Draft:Chengshan Wang

In this Chinese name, the family name is Wang.

Chengshan Wang (Chinese: 王成善; born November 1951) is a Chinese geologist and sedimentologist, recognized for his contributions to the study of the uplift history of the Tibet Plateau and the sedimentary records of Cretaceous climate change. Currently, he is also actively involved in promoting open science initiatives. He currently holds a professorship at the China University of Geosciences (Beijing). Wang is a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), an institution dedicated to advancing science and technology in China. Additionally, he serves as the President of the Executive Committee of the Deep-time Digital Earth (DDE) program..

Education
Wang earned his Bachelor's degree from the Department of Mineral Exploration at Chengdu College of Geology (now Chengdu University of Technology) in 1977. Following his undergraduate studies, he worked as a Geological Group Technician at the Changdu Industrial Bureau in Tibet for a year. Wang continued his academic pursuits at Chengdu College of Geology, obtaining a Master's degree in Geology in 1981.

Career
Wang initially worked as a lecturer at Chengdu University of Technology (CDUT) in 1982. He was promoted to associate professor in 1987 and then to full professor in 1991. From 1993 to 1994, he served as a visiting scholar at the United States Geological Survey (USGS) at Menlo Park. Due to his outstanding contributions, he was appointed Vice President of CDUT from 1993 to 2001 and made President of CDUT from 2001 to 2003. Since 2004, Wang has been serving as a professor at the China University of Geosciences (Beijing), where he has also chaired the Research Center for Tibetan Plateau Geology since 2004 and has been leading the University Academic Committee at China University of Geosciences (Beijing) since 2017.

Wang's contributions to the academic community extend to his involvement in scholarly publishing. He has served as an editorial board member for "ACTA GEOLOGICAL SINICA" and "Geoscience Frontiers." His role as a guest editor includes journals such as "Journal of Asian Earth Science" in 2002, "SEPM Special Publication" in 2009, "Gondwana Research" in 2012, and "Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology" in 2013.

In addition to his academic roles, Wang has also been actively involved in various international organizations. From 1991 to 1993, he was an Executive Member of the Pangea Steering Committee under the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS). Since 2009, Wang has been serving as the Vice Chairman of the International Continental Drilling Program (ICDP)－CHINA. Furthermore, he held the position of Vice Chairman of the International Association of Sedimentologists (IAS) from 2018 to 2022. Additionally, Wang has played a pivotal role in initiating and advancing the Deep-time Digital Earth (DDE)——the first big science program recognized by IUGS since its inception in 2019, serving as the President of the DDE Executive Committee and significantly contributing to DDE's progress.

Uplift history of the Tibet Plateau
Wang's research is dedicated to unraveling the intricate history of the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau. His extensive projects, conducted in various tectonic settings, encompass transform, subduction, and collision, studying scales ranging from small fault blocks to cratons. Investigating rocks from the Quaternary to the Late Precambrian period, Wang and his team challenged prevailing beliefs about the Hoh Xil Basin's strata age, suggesting an Early Eocene–Middle Early Oligocene timeframe.

The research uncovered high sedimentation rates during the Middle Eocene (~40 Ma), aligning with significant tectonic evolution in central Tibet, indicating a substantial surface uplift event at that time. Wang and collaborators traced the sequence of uplift events across the Tibetan Plateau, revealing the central region's initial uplift around 40 million years ago, followed by later events in the northern and southern margins, leading to the current plateau height by the Late Paleogene period.

Wang's influential 2008 paper on the "Proto-Tibetan Plateau" in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has sparked international discussions and garnered over 160 citations. This model traces the origins of the Proto-Tibetan Plateau back to the Late Eocene, suggesting a nucleus from which the plateau expanded. Acknowledged as one of the most important uplift models for the Tibetan Plateau, this work has significantly contributed to our understanding of the region's geological evolution.

