China will chair InterRidge (IR) and house the IR’s Office starting on May 1, 2023, in Shenzhen, according to a resolution recently adopted by the InterRidge Steering Committee.

Jian LIN, Chair Professor of the Department of Ocean Science and Engineering (OSE) and a member of the Academia Europaea, was elected as the new Chair of InterRidge. Jiabiao LI, Director of the Second Institute of Oceanography of the Ministry of Natural Resources, was elected Co-Chair.

Prof. Jian LIN is an internationally renowned geophysicist and has been elected a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU), Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and Fellow of the Geological Society of America (GSA).

He has made fundamental contributions to global ocean sciences and earthquake research, with his research being selected as one of the Top Ten Advancements in Ocean Science and Technology in China in 2019, won the first prize of the Guangdong Natural Science Award in 2020, and received the grand prize of the 2021 Ocean Science and Technology Award.

Prof. LIN has also published a series of papers in top international journals, with one of his earthquake research papers ranked by the Institute of Scientific Information (ISI) as the most-cited paper in a decade.

IR was established in 1992 and is one of the most influential interdisciplinary science programs in promoting all aspects of ocean floor research through international cooperation.

The heading of the IR office in Shenzhen will enhance the city’s reputation in frontier ocean research and help establish Shenzhen as an international ocean city.