Welcome to the Department of Geology
Welcome to the Department of Geology, Northwest University. My name is Shaocong Lai and I'm the Chairman of our department. No doubt most of you reading this message are here because you're interested in pursuing study in Earth science in some form or another. So, since I have your attention, I'll be presumptuous and answer two questions that you maybe haven't asked yet, but should. First, why study Earth science? And second, why study Earth science at Northwest University? The question "why study Earth science?" is easy to address since it has two very profound answers. First, the many fields of Earth science cover some of the most fundamental and relevant topics of our time. On the one hand Earth scientists address deep issues such as the origin of the Earth and planets and entire solar system, the cause for continental drift (aka plate tectonics), and the origin and evolution of life on our planet. On the other hand, we also study problems of enormous societal, political and historical relevance, such as climate change and global warming, earthquakes, volcanoes, extreme weather and hurricanes. Second, Earth science is one of the last of the truly general sciences. Sure, many people might take the view that other fields such as physics, chemistry, biology are the general core sciences, and ones like Earth science or Astronomy are applications and specializations. But in fact Earth science is uniquely general in that it involves and integrates all scientific disciplines, much in the same way that the early "natural phil……
Overview of the Department of Geology, Northwest University
The history of Department of Geology, Northwest University can be traced back to 1939, and it is one of the oldest Science geological departments in a comprehensive university in China. At the early stage of its establishment, through thick and thin, a group of celebrated geologists, including Wang Gongmu, Zhan Yada, Yin Baixi, Yu Shiyuan, Li Shantang, Zhang Bosheng, Cai Chengyun, Zeng Fan, Bai Chaoran, Huo Shicheng,and Zhang Huiyuan ect. swarmed to the Northwest United University(the later National Northwest University) which had been moved to the mountainous Chenggu, Shaanxi Province due to the national calamity, and established the Geological Department. In 1948, the well-known geologist and paleontologist Prof. Yang Zhongjian took the post of principal of the national Northwest University, and contributed a great deal to the expanding and development of this department. Thereafter, renowned scholars, such as Xie Jiarong, Wang Hensheng, Zhang Geng, Yang Jie, Wang Yongyan and Yuan Yaoting ect. came to this university to give lectures or take courses, greatly expedited its development and grown-up. Rapid progresses had been made since the Chinese liberation. Following a nationwide campaign of reorganizing schools and departments between universities in 1952, it is the only two geological departments reserved in comprehensive university. To meet the dire need of economy construction of new China, two pioneer specialties, namely the Petroleum Geology and Ore geology, were inaugurated leading to the cultivating of large quanti……