By Li Han, Song Peijing

As the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games draw near, Tsinghua faculty and students are contributing their time and efforts in various ways to support the successful organization of events, to perform related research and to provide volunteer services.

As early as  2001 when Beijing won the 2008 Olympic Games bid, Tsinghua staff have participated in over 100 Olympic related research projects, including stadium and venue design, image and look design, safety evaluation of Olympic Projects, environmental monitoring, energy saving evaluation, information based management, and intelligent transportation systems.

Professor Fang Dongping from Tsinghua’s Department of Construction Management, Professor Wang Shouqing from the Department of Civil Engineering, and Professor Zhuang Weimin, Director of Tsinghua University's Architecture Design and Research Institute, as well as nearly twenty other professors and students participated in the Project of Regular Risk Assessment for Olympic Venue Construction from 2003 to 2005.

Academician Hao Jiming from Tsinghua’s Department of Environmental Science and Engineering joined an expert group composed of twelve world-class experts in environmental science to help improve air quality during the Games.

Professor Qian Jiaru from the Department of Civil Engineering and his team participated in the earthquake resistant testing of the Olympic stadiums and venues, including the National Swimming Center (Water Cube), the National Stadium, and the Beijing Olympic Ping-pong Gymnasium.

The Department of Automotive Engineering has also developed a variety of environmentally friendly vehicles for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, including fuel cell buses, natural gas/hydrogen hybrid electric buses, and micro electric vehicles.

Tsinghua School of Architecture Associate Professor Hu Jie and his team was the chief designer of Beijing’s 680 hectare Olympic Forest Park north of the city. The design concept and theme for the Forest Park is called "Axis to Nature". It produces a coherent, elaborate and elegant solution in responding to a complex brief. The design emphasizes the harmonious coexistence of man and nature and embodies traditional principles and techniques of Chinese garden culture.

(Professor Hu Jie and the Beijing Olympic Forest Park )

Professor Wu Guanying from Tsinghua’s Academy of Arts and Design (AAD) is one of the main designers of the mascots for the 2008 Beijing Olympic and the 2008 Paralympics. Apart from the mascot design, AAD also joined in the designs for the Olympic sculptures, the torch, and many environmental facilities. In the China Beijing Olympic Park City Sculpture Design Competition, AAD won 30 prizes including nine Excellent Artwork prizes, the highest awards. AAD also won first prize for the overall design of the Beijing Olympic Park Environmental Facilities Design Contest.

        (Professor Wu Guanying)

Tsinghua’s Architectural Design & Research Institute designed the Beijing Shooting Range Clay Target Field and the gymnasium for Judo and Taekwondo.

Many Tsinghua students and teachers participated in Olympic and Para-Olympic Volunteer Recruitment. A total of nearly 2,400 Tsinghua students worked as volunteers in the “Good Luck Beijing” Competition series. More than 3,000 students will be on hand as volunteers for the Olympics and Para-Olympics.