On the morning of May 2nd, Dr Klaus Topfer, the former Deputy Secretary General of U.N. and the former Executive Director of UNEP, took over the letter of appointment from Wan Gang, President of Tongji University, which meant that he was engaged as the chief professor of Tongji Subject of Environment for Sustainable Development (SESD).

President Wan, Gang expressed thanks to Dr Topfer for his contribution to Tongji Subject of Environment for Sustainable Development. With Dr Toper’s help, the UNEP-Tongji Institute of Environment for Sustainable Development (IESD) was jointly established by UNEP and Tongji University in May 2002, the purpose of which was to foster more environmental talents and promote the scientific researches in Asia-Pacific Region. The institute enrolled the first group of masters for environmental management this year. In March, 2006, Bayer Corporation decided to set up” sustainable development” fund, which could support Tongji University to take in more high-level teachers and provide students better education with the use of international recourses.

As the chief professor of SESD, Dr Toper will work in Tongji University for 3 to 6 months and directly contribute to fostering elite, building the subjects and groups and organizing research projects to promote the communication and cooperation of Tongji University and international academe and corporations.

At the end of the ceremony, Han, Zheng, Mayor of Shanghai, met Dr Toper in Heng Shan Hotel in the company of President Wan Gang, Vice-President Zhao Jianfu, President assistant Dong Qi and Dean Zhou Qi. He congratulated to him on having become the chief professor of IESD and thanked for his contribution to the construction of Shanghai environment and the development of the city as an advanced advisor of the city environmental protection.

On 3 May, Dr Toper debriefed the construction project of Shanghai World Expo and visited the site for the Expo.