The China Center of Advanced Science and Technology (CCAST) was established on October 17, 1986 by Professor T.D. Lee of Columbia University through the support of the World Laboratory, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Government. Its purpose is to introduce important frontier areas of science to China, to foster their growth by providing a suitable environment, and to promote free exchange of scientific information between China and other nations.
Professor T.D. Lee is the director and Professor Zhou Guangzhao and Lu Yongxiang are the co-directors.
An important component of CCAST's activities is the organization of domestic and international symposium/workshops. Each academic year we hold about 20 domestic symposium/workshops , which last an average of one to two weeks each. The subjects are carefully chosen to cover advanced areas that are of particular interest to Chinese scientists by the CCAST Committee of Senior Advisers and Coordinators. For each symposium/workshop one or two outstanding scientists in that particular field are invited as the organizers. About 20-60 participants, from senior scientists to graduate students, are selected on a nationwide basis for each program. During each workshop these scientists hold daily seminars and work closely with each other. For the participants from cities other than Beijing, their transportation expenses between cities are reimbursed by CCAST.
Since 1990, CCAST has also sponsored a vigorous program " Overseas Young Returning Scientists Program" (YRS) for young Chinese scientists who graduated from universities in China, obtained doctor degree abroad and have already made world-class contributions and are currently doing research abroad. They return to China to participate the international and domestic symposium/workshops, to lecture at CCAST and to collaborate with their colleagues at home. In this way, they can bring to China their own expertise, and when they go back to their institutions abroad they will be able to circulate in turn the knowledge they have acquired in China. The Overseas Young Returning Scientists Program is integrated with the domestic and international symposium/workshop.
After each symposium/workshop, proceeding is published as soon as possible to facilitate the exchange of information. The proceeding is distributed to every participant free of charge. People who are interested in that particular topic can ask for a free copy of proceeding in case that the copy of that proceeding is still available.