Liu Guangding


Liu Guangding was a Chinese geophysicist best known for his work in geophysics, marine geology and petroleum geology. He had been hailed as "Father of Chinese marine geology". He was a member of the 8th and 9th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Biography

Liu was born in Beijing on December 29, 1929, with his ancestral home in Penglai, Shandong. His father Liu Benzhao was a scholar.
During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Liu's father fled Japanese-occupied Shandong. In 1940, his eldest brother Li Guangdou became deranged and went missing after being arrested and tortured by the Japanese. Devastated by the loss, his mother Dong Lin committed suicide at the age of 48.
In September 1941, Liu moved to Beijing to live with his uncle. He was educated at Jingcun Middle School and Chengda Middle School, before going on to study at Fu Jen Catholic High School. In 1947 he was accepted to Shandong University. On September 9, 1948. Liu joined the Communist Party of China under the introduction of Zhang Shuowen. That same year, he entered Peking University and then taught there for more than 12 years.
In 1958, he organized China's first marine geophysical exploration team and headed the team. During the Cultural Revolution, Liu suffered political persecution. In 1980 he was elected a fellow of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, where he served as director of its Institute of Geophysics from 1989 to 1993. In 1993 he was elected director-general of Chinese Geophysical Society. In 1998 he was elected an academician of The World Academy of Sciences. Liu won two second prizes of the State Natural Science Award, in 1982 and 1995, respectively.
Liu died on August 7, 2018, aged 89.

Personal life

Liu had a son and a daughter.

Awards