The global consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic are extraordinary and continue to pose significant challenges for countries around the world. In response, the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), the US National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the UK Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) are jointly hosting the webinar series Engineering’s Role in Catalyzing COVID-19 Response, Recovery, and Resilience.

The first webinar, Engineering Innovations in Response to the Challenges of the Pandemic, was held in April this year. The second, Engineering Innovations Empowering Recovery from the Pandemic, hosted by the CAE, was held and  broadcast live on July 23, 2021. It addressed issues including how to control the pathogen, approaches to preventing human infections from cold chain storage and logistics, and delivering and inoculating with vaccines through the application of both established and novel technologies.

In his opening remarks, CAE President Li Xiaohong stressed the need to unleash the potential of engineering innovation in enhancing the capacity to address global challenges as well as joining together on a shared mission for the future of mankind, and encouraging younger generations to stand up to the challenges.

John L. Anderson, President of the NAE, wrote to Li after the webinar to express his appreciation for the remarks.

As one of the three invited speakers, CAE Member Tian Hongqi, President of Central South University, gave a keynote speech entitled Prevention and Control Measures for the Spreading of Pathogens in Passenger Compartments that shared experiences and approaches in ventilation and virus control on mass passenger transportation in China. Prof. Burak Ozdoganlar of Carnegie Mellon University introduced a new microneedle array platform for COVID-19 vaccines and beyond. Prof. Cath Noakes of the University of Leeds elaborated on approaches to controlling transmission of airborne disease in buildings.

In the roundtable discussions, Bai Li, researcher at the National Centre for Food Safety Risk Assessment, joined other young engineers and scientists from the US and the UK to share experiences in the prevention and control of COVID-19 transmission in the cold chain of imported food, stressing it could also be among the possibilities for origin tracing.

Members of the three academies as well as experts and students from China, the US and the UK participated in the event via video link.

The third webinar, scheduled to be held in October, will consider how to apply the lessons learned from the pandemic to enhance our ability to quickly and effectively react to future crises.