On October 6, the Exhibition Hall of the History of the School of Earth Sciences was officially opened at Zhejiang University. The exhibition hall is located in the new building of the School of Earth Sciences on Zijingang Campus. It aims to display the history of the School and the disciplinary development of earth sciences, the scientific style of eminent scholars in earth sciences, the achievements of talent training, the power of technological innovation, and the vision of disciplinary development.
Let's walk into the exhibition hall to appreciate the history of the School of Earth Sciences. Courses in earth sciences were offered when Qiushi Academy, the forerunner of Zhejiang University, was founded in 1897.
On May 9, 1936, Chu Kochen, then president of Zhejiang University, proposed the establishment of the "Department of History and Geography", and it was approved by the Ministry of Education on May 29.
The Art and Science Building, earning the sobriquet "Green Western-style Building" and officially named "Yangming Building", was founded in 1935.
During the 13-year term of President Chu Kochen, the Department of History and Geography evolved into the hub of China's talent training and scientific research in history and geography.
In 1940, the faculty members and students conducted geological survey.
When Zhejiang University was relocated to Guizhou Province during the Second World War, the discipline of earth sciences was constantly developing and launched China's first postgraduate program in physical geography, meteorology, and human geography. YE Duzheng, the recipient of the State Supreme Science and Technology Award in 2005, obtained his master's degree in 1943 at Zhejiang University.
After 1952, the discipline of earth sciences accumulated abundant teaching and equipment resources, which laid a solid foundation for the restoration and addition of relevant majors. In 1999, Zhejiang University built the Department of Earth Sciences, which was restructured into the School of Earth Sciences in 2015 in a bid to create an innovative research center in "Big Data and Geosystems".
Over the past eight decades, more than 30 academicians have studied and taught in the School of Earth Sciences, and many scholars have become the founders and promoters of earth sciences.
