals. They also agreed to seek research funding to facilitate exchanges of faculty members and students, as well as to advance their joint international research projects.

It is expected that this visit will lead to further development of joint research between the two parties in the future.

*FAST: Faculty of Advanced Science and Technology, Kumamoto University

 
Disaster recovery site along the Kuma River      Flood marks in the Kuma River basin
(From left, Dr. Cho and Dr. Liang)

 
Visit of the Hydraulics Experiment Building       Discussion with Prof. Cho and Dr. Inagaki (right)

Field visit to the Yodo River