On June 7, the 2026 Annual Academic Conference of the Joint Center for Earth and Planetary Sciences between Northwest University and the University of Hong Kong, together with the 12th Symposium on Continental Dynamics, opened at the Taibai Campus of Northwest University. Xu Zhiqin, Zhang Guowei, Shu Degan and Zhao Guochun, Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sun Qingwei, President of Northwest University, and more than 150 experts and young researchers from domestic universities and research institutes attended the event.
Three special forums were set up, focusing on comparison between the Early Earth and Terrestrial Planets, research progress of Lunar and Planetary Science, and disciplinary development and talent training of planetary science. A total of 28 experts from Nanjing University, University of Science and Technology of China, Peking University, China University of Geosciences, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the University of Hong Kong and Northwest University delivered reports covering cutting-edge topics such as the formation mechanism of Archean Continental Crust, evolution of terrestrial planets, Planetary Magnetic Dynamo of the Solar System and Martian Environmental Evolution. Participants held in-depth discussions on hot issues including disputes over the Pre-plate Tectonics Theory, technological breakthroughs in extraterrestrial sample experiments and disciplinary team building for planetary science, and put forward suggestions for the medium and long-term research planning and disciplinary construction of the joint center. (Department of Geology)