In 2014, Wang was invited by "Tectonophysics" to pen a comprehensive review paper. This paper delves into the growth history of the Tibetan Plateau and has garnered more than 574 citations. It meticulously summarizes both qualitative and quantitative proxies for plateau uplift, incorporating structural, low-temperature thermochronologic, magmatic, sedimentary, and paleoaltimetry data. The synthesis supports an inside-out growth pattern for the Tibetan Plateau, suggesting that the Proto-Tibetan Plateau likely formed during the Eocene, coinciding with the India-Asia collision. Confronting the challenge of determining the timing and magnitude of early Cenozoic surface uplift due to a scarcity of unaltered terrestrial sediments, Wang and his team employed triple oxygen isotopic systems of hydrothermally altered crystalline rocks in orogenic belts. Their findings indicate that the southern Proto-Tibetan Plateau attained an elevation of approximately 3.5 km between 63 to 61 million years ago. This implies that more than 60% of its current elevation was achieved before the continent–continent collision. The surface uplift is attributed to crustal shortening, likely in response to the low-angle subduction of Neo-Tethyan oceanic lithosphere.

His notable contributions earned Wang an invitation to the American NSF-sponsored workshop on "Future Directions for NSF-sponsored geoscience research in the Himalaya/Tibet" in 2010. His groundbreaking work continues to pose new challenges for future studies on the links between Tibetan Plateau uplift and global climate changes.

Research in Songliao Basin
Wang's significant contributions extend to the study of the causes and evolutionary patterns of the Cretaceous greenhouse climate. He and his collaborators have achieved significant results in the study of the ancient climate of the Cretaceous Songliao Basin, and these findings have been documented and published in journal articles and monographs. Under his leadership, Wang's research team initiated the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) project in the Cretaceous Songliao Basin, achieving groundbreaking success with the acquisition of an 8,187-meter-long continental core.

The research outcomes elucidate multi-temporal scale climate variations during the Cretaceous period, including greenhouse climate orbital and inter-annual changes. These findings, recognized by both Nature and Science, highlight atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations as a pivotal factor influencing terrestrial climate dynamics. Wang's leadership in the Songliao Basin Continental Scientific Drilling, designated as the "ICDP Lighthouse Project," has garnered international recognition, achieving a globally unparalleled record. This initiative has received accolades, including the First Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress by the Ministry of Education, and stands as a prominent achievement in the deep Earth domain.

The work in Deep-time Digital Earth (DDE) program
Chengshan Wang, a co-founder of the Deep-time Digital Earth (DDE) program alongside former International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) President Roland Oberhänsli and Chief Scientist of the British Geological Survey, Michael H. Stephenson, has been instrumental in advancing this international big science initiative. Their joint efforts have resulted in DDE's recognition as the first international big science program by the IUGS. To date, the DDE program has successfully garnered the involvement of 28 associations and institutions from around the world, marking a significant achievement in global scientific collaboration.

Serving as the Chair of the DDE Executive Committee and the chief editor of the "DEEP-TIME DIGITAL EARTH (DDE) 2020-2030" White Paper, Chengshan Wang has played an essential role in supporting the development of the DDE platform. His commitment to the DDE program extends beyond administrative roles, focusing on fostering global collaboration among earth scientists, computer scientists, and information scientists, and training researchers in the field of data-driven geoscience, thereby facilitating innovative research and development in earth science through the use of big data.

Wang has been active in representing the DDE program on international stages. This includes the collaboration with UNESCO in 2022 to host the DDE Open Science Forum at UNESCO's headquarters in Paris, showcasing DDE at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) conference, and the planned organization and hosting of a Union Symposium at the European Geosciences Union (EGU) in 2024.

Energy exploration
In the realm of energy exploration, Wang's research delves into the uplift model of the Tibetan Plateau through an exhaustive study of Meso-Cenozoic sedimentary basins. His team systematically identified hydrocarbon-bearing sedimentary basins, publishing early articles on the prospectivity of hydrocarbons in the marine basins of the region. Notably, the Qiangtang Basin was identified as a preferred exploration target, with Wