By BRRC and EEM, AIT
11 December 2025 – The Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), hosted the kick-off event and training workshop for the CAS–ANSO co-funded research project titled “Development and Application of In-situ Microplastic Detection in Water Environments Using Electrical Sensing Zone Method Empowered by Machine Learning Techniques” on 11 December 2025.
The event marked the official launch of a three-year collaborative research initiative between AIT and the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS), China, with support from the Alliance of National and International Science Organizations for the Belt and Road Regions (ANSO). The project aims to advance innovative in-situ technologies for detecting and monitoring microplastics in aquatic environments, addressing a rapidly growing global environmental challenge.
The kick-off session opened with welcome remarks by Prof. Pai-Chi Li, President of AIT, who reaffirmed AIT’s strong commitment to impactful international research partnerships that address emerging environmental challenges through science, technology, and innovation.
Representing partner institutions, Prof. Xiao Lin, Vice President of UCAS, highlighted the strategic importance of UCAS-AIT cooperation in strengthening joint research capacity and fostering technological innovation under the Belt and Road framework.
Prof. Minyan Zhao, Head of the Division of Science Programs at the ANSO Secretariat, emphasized ANSO’s role in supporting collaborative research that promotes green technology innovation and sustainable development across the region.
Prof. Chengzhi Hu, Deputy Director of the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences (RCEES), underscored the growing urgency of addressing microplastic pollution and the importance of advanced sensing technologies in supporting evidence-based environmental management and policy formulation.
Dr. Wenchao Xue, Principal Investigator of the project and a faculty member of the Department of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering at AIT, presented an overview of the project’s vision, objectives, and three-year implementation plan. She explained that integrating the Electrical Sensing Zone (ESZ) method with machine learning techniques is expected to address key limitations of current microplastic monitoring approaches, particularly their reliance on labor-intensive laboratory analyses. Dr. Xue also outlined the project’s anticipated scientific outputs, capacity-building components, and relevance to water environment protection in Belt and Road countries.
The program was further enriched by two special technical lectures. Prof. Kang Xiao, Co-Principal Investigator and faculty member at the Beijing Yanshan Earth Critical Zone National Research Station, College of Resources and Environment, UCAS, shared recent advances in spectral fingerprint detection techniques for water pollutants. He highlighted how high-resolution spectral analysis can enhance pollutant identification and monitoring efficiency while complementing emerging sensor-based approaches.
Prof. Xiaodong Wang, faculty member at the College of Materials Science and Opto-Electronic Technology, UCAS, delivered a lecture on the evolution of the Coulter Principle, tracing its theoretical foundations and development into modern sensing technologies. He highlighted recent adaptations of the Electrical Sensing Zone method for environmental applications, particularly its potential for real-time, in-situ microplastic detection in aquatic systems.
The morning session concluded with an official project kick-off, followed by a guided tour of the Belt & Road Environmental Innovation Laboratory, hosted within the Environmental Engineering and Management (EEM) Program at AIT.
In the afternoon, a training workshop featuring hands-on demonstrations of advanced water monitoring technologies was conducted, with participation from more than 20 trainees representing AIT and partner organizations.
The workshop included lectures and practical demonstrations of the Online Micron-sized Particle Analyzer (OMiPA) and automatic multiple-channel water quality analyzers, provided by Guangwei (Zhongshan) Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. and LIHE Technology (Hunan) Co., Ltd., China.
Hosted at the Belt & Road Environmental Innovation Laboratory, these activities showcased the laboratory’s role as a joint platform established by AIT and its industry partners to strengthen regional capacity in water quality analysis, environmental monitoring, and environmental technology innovation.
By integrating advanced sensing technologies with artificial intelligence, this CAS–ANSO collaborative project aims to make microplastic monitoring faster, more reliable, and more accessible for real-world applications. The development of in-situ and near real-time detection methods will provide critical scientific evidence to support environmental regulation, water resource management, and pollution control strategies. Beyond its technical contributions, the project is expected to strengthen capacity building and technology transfer across Belt and Road countries, supporting cleaner water systems, improved public health protection, and more informed policy decision-making, while reinforcing the value of science-based international cooperation in advancing sustainable development and environmental resilience.
