In 2012, Dr. Cong Deng, a research scientist in the Department of Electro-Optics and Photonics (EOP), traveled to China to explore collaboration opportunities with Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) — one of the country’s top optics universities and his alma mater, where he had also served as an assistant professor. Together with former Electro-Optics program directors Drs. Joe Haus and Partha Banerjee, he helped establish a formal partnership between UD and HUST to support student and faculty exchanges.
HUST is located in Wuhan — often referred to as China’s “Optics Valley” — with more than 200 optics companies. These early efforts culminated in a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in 2016, launching a 3+2 (B.S.+M.S.) program between the two institutions. Under this program, fourth-year HUST undergraduates could complete their final year at UD in the EOP program, graduate from HUST, and then remain for an additional year to earn a thesis-based M.S. degree.
To date, more than 20 HUST students have successfully completed the 3+2 program, many supported through research and teaching assistantships at UD. Deng has been instrumental in welcoming students to the U.S., guiding their transition, and serving as a trusted liaison between the two universities. Deng and Banerjee have been traveling to China each year to co-teach courses at HUST. In recognition of their outstanding contributions, Deng received the Outstanding Teaching Award at HUST, and Banerjee was recently honored with a guest professorship.
Graduates of the 3+2 HUST program have gone on to achieve remarkable success. Many are thriving in top academic programs and leading technology companies worldwide. Recent graduate Haowen Zhou is now completing his Ph.D. at Caltech, while Xiaowe Ge earned her Ph.D. at Boston University and is now advancing innovation at Apple. Others returned to China after graduation and are contributing their expertise to industry leaders.
“The 3+2 program was the foundation of a research career I’m passionate about. Now I’m helping develop the next generation of AR glasses,” said Yunyang Li, who continued on to a Ph.D. at UC Davis and now works at Meta.
As this collaboration approaches its tenth year, the partnership between UD and HUST continues to thrive and expand. Dr. Andrew Sarangan, current chair of EOP, is enthusiastic about providing experiential learning and broadening student learning opportunities.
Both HUST and UD highly value this cooperation and are willing to make new progress,” said HUST Dean Tang Ming.
UD School of Engineering Dean Gül Kremer agrees: “Our partnership with HUST has strengthened the global impact of engineering. Together, we have built a model of collaboration that elevates our students, our research, and our shared commitment to advancing technology.”
By carefully selecting exceptionally talented students for EOP, and facilitating intercultural and research experience for UD undergrads, HUST continues to help foster a warm, collaborative, and productive environment to enrich both universities and their students.