On July 25, 2016, the 9^th International Association of Hydrological Sciences Groundwater Quality Conference (GQ16) organized at Kylin Villa in Shenzhen. About 200 experts and scholars in relevant fields from both home and abroad attended the conference and they would focus on the experience and challenges in global quality control, modeling and management of groundwater and discuss the cutting edge issues and the future development trend of groundwater.

On the opening ceremony, President Chen Shiyi, on behalf of SUSTech, firstly welcomed all the experts and scholars. Then he said that with the rapid development of China’s society and economy and its fast-growing urbanization, the pollution of groundwater had gradually become one of the most concerned environment issues in China and groundwater remediation was taken as top priority in China’s water environment protection. He also stressed that School of Environmental Science and Engineering of SUSTech was dedicated to the research in water resources, water environment and environmental remediation and the faculty members of the school would discuss this significant issue with global experts in groundwater hydrology. A

On behalf of Ministry of Environmental Protection of the People’s Republic of China, Liu Zhiquan, Deputy Director of Department of Science,Technology and Standards of Ministry of Environmental Protection, delivered a speech at the conference. He stressed the great emphasis China had put on ecological environment and groundwater quality in its national policy and generally introduced the current situation of China’s groundwater quality and the challenges in the groundwater treatment. He also pointed out that Chinese government was strengthening groundwater pollution control from all perspectives including laws and regulations, policy planning, technological innovation, capacity building and industry development.

In May 2016, in response to the significant needs of China in environmental protection, SUSTech established the School of Environmental Science and Engineering. Professor Zheng Chunmiao, a recipient of Chinese government’s “Recruitment Program of Global Experts” (also known as the “1000 Talents Program”) and globally renowned expert in the field of groundwater hydrology, served as the Dean of the School. The research areas of the School include: water science and technology, water resources, water environment, atmospheric environment, atmospheric chemistry, air pollution and control, greenhouse gas emission reduction, industrial ecology solid waste disposal and utilization, earth system science, Ecosystem assessment, remote sensing, and global change, all of which are closely linked with social needs.