The New Stage of the Development
of the Department in Science and Technology

As one of the key disciplines in China and Shanghai, geotechnical engineering of Tongji University has forged into the lead in China and endeavors to rank among the world's first class. The staff of the department of geotechnical engineering have been making concerted effort in making correct assessment of the situation, making the best use of the situation, grasping chances and tackling problems. Centered on the requirements of the development of the national economy and social progress, the construction and development of the discipline are aimed to improve the creativity of science and technology and to enhance the combination of science and technology and economy. The department, thereby, has moved into its new stage in scientific research.
In accordance with the guiding principle of the university--something must be done and something else can be omitted, the department is now devoted to reinforcing the construction and reform of the discipline, which targeted at enhancing its source creativity. To realize the essential objectives set for its research, the department condenses the research team, reinforces its base construction and strengthens three research institutes, thirteen research divisions and a research team of about sixty talents. As a result, a number of influential organizations and teams in the university and the country have been established. Involved in the new round development of the university, the academic echelon of geotechnical engineering is making contributions to the scientific research of the university as well as social development. The reform of research mechanism has provided favorable environment for the selection of talents especially for the selection of talented young teachers, which results in the improvement of the quality of the research team and the formation of a well-distributed echelon of talents. In fact, the department offers best opportunities to excellent researchers to actualize their ambitions.
Taking the discipline construction as our major objective, the department is witnessing a good interaction between the teaching staff, talents development, social service, international communication and so on. The research team, which is led by 23 professors, 17 supervisors of PhD candidates and 2 academians who are determined to devote their life to the construction of the country and progress of the society, is striving to make the department a brain trust for the country in solving problems during its course of development and prosperity in the field of geotechnical engineering. The essence of scientific research is to create. The department has obtained a lot of achievements in this regard. In the past six years the department has won 24 provincial awards for its contributions to the advancement of science and technology, among which such major accomplishments as "Time effection theory and practice", "Dynamic possibility monitoring for the stability of deep pit", "Back analysis and engineering practice of geotechnical engineering", etc. have become brilliant stars in the history of the department.
Making progress with the age, the department has made breaking-through achievements in liberating and developing the first productive force-science and technology-in its creative practice since last year. The connections between science and technology and economy, knowledge and capital, scientific research and municipal construction and the development of West China have been tightened. The working team whose nucleus is made up of the scientists and experts from the department has displayed remarkable unity, solidarity and cooperation in the completion of such projects as the subproject of the mag-lev railway project ,the optimization of the lower part base structure, shield machine of tunnel testing platform theory, risk evaluation and analysis of Chongming cross-river passage project, a West China development project-key technology studies in the construction of joint arches and the expressway tunnel health diagnosis and application technology development. The department puts great emphasis on the combination of production, learning and research and the transformation of scientific achievements. In the new round of development of Shanghai towards a great international metropolis, especially after Shanghai succeeded in the bid for the 2010 expo, what the researchers in the department have in mind is to promote the strategy "to develop the department by way of developing science and education" and to make more contributions to the future development of the department in the new era. In a word, to ensure the leading position of the geotechnical engineering in the country, the department will make greater efforts in a wider range and to a larger extent and take a more active part in the national and international cooperation and competitions.
The department has been increasing its investment in science and technology since the year 2000. The capital fund used for the geotechnical engineering testing equipment has been over 10,000,000 yuan, among which the triaxial system for unsaturated soil testing, the biaxial rock creep testing system, rheological test cell for vibration condition and the continuous surface wave system take the lead in the country. The department has collected a fund of 11,000,000 yuan for participating in the projects of China's 863 Plan, Nature Science Foundation and other provincial research projects. The department has made a great number of achievements in geotechnical engineering and structure engineering and will definitely have a greater impact in the future on the economic growth and social progress.
In this new round of development of Shanghai, which centers on the 2010 expo, the scientific research of the department is facing unprecedented good opportunities as well as big challenges. The key discipline of geotechnical engineering will further exhibit its advantages and make more contributions to the new development of Shanghai. The leaders of the department are encouraging the teachers to broaden their horizons and increase the proportion of science and technology in their research, engineering design and technical support and integrate original ideas into various fields of economic practices of the society. This is a way that the department must follow in order to obtain the objectives set for the sustained development of the department and the discipline. We have all witnessed the power of science and technology and benefited from the bounties bestowed by science and technology. Each scientific achievement results in the improvement of productive forces. Numerous inventions formulate today's modernization. Science and technology have changed the look of cities, created the modern civilization of human beings and it also gives birth to the world's future.
There is no easy way in the pursuit of successes in research. Only those fearless mountaineers have the chance to reach the glorious top of the mountain of science. The researchers in the department of geotechnical engineering are just those brave mountaineers.