Recently, the Standing Committee on Comité International Permanent pour la Recherche sur la Préservation des Matériaux en Milieu Marin (COIPM) officially announced at the 19th International Conference on Marine Corrosion and Fouling (19th ICMCF) in Florida, USA, that the 20th ICMCF will be held in Guangzhou, China, in 2020. South China University of Technology will be responsible for organizing this Conference.

The ICMCF is one of the most influential international conferences in marine industry, covering marine anti-corrosion, marine antifouling, marine ecological assessment and restoration, and others. Since its inception in 1964, the conference has only been held in the United States and Europe and never in China. The successful bid of the 20th ICMCF has fulfilled the wish of China’s marine industry for years.

Marine anti-corrosion and marine antifouling are related to the national major strategic needs such as Marine Power. They are also issues that cannot be avoided by marine development and marine industry. In recent years, the School of Materials Science and Engineering of South China University of Technology has made breakthroughs in marine antifouling materials by pioneering the theory of dynamic surface antifouling at the international level and successfully developing biodegradable polymer-based marine antifouling materials, which opened up a new path for this area. SMSE will make full use of the international exchange platform of the 20th ICMCF, not forget our initial mission, forge ahead, keep pioneering and innovating, and contribute to the Marine Power and Strong Marine Province strategies.