NANCHANG, Feb. 27 (Xinhuanet) -- The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has formally invited the East China Institute of Technology (ECIT) to host the annual global seminar on uranium geochemistry in 2007, according to sources with the college.

    "It's a good opportunity to further cooperation between the IAEA and the ECIT and to make the college a world-class research center and platform for atomic energy," said Liu Qingcheng, ECIT president.

    Based in Fuzhou City, East China's Jiangxi Province, the ECIT is an important research institute and training base in atomic energy in China. It has set nine national standards for China's nuclear industry and two laboratory methods for studying the chemical composition of geothermal springs for the IAEA.

    With the help of the IAEA, more than 30 reputed scientists and researchers, including Dr. Chai Xinjun from the Saga University ofJapan, and Zhao Guopan from the China Academy of Engineering, have come to work at the ECIT.

    In addition, the IAEA has sponsored more than 30 ECIT researchers to receive training in the United States, France and Canada. Over 10 scientific research programs have been jointly carried out by the IAEA and the college, with a financial injection of 16 million yuan (about 2 million U.S. dollars).

    The institute now has state-of-the art research facilities and is the isotope data center for the Asian and Pacific regions. The analysis and test center at the institute has been designated as one of the five key reference labs by the IAEA and was highly appraised by Jane Gerardo, an official with the organization, during her visit to the ECIT.

    Formerly known as the East China Institute of Geology, the ECIT was founded in 1956 with the aim of fostering experts on nuclear geology. Enditem