Wei Gao,an academy member of the Royal Academy of Sciences and the Royal Academy of Engineering in New Zealand, also a professor at the university of Auckland, is hired for the dean of the overseas in the school of materials of Southwest Jiaotong University. This center has established long-term relations of cooperation with the materials and nanotechnology research center at the university of Auckland.

Academician Gao is the international famous expert in nano materials and nano surface technology, light metal alloy, metal process, oxide thin films and other fields. Academician Gao published more than 400 research papers in the international journal, got 14 international patents in the United States and other countries and published 5 monographs and compilations. Because of outstanding achievements, Academician Gao was awarded the medal by the New Zealand government and the Royal Academy of sciences in 2001,and got the Royal Academy of James Cook Research Award in 2005, the Royal Society Fellow Award in 1986-1987,the British Science Engineering Society Fellow Award in 1986-1988 ,the Chinese Academy of Sciences Shenyang Institute of Metal Research Lee Hsun teaching award in 2006,etc.