Melville, NY, June 17, 2010 — Today the American Institute of Physics (AIP) officially marks the opening of its new office in Beijing, China with a grand opening celebration in honor of this important event. The AIP office is located in the Haidian District, in the center of Beijing's "Golden Triangle," comprising Tsinghua University, Peking University, and several major Institutes of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
As a major publisher of international scientific journals, AIP chose China as the logical first step in its global expansion, and AIP views its presence in China as a key component of its global publishing strategy. China is second only to the United States as the second largest source of scientific papers submitted to many top physics journals and for some, like AIP, the top submitter.
"AIP is committed to supporting China's burgeoning scientific community and the vital research Chinese scientists are conducting in physics and its many allied fields," said Mark Cassar, the Publisher of Journals and Technical Publications at AIP. "Opening this office signals the importance of this commitment. We are ensuring that we have people on the ground to cultivate relationships and meaningful exchanges of knowledge."
Today's event will be attended by nearly 100 distinguished guests, including Prof. Chen Jiaer, Peking University; Prof. Yang Guozhen, President of the Chinese Physical Society; Prof. Shen Wenqing, Vice President, National Natural Science Foundation of China; Prof. Wang Enge, Dean of the Graduate School of Peking University; Prof. Lu Li, Deputy Director of the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; and Prof. Chen Shiyi, a Fellow of the American Physical Society at Peking University. Among the speakers will be Chen Jiaer, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences from Peking University, and Shen Wenqing of the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Fred Dylla, AIP Executive Director and CEO, and John Haynes, AIP Vice President for Publishing, will also speak.
Xingtao Ai, a Ph.D. physicist with six years of experience at Science in China Press, a top Chinese publishing house heads the AIP office. Ai will promote AIP publications, products, and services to Chinese scientists and engineers in universities, government-sponsored research institutes, and other scientific organizations. In addition, AIP wants to establish relationships with key academic and government organizations and expects to explore joint publication development, provide marketing, and offer seminars to Chinese scientists, particularly graduate students, on how to get published in Western journals.
"In recent years, our two countries have grown increasingly closer, especially economically, and now AIP is exploring how collaborative efforts in science between our nations' researchers can be better facilitated," said John Haynes. "Science is increasingly a global enterprise, and we believe that our presence in China will go a long way toward furthering scientific communication and enhancing dissemination of scientific knowledge."