On May 13, one of a series of weeklong activities associated with University of Nebraska Week was the research forum, in which University of Nebraska-Lincoln and XJTU exchanged their ideas to promote the all-round research topics of mutual interests, notably in the fields of agricultural engineering, nanotechnology and energy resources.

The forum's opening was marked by welcoming speeches from University of Nebraska-Lincoln chancellor Harvey Perlman, and vice chancellor Prem Paul, together with XJTU vice president Song Xiaoping. Vice president Song Xiaoping presented an overview of the history of Xi'an and XJTU, and described its current structure, research activities, educational philosophy, and cooperative programs. Vice Chancellor Paul in turn presented a video introducing the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, including its history, current research areas, and research achievements.