Newsletter of IAEG-C24, September 2009：
The Neotectonics and Geohazard Academic Symposium Held in Beijing, China
On January 15, 2009, a symposium on neotectonics and geo-hazard was held in Beijing which was organized by the Committee of Neotectonics and Geo-hazard under IAEG (C24) and the Key Laboratory of Neotectonic Movement & Geohazard, Ministry of Land and Resources, China. Prof. MA Zong-Jin, WANG Si-Jing and other more than 40 leading experts attended the symposium. And the symposium was chaired by Dr. YIN Yue-Ping, the Chairman of C24.
Mr. WANG Si-Jing, the former chairman of IAEG, introduced the functions and activities of various commissions of IAEG. He emphasized that C24 is the first international specialization committee in China, which shoulders the international academic exchange on the neotectonics and geohazard fields. He pointed out the main tasks of C24 as follows:
(1) To build a global platform and network for academic exchanges;
(2) To carry out theoretical summary and research for promoting the theoretical innovation on engineering geology by case studies on neotectonics and geohazard;
(3) To provide the empirical work standards, guidelines or working methods in the neotectonics and geohazard field.
Mr. MA Zong-Jin, an academician from China Seismological Bureau, gave an outlook on the future research of IAEG-C24 by combining his research experiences. He suggested that the investigations and researches on neotectonics and geohazard should do further study by considering the urgent problems of rehabilitation and reconstruction in Wenchuan earthquake-stricken area, and the formation process and mechanism of geo-hazards triggered by earthquake should be better understood through multidisciplinary joint research. Prof. SUN Xiao-Ming, Prof. TAN Cheng-Xuan, and Prof. XU Qiang gave a special presentation respectively. And the other experts gave prospective suggestion and recommendation from their own professional view.
Finally, Dr.YIN Yue-Ping made a concluding statement on the symposium. He suggested that IAEG-C24 should develop towards “globalization, interdisciplinary and focus on key focus”. He also said that in the near future, C24 would focus on the relevant geological survey and research projects to promote and strengthen international cooperation and exchanges so as to enhance the research on neotectonics and geo-hazard in China, and would adopt the experts’ recommendation to build a platform for academic exchanges as soon as possible.