On September 4, the 9th Jingde Forum organized by the Department of Electrical Engineering and Applied Electronics (EEA) at Tsinghua University was successfully held in Lecture Hall 217, Zone 3 of the West Main Building. The forum featured a special guest lecture by Professor Cui Xiang from North China Electric Power University, titled “Changing the Perspective on the World (System Dynamics)”. The forum was attended by 180 teachers and students from both inside and outside the university, and it was hosted by Professor Yu Xinjie.

Yu Xinjie hosted the Jingde Forum

First, Professor Yu Xinjie introduced the background and purpose of the Jingde Forum and introduced Professor Cui Xiang to all the teachers and students.

Kang Chongqing presented commemorative certificate to Professor Cui Xiang:

Following this, Professor Kang Chongqing, on behalf of EEA, presented Professor Cui Xiang with a commemorative certificate and a commemorative medal from the Jingde Forum.

Professor Cui Xiang gave a lecture

Next, Professor Cui Xiang delivered a special lecture with the theme “Changing the Perspective on the World (System Dynamics)”. In his lecture, Professor Cui Xiang pointed out that the field of electrical engineering gradually separated from physics at the end of the 19th century. While the analysis methods of Newtonian mechanics, a vector mechanics system, were well inherited and developed during the formation of an independent and complete knowledge system, the analytical mechanics methods of Lagrangian and Hamiltonian systems were nearly absent. Despite their equivalence to the former, the latter offered clearer and more comprehensive physical concepts, especially concerning energy and its properties. In today’s field of electrical engineering, numerous new challenges, especially those brought about by the transition in energy sources, require expanding, revising, and improving existing theoretical foundations. They also require returning to first principles and rethinking and researching from the fundamentals. Professor Cui Xiang, using fundamental concepts from functional analysis, particle dynamics, generalized dynamics, and electrical network dynamics, showcased the applicability of Lagrangian and Hamiltonian analytical mechanics in various fields, including multi-physics systems and electrical networks. He provided a research paradigm for addressing relevant issues from the perspectives of Lagrangian and Hamiltonian systems. Finally, Professor Cui Xiang pointed out that by establishing the Lagrangian and especially the Hamiltonian systems within the field of electrical engineering, we could draw from the rich achievements in the fields of mechanics and mathematics. This might offer new avenues for theoretical research in new energy power systems, provide a mathematical and physical foundation for interdisciplinary research, and open up new possibilities for the study of energy information economic systems.

At the Jingde Forum

Interactive session

Following the lecture, several professors and students engaged in a lively exchange and interaction with Professor Cui Xiang. Students gained a deeper understanding and inspiration regarding the theoretical construction of new energy power systems based on Professor Cui Xiang’s lecture.

About Professor Cui Xiang

Professor Cui Xiang is a professor at the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at North China Electric Power University, the Deputy Director of the National Key Laboratory for New Energy Power System, a recipient of the National Distinguished Youth Science Fund, an IET Fellow, and the leader of the national quality course “Electromagnetic Fields”. He is also the leader of Beijing’s excellent teaching team (Electromagnetic Fields) and has received numerous awards, including one second-class National Technical Invention Award, one second-class National Scientific and Technological Progress Award, four first-class provincial and ministerial-level scientific and technological awards, and one first-class provincial and ministerial-level teaching achievement award.