Introduction

The school of Earth Science and engineering of Sun Yat sen University was founded in 1924, formerly known as the Department of mineral geology. It is one of the geology departments of comprehensive universities with an earlier department and a long history in China. Department of Earth Science (2002-2014) and College of Earth Science and Geological Engineering (2014-2017). The school of Geosciences and engineering of CUHK has a glorious history in scientific research and teaching. Professor Huang zhuxun, the first Dean of the Department, wrote China's minerals, which is one of the early works on mineralogy, petrology and mineral deposits in China. In the same year, Zhu Jiahua (later Minister of the Ministry of education, the first president of the Central Research Institute and vice president of the central executive yuan) returned from studying in Germany with a doctorate and joined Sun Yat sen University. Later, he served as the head of the Department and jointly planned the establishment of the Geological Survey Institute of Guangdong and Guangxi by the national revolutionary government, which is subordinate to the Department of geology of Sun Yat sen University, The Institute of geology of Guangdong and Guangxi was one of the four most influential geological survey institutes in China at that time. In the early stage of its establishment, eight teachers and students were successively elected as academicians of the Central Research Institute or the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Department of geology, including Zhu Jiahua, Xie Jiarong, sun Yunzhu, Le Senyu, Si Xingjian, Feng Jinglan, Yang Zunyi and Chen Guoda. During the major adjustment of domestic colleges and departments in 1952, the geological discipline reconstruction system of Sun Yat sen University moved to Changsha to establish Central South Institute of mining and Metallurgy (the predecessor of Central South University), and then divided into Changsha Institute of geotectonics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (now incorporated into Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences), thus entering the stage of in vitro development. In 1972, Sun Yat sen University reopened the major of geology. Good location conditions, profound development details and the joint efforts of teachers and students have made the discipline of geology strong again and become an important base for cultivating senior professionals in geoscience with a global vision.

At present, the school of Geosciences and engineering has more than 100 teachers and full-time researchers, including 2 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 15 people, including distinguished professors of the Ministry of education, winners of the national fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, the national special support plan for high-level talents ("ten thousand talents plan"), overseas high-level introduced talents, distinguished professors of Pearl River scholars and innovative talents of Pearl River science and technology stars, Sun Yat sen University plans to introduce nearly 20 talents. At present, the school of Earth Science and engineering has a complete talent training system of "Bachelor Master Doctor", which mainly trains undergraduate professionals in Geology (Science) and Geological Engineering (Engineering). It has two first-class disciplines, i.e. post doctoral mobile station of geology, geology and Geophysics, and master's programs of secondary disciplines such as mineralogy, petrology, ore deposit science, structural geology, Quaternary geology, paleontology and stratigraphy, geochemistry, geotechnical engineering, geological engineering (professional degree) and Solid Geophysics. The College of Geosciences and engineering now has Guangdong Key Laboratory of geological process and mineral resources exploration and Guangdong Key Laboratory of geodynamic action and geological disasters. With the support of the three major constructions of Sun Yat sen University, it has built: material composition and structure analysis system, chronological analysis and test system, observation and detection and data fusion system, three-dimensional imaging and dynamic simulation system and geological disaster and engineering test system, with relatively complete experimental analysis and detection equipment.

Focusing on the talent training goal of geoscience elites with "both political integrity and talent, leadership temperament and family and country feelings", relying on the science basic science talent training, scientific research base and experimental support platform of Sun Yat sen University, the undergraduate talent training of Geology Department reflects the characteristics of comprehensiveness, internationalization and learning, strengthens the teaching basis of basic geology and broadens the international vision, so as to cultivate compound Practical and research talents are the main goal. It has successively cooperated with famous universities and research institutions in 10 countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and Russia, and supported undergraduate geological field practice and scientific research training projects. We have strengthened the cultivation of students' practical training and scientific research ability, constantly enriched the teaching content and social practice, and gradually promoted students' field practice ability. We have built field practice bases such as the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River, Shennongjia in Hubei, Chaohu in Anhui, Changjiang in Hainan, Chengjiang in Yunnan and Heyuan in Guangdong. At present, the further study rate of undergraduate graduates of our college is as high as 70%, which provides a reserve force for national high-level academic talents.

Under the background of the development of Sun Yat sen University in the new era, teachers and students of the college work together around the double first-class construction to become an important frontier of geoscience research in China. Focus on the layout of basic frontier research of Geoscience, national needs and local economic construction, and focus on the basic geological problems of Tethys belt and the South China Sea and the research work closely related to national construction, so as to promote the leapfrog development of research fields such as geodynamic action and surface effect, deep earth exploration and resources and energy, geological disasters and underground space utilization. In recent years, the college has undertaken nearly 100 national key R & D plan projects, major fund projects, key projects, Guangdong innovation introduction team projects, enterprises and institutions entrusted or international cooperation projects every year, which has realized the rapid improvement of the quantity and quality of papers. Geoscience has now entered the ranks of ESI high citation subjects.