SUSTech Chair Professor Jian LIN, of the Department of Ocean Science and Engineering, was elected as a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU), according to AGU’s official announcement on November 18, 2020.

Professor Jian LIN was directing a scientific expedition in the Indian Ocean

The AGU Fellow is a prestigious honor conferred to Professor LIN for his exceptional scientific contributions to global ocean sciences and earthquake research. He has led a series of groundbreaking studies that laid a foundation for our understanding of of the three-dimensional structure of Earth’s crust and mantle beneath the global mid-ocean ridges – the longest volcanic mountain chain on Earth and solar system, and the site of deep ocean life.

Professor LIN led the first high-resolution seismic experiment across the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the world’s oceans, revealing the internal structure under Earth’s “4th Pole”, which is of great significance in understanding of the dynamics of Earth’s plate interaction. He also co-led multiple expeditions to the South China Sea, including the international ocean drilling expeditions and the most extended and deepest seabed magnetotelluric experiment, which was selected as one of the Top Ten Advancements in Ocean Science and Technology in China in 2019. Professor LIN has made pioneering contributions to the study of earthquake stress interaction and triggering between large earthquakes through extensive research globally. One of his papers on earthquake research was recognized by the international Essential Science Indicator as the most cited earthquake paper in a decade.

Professor LIN led the first high-resolution seismic experiment across the Challenger Deep, revealing the internal structure beneath world’s deepest ocean basin, as reported by the top international journal Science.

Professor LIN has been a Senior Scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), a faculty member of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (MIT/WHOI) Joint Program in Oceanography, and a Distinguished Research Fellow of the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He was also honored as a Fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Fellow of Geological Society of America (GSA), and Henry Bigelow Chair for Excellence in Oceanography, as well as received a Culpeper Young Scientist Award.

Founded in 1919, the mission of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) is to promote discovery in Earth and space science for the benefit of humanity. AGU is a not-for-profit, professional, scientific organization representing over 60,000 members in 148 countries. AGU Fellows are an honor given to individual AGU members who have made exceptional scientific contributions and gained prominence in their respective fields of Earth and space sciences. According to the organization’s bylaws, no more than 0.1% of the total membership receives this recognition in any given year since the AGU Fellows program was established in 1962.