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Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: maceng2 who wrote (197466)3/19/2023 7:33:21 PM
From: TobagoJack  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 217840
 
Re << Britain to ramp up microchip production over fears China are poised to invade Taiwan (msn.com) >>

into what manufactured items would the UK put the microchips into?

and, without Team China nuclear reactors and solar gear, and 5G-enabled factories, why bother?

Suspicion, 'they' are winging it, today microchips and tomorrow, scones. They got it backward, should instead start small, with scones, before scones bolt the barn :0)))))))

okay okay, I doubt very much UK imports scones ... just saying

I love British comedy shows, they are truly outstanding, a world treasure.

starting restoring / friend-shoring / on-shoring basics would be another way to go oec.world :0))))) just joshing


The photograph below shows Team China-owned Kuka robots making German Minis in UK, much sold in China, and so, logically, 'they' just cut out the middle person and moving the plant

She said that when electric Minis were to be built again in Britain, it would be on an assembly-line platform developed by Great Wall, and that the existing Cowley lines would be stripped out as part of a major factory overhaul.

“Oxford is not geared up for electric vehicles,” she said. “It will need renovation and investment.” Asked when electric Minis will return to Oxford, she said: “There is no date.”

theguardian.com

BMW to axe UK production of electric Mini and relocate to China

Sophie Zeldin-O'Neill



A Mini electric car is pictured on the production line during its unveiling at the BMW group plant in Cowley. Photograph: Tolga Akmen/AFP/Getty Images

BMW is to axe all UK production of the award-winning electric Mini and relocate it to China, dealing a major blow to hopes that Britain could be a global hub for zero-emission vehicle manufacture.

BMW makes 40,000 electric Minis per year at its Cowley factory on the outskirts of Oxford.

In an article published by the Times on Saturday, it was confirmed that BMW Oxford’s production of electric vehicles will end next year as part of plans to reshape the carmaker’s lineup from 2024.

The move is a further blow to the UK’s ambition to become a leader in global electric car manufacturing, following Honda’s decision to quit Britain in 2016.

BMW’s joint venture with Great Wall Motor means their hatchback and small SUV models will now be made in east China, as will the next generation zero-emission Mini Aceman.

A new, electric version of the largest Mini model, the Countryman, will, BMW has confirmed, be manufactured at its plant in Leipzig.

The announcement follows confirmation by Mini boss, Stefanie Wurst, last week that a convertible model will join the all-new Mini Cooper range – due to launch in 2024 – and that it will be “coming home” in 2025 with production in the UK at the Mini Oxford factory.

Petrol Mini Coopers will be built in Oxford, in three-door, five-door and convertible forms, for export to markets such as the US, Japan and the Middle East, with BMW confirming that it will not halt production of Minis with internal combustion engines until 2030.

BMW’s decision comes after reports that Britain’s only planned large-scale battery factory, being built by Britishvolt in the north-east of England, will go bust if it does not receive a £200m rescue package.

Only a year ago, Boris Johnson, then prime minister, promised at the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow, to fund a “£1bn electric car revolution” in the UK “creating hundreds of thousands of jobs”. His predecessor, Theresa May, intended that Britain would become “a world leader” in electric vehicle manufacturing and made it one of the “pillars” of her short-lived industrial strategy.

Kwasi Kwarteng, who was sacked as chancellor on Friday and replaced by Jeremy Hunt, said last year when he was business secretary that the electrified automotive industry would be “front and centre of Britain building back better”.

Those commitments — and the seven-year model cycles typically employed by automotive companies — indicate that the Oxford plant will not assemble any new electric vehicles until the next decade.

The historic Cowley factory has been the subject of speculation that BMW wants to sell the plant to Great Wall, which has made no secret that its big sales push into the European electric market will eventually lead it to seek its own production facilities in Europe.

