On November 2nd, Tsinghua University held the Launch Meeting for Constructing Ecology as the First-Class Discipline and Expert Consultation.16 well-known ecologists in China, such as Academician Zhang Xinshi from CAS’s Institute of Botany, Academician Fu Bojie from Research Center for Eco-Environmental Science, and Academician Kang Le from Institute of Zoology attended this meeting with vice president Jiang Shengyao and over 40 students and faculties.

Jiang Shengyao, the vice president, Xu Weiqing, the director of Degree Quality Supervision Office of the State Council, Zhang Guocheng, the former director of Department of Basic Research at Ministry of Science and Technology, and Ouyang Zhiyun, the vice president of the Ecological Society of China were invited to make speeches. Gong Peng, the director of CESS, introduced the important progress the center had made in the past three years since the re-construction of Earth Science. Prof. Lin Guanghui, the academic pacesetter in ecology, introduced the progression of ecology construction from the perspectives of team building, discipline direction planning, talent training, platform construction, talent-introduction and curriculum. Finally, the present experts and leadership had a discussion on some issues, including short-term and long-term objectives of ecology construction, the critical development direction, discipline platform construction planning and postgraduate training programs. The meeting is significant to the scientific planning of ecological construction as well as its fast and stable development. (a group photo of attenders)