The predecessor of State Key Laboratory of Geohazard Prevention and Geoenvironment Protection was the national professional laboratory, which was approved by State Planning Commission and State Education Commission in 1989, and developed on the basis of “geologic engineering”—the national key discipline in Chengdu University of Technology(originally known as Chengdu College of Geology). In 2001, it was recognized as the Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province by the local government, and one year later, developed as the State Key Laboratory Base, which was under the joint construction of Ministry of Science and Technology and Sichuan Province. In 2003, it became Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Land and Resources. Listed in the developing plan of state key laboratory in 2007, it was accepted by the Ministry of Science and Technology in 2010. Now the SKLGP is an exclusive laboratory in the field of geohazard prevention in China.
There are two First Ranked Ph.D. Programs—“Georesources and Geoengineering” and “Civil Engineering”, post-doctoral research center for“ Georesources and Geoengineering”, and “Changjiang Scholars Program” specially appointed professor position in the laboratory, with the priority of educating postgraduate students and doctoral candidates in “Geologic Engineering”, “Civil Engineering”, “Geoenvironment and Engineering” and “Architecture and Civil Engineering”, etc. The laboratory consists of four research divisions, five research centers and thirteen well equipped testing laboratories. The total value of the equipment is more than 120 million Yuan; together with newly built experimental building, the laboratory occupies an area of 12,000 square meters.
This laboratory employs 6 senior engineering geologists (two of which are foreign scientific advisors), 75 regular researchers and 44 flexible researchers. In which, the regular researchers are mainly young and middle-aged backbones, with the average age of 41.3, including 38 professors (researchers), 19 doctoral supervisors, 29 associate professors (associate researchers), and 8 lecturers. Cooperative and innovative, 96% of the research team owns doctorate degree, which is reasonably structured in age and knowledge with invigorating scientific ideas and pioneering spirit.
The equipment in the laboratory matches international advanced level, consisting of three parts: 1) the first is applied on site of exploration and monitoring of geological prototype; 2) the second is used to test the rock mass physical properties, static and dynamic mechanical properties as well as time effect parameters; 3) the third is for numerical simulation, physical simulation system and modern geoscience information system of hazard analysis, assessment and prediction. The equipment, together with abundant software and strong technical power, forms a relatively complete system, which provides forceful support for the open research and high level talents education of the SKLGP.
In the last 10 years, the laboratory has undertaken more than 1400 national and provincial research projects, solving a series of theoretical and technical difficulties in geohazard prevention and national major engineering projects, with scientific research and service areas varying from geoenvironment protection and geohazard prevention, to water resources and hydropower development, highways, railways, subways, civil airport construction, and development of high-rise building, etc. The research results 3 first prizes and 2 second prizes of the State Science and Technology Progress Award, 1 International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Award, 1 National Patent Achievement, and more than 60 prizes above the third rank at provincial and ministerial levels, with the total accumulative economic benefits of several billion yuan. the SKLGP has cultivated for more than 30 postdoctoral researchers, more than 250 doctoral candidates, and more than 1700 postgraduate students, and it has published almost 60 monographs, textbooks and almost 4100 papers in domestic and foreign journals, and gained approximately more than 210 authorized patents.
Currently, the laboratory has become an important base for China’s scientific research and high-level talents education in this area, which is also one of the international renowned geohazard research centers.