Wurst denied that, stating: “Oxford will always be the home of Mini.” She said the decision to halt the electric Mini assembly in the UK was not linked to post-Brexit supply constraints and cross-border friction with the EU, or the lack of a nearby gigafactory, but because the Cowley plant was running inefficiently by having to produce electric and petrol cars on the same line.

Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you through the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning

She said that when electric Minis were to be built again in Britain, it would be on an assembly-line platform developed by Great Wall, and that the existing Cowley lines would be stripped out as part of a major factory overhaul.

“Oxford is not geared up for electric vehicles,” she said. “It will need renovation and investment.” Asked when electric Minis will return to Oxford, she said: “There is no date.”

Asked whether Oxford could at some point in the future build both Minis and Great Wall brands such as Ora and Wey, she replied: “Maybe.”

A spokesman for Great Wall confirmed that the possibility of producing its own vehicles at Cowley had been the subject of “internal discussion”.

Wurst also dismissed suggestions that British consumers may balk at buying a Mini made in China, saying she could “see no reason”, as UK motorists are already buying some BMW models made in China.

A spokesperson for BMW said: “Oxford plays an important role in the BMW Group’s production strategy, with its high degree of flexibility, competitiveness and expertise and will remain at the heart of Mini production.”



To: maceng2 who wrote (197466)3/19/2023 7:52:09 PM
From: TobagoJack1 Recommendation

Recommended By
maceng2

  Respond to of 217840
 
Refresh of earlier curation / posting as some of the uploads were shut down by heartless and humourless YouTube
















































To: maceng2 who wrote (197466)3/19/2023 8:07:25 PM
From: TobagoJack  Respond to of 217840
 
dates me ... curation

starting with "no honestly"

























To: maceng2 who wrote (197466)5/12/2023 7:15:35 PM
From: TobagoJack  Respond to of 217840
 
Re <<British politicians wake up to find barn door needs closing>>

... yes, but before shutting the barn door must first make sure barn is completely empty

The politicians score another win

The professor likely wins by gaining a complete team, lab, mission set, housing, sign-on bonus, etc etc

China loses an otherwise empty seat

So goes the win-win-lose (WWL) protocol

scmp.com

After 20 years in UK, British chair professor joins China’s hypersonic programme

- Physicist Zhang Yonghao resigned from the University of Edinburgh to join China’s new national hypersonic laboratory in Beijing

- Zhang’s experience in organising large-scale projects and managing teams could be valuable, according to his new employer, the Institute of Mechanics

Stephen Chen in Beijing
Published: 6:00am, 13 May, 2023



Zhang Yonghao, who has previously held the post of chair professor in multiscale fluid mechanics at the University of Edinburgh, has joined China’s new national hypersonic laboratory in Beijing. Photo: Handout

After more than 20 years in Britain as a prominent physicist dedicated to unveiling the secrets of superfast fluids, Zhang Yonghao has joined China’s new national hypersonic laboratory in Beijing.

The Chinese government hired Zhang as a top-tier expert from overseas to lead an innovation team at the national key laboratory of science and technology on aerothermodynamics in hypersonic flight at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Mechanics.

According to the institute’s website, Zhang’s team will develop advanced computational methods and models for simulating gases’ behaviour at high speeds and temperatures crucial in making hypersonic vehicles more efficient and effective.

Their investigation into high-temperature aerodynamic and thermal effects on materials is crucial because hypersonic vehicles must withstand extreme temperatures and pressures during flight.

The institute said Zhang’s team was expected to “lead the world” in developing materials that surpass all existing standards in their ability to withstand different factors and pressure management.

Zhang’s contract was effective immediately after he resigned from the University of Edinburgh in October 2022, according to the institute.

Chinese hypersonic weapons test ‘has all of our attention’, US General Mark Milley says

The British government’s 2021 investigation into academics with ties to China raised concerns about national security and intellectual property theft. These inquiries targeted individuals connected to Chinese organisations, including universities and research institutions.

In 2022, the investigations led to a record number of scientists and postgraduate students being barred from working in Britain for national security reasons.

The Guardian reported in March that the Foreign Office’s vetting programme rejected more than 1,000 people in 2022, up from just 13 individuals in 2016.

While these measures are designed to safeguard research and development, they threaten to dampen scientific collaboration and innovation, particularly in areas where China is a leading player, warned some academics and experts in Britain.

However, it is not clear why Zhang Yonghao – who had held the post of chair professor in multiscale fluid mechanics at the University of Edinburgh – decided to return to China to work in the Beijing-based national hypersonic laboratory. The South China Morning Post has contacted to Zhang’s office for comment.

Zhang has been working on developing new methods and models in the field of gas dynamics, specifically in the areas of rarefied gas dynamics and multiscale fluid mechanics.

The “new discrete velocity method” and “dense non-equilibrium gas dynamics model” are two examples of his contributions to the field.

The new discrete velocity method is a numerical technique that can simulate the flow of gases at different scales, from the macroscopic to the microscopic level.

This method is particularly useful for simulating rarefied gas flows, which occur at very low pressures and are difficult to model using traditional methods.

The dense non-equilibrium gas dynamics model is a theoretical framework that can describe the behaviour of gases under extreme conditions, such as high temperature and high pressure.

This model takes into account the non-equilibrium nature of dense gases, which means that they do not behave like ideal gases and require more complex models to accurately describe their behaviour.

These models help researchers better understand how gases behave at high speeds and in extreme conditions, which is important for the development of hypersonic aircraft.
Zhang graduated from an obscure college in southern China that trained students to repair agriculture machinery in the 1990s before working as a computational scientist at Daresbury Laboratory in Britain in the early 2000s.

He established himself as a leading expert in multiscale fluid mechanics. His research has focused on understanding multiscale and multiphysical flow physics through theoretical and computational studies, which is an area of growing importance in fields such as aerospace engineering, energy production and environmental science.

Zhang chaired the executive board of the International Symposium on Rarefied Gas Dynamics in 2018 as a chair professor at Strathclyde University.

By 2020, he was appointed chair professor at the University of Edinburgh.

In Britain, a chair professorship is typically the highest academic rank that can be achieved. It is a prestigious title awarded to individuals who have made significant contributions to their field of research and who are recognised as leaders in their discipline.

It remains unclear why Zhang terminated his professorship in Edinburgh in less than two years, but some Chinese scientists believe the growing anti-China sentiment in Britain might not be the only reason for his return to China.

“It is not uncommon for established scholars to move between institutions or countries to pursue new research opportunities or advance their careers,” said a Beijing-based physicist who also studied high-speed fluids but asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Britain does not have hypersonic weapons in its arsenal, but hypersonic flight research is a complex and multidisciplinary field that involves expertise in areas such as aerodynamics, materials science and propulsion systems.

It is possible Britain has strengths in some of these areas that are not reflected in its current military capabilities, according to the physicist.

China has developed numerous types of hypersonic weapons, and it plans to establish a fleet of hypersonic aircraft that can transport cargo or passengers to anywhere in the world in an hour or two by 2035.

Zhang can benefit from working with Chinese researchers at the forefront of hypersonic flight research, which would provide him with access to cutting-edge facilities and resources, as well as opportunities to collaborate on high-impact research projects.

But Zhang’s background and experience in Britain could raise some concerns about his potential access to sensitive information related to China’s hypersonic weapon development.

“Given the highly secretive nature of this programme, it is likely that access to sensitive information would be tightly controlled and restricted only to those on a need-to-know basis,” said the Beijing-based physicist.

“Even if Zhang does not have direct access to sensitive information related to China’s hypersonic weapon development, he may still be able to contribute valuable expertise and insights based on his experience in multiscale fluid mechanics,” he added.

Zhang’s experience in organising large-scale projects and managing teams could be valuable for coordinating the efforts of researchers from different disciplines and institutions, because developing hypersonic flight technology will require collaboration between experts in many areas, according to his new employer, the Institute of Mechanics.

His international reputation as a leading expert in gas dynamics could also help attract top talent from around the world to work at the new laboratory, the institute said.



To: maceng2 who wrote (197466)5/12/2023 7:22:55 PM
From: TobagoJack  Respond to of 217840
 
Re <<politicians wake up to find barn door needs closing>>

... the WWL protocol also going well across the Indo-Pacific, but Team Biden seems to want to stop winning. Have no fear, that post Biden the winning program likely to get under way again
While the administration of US President Joe Biden formally ended the programme in 2022 amid concerns about racial bias and a culture of fear, it exacted a lingering toll on scientists of Chinese descent, according to the report.

scmp.com

Award-winning Chinese mathematician Sun Xin returns from US to work at Peking University

- Sun, who specialises in probability theory and mathematical physics, was a joint winner of the prestigious Rollo Davidson Prize this year

- In 2021, at least 1,400 US-based ethnic Chinese scientists reportedly switched their affiliation from American to Chinese institutions

Holly Chik
Published: 2:00pm, 3 May, 2023



Sun Xin, assistant professor in the University of Pennsylvania department of mathematics, will return to Peking University, PKU said in a statement. Photo: University of Pennsylvania

An award-winning Chinese mathematician will return to Peking University from the United States this autumn, according to the top Chinese university.

Sun Xin, now an assistant professor in mathematics at the University of Pennsylvania, will take up a new appointment at the Beijing International Centre for Mathematical Research at his alma mater, Peking University, although the university did not specify Sun’s new role.

When contacted by the South China Morning Post, Sun said he “would be happy to share thoughts on my new appointment after the position starts in the [autumn]”.

Sun graduated from the school of mathematical sciences at Peking University in 2011 and received his PhD in mathematics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2017. He specialises in research on probability theory and mathematical physics.

He was awarded the Rollo Davidson Prize this year jointly with Nina Holden, an associate professor at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University.

The prize, which has been awarded annually to young probabilists worldwide since 1976, recognised the duo for leading work on two models for random surfaces: random planar maps and Liouville quantum gravity.

According to Peking University, five mathematicians from China have received the prestigious award, including alumnus Ding Jian who was honoured in 2017.

Ding joined his alma mater as chair professor of the school of mathematical sciences in January last year after also being employed at the University of Pennsylvania as well as the University of Chicago.

The Beijing International Centre for Mathematical Research is a state-funded research institution established in 2005. It is “devoted to promoting forefront mathematical research and education, and enhancing scientific exchange and cooperation among Chinese and international mathematicians”, according to its website.

At least 1,400 US-based ethnic Chinese scientists switched their affiliation in 2021 from American to Chinese institutions, according to a joint report by academics from Harvard and Princeton universities and MIT.

It came after the China Initiative was launched in 2018 by the administration of former US president Donald Trump. It aimed to fight suspected Chinese theft of technical secrets and intellectual property as competition between the two countries intensified.

While the administration of US President Joe Biden formally ended the programme in 2022 amid concerns about racial bias and a culture of fear, it exacted a lingering toll on scientists of Chinese descent, according to the report.

Life scientist Yan Ning, for example, made headlines in China when she gave up a permanent post at Princeton. After five years in the US, the structural biologist returned to China last year to establish and serve as dean of the Shenzhen Medical Academy of Research and Translation.



To: maceng2 who wrote (197466)5/12/2023 7:33:40 PM
From: TobagoJack  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 217840
 
Re <<Horse bolted 25+ years ago>>

... there is an ancient Chinese saying (of course) re old horses, that ...

sports.sina.cn
... roughly translates to translate.google.com "old horse knows the way [home]"

... and so it goes

scmp.com

Chinese scientist Yan Ning denies AI took her job in US and forced her back home


- Structural biologist tells Shenzhen forum there remain many places AI has not reached in her field of research

- Expert says AlphaFold algorithm has uses but he remains concerned about its role in development of new drugs
Zhang Tong in Beijing
Published: 4:30pm, 9 Dec, 2022



After five years at Princeton University in the US, Yan Ning returns to China to establish and serve as dean of Shenzhen Medical Academy. Photo: Weibo

A life scientist who made headlines in China when she gave up a permanent post at Princeton University has rejected suggestions that her return was prompted by a losing battle in her field against AI.

Structural biologist Yan Ning said there were still many places artificial intelligence had not reached in her field of research. “We embrace AI, but we are disappointed after trying it out,” said Yan, who is also known as Nieng Yan.

Yan made the assessment at the Xplorer Forum hosted by the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen on November 27.

As well as updating the forum on her research, Yan gave her opinion on AlphaFold, the artificial intelligence program developed by DeepMind that performs predictions of protein structure.

Yan, who left Tsinghua University for Princeton in 2017, declared on November 1 she had quit her job in the US and would establish and serve as dean of Shenzhen Medical Academy of Research and Translation.

Her Xplorer speech was in response to online claims that she chose to return to China because the development of AI systems such as AlphaFold had created her “unemployment”.

“We are excited when we find AlphaFold can predict 3D structures of proteins with their amino acid sequence. But we are looking beyond the basic structure, we resolve protein structures to find their applications in drug development,” she said.

“When I checked the sodium ion channels in the structure, it turns out AlphaFold only reached what my team achieved in 2017. This is no surprise … my team is the only group that is researching on the topic of sodium ion channels, and I think AlphaFold is making predictions based on the structure we published.

“Since we are providing the database for the training of AlphaFold, it is hard for AlphaFold to go beyond us and make new predictions. I realised this limitation for AlphaFold in August 2021. When I checked the database again yesterday, the predictions in sodium ion channels have not been updated yet.”

The speech reveals a main concern about the limits of AI in structural biology research. For some top scientists, the subject of structural biology is biology – to understand life and make biological discoveries – and resolving structures is merely a method used to answer questions.

A spokesperson for DeepMind said on Tuesday: “Our AlphaFold Protein Structure Database has already empowered over 750,000 researchers and biologists in over 190 countries to accelerate new areas of research in a whole range of fundamental and complex fields.

“AlphaFold was designed as a state-of-the-art protein structure prediction tool to accelerate the work of scientists. Experimental structure determination conducted by scientists remains extremely valuable.”

AI does speed up the progress of some traditional research. What AlphaFold can accomplish in minutes – if not seconds – could have taken years in the past for researchers using traditional X-ray crystallography. But the universality and accuracy of the algorithm are not always satisfying.

Computational biologist Professor Ma Jianpeng, of the Multiscale Research Institute for Complex Systems at Fudan University, said techniques like AlphaFold were powerful, but far from replacing experimental approaches.

“AlphaFold2’s algorithm significantly outperformed other teams at CASP14, the Olympiad of protein structural prediction in December 2020, but when predicting protein structures for the human proteome in 2021, only 35.7 per cent of its prediction fall within the highest accuracy band,” Ma said.

“The result is not bad, but not enough to replace scientists across the board.

“AI predictions are based on its learning from known protein structures, so it is more exact for proteins with similar amino acid sequences and seems flawed for unfamiliar proteins. Much work still needs to be done.”

On the subject of new drug development, both Yan and Ma expressed concern about the AlphaFold algorithm.

“Scientists should be cautious when using [the] AlphaFold prediction, because we found that there is a gap between the predicted structure and the real experimental data. This gap could be magnified thousands of times in pharmaceuticals,” Yan told the Xplorer Forum.

Ma said: “Predictions of protein side chain are important in the development of new drugs, since the binding of drug molecules to proteins is mostly achieved by interacting with side chain. But AlphaFold is not accurate enough for mechanistic study or ligand design in side-chain predictions.”

However, Yan is positive about the future of AI. “True researchers are willing to embrace technological progress, and should be good at using various technologies to explore and answer questions they are interested in. I expect AI to become stronger and stronger,” she said.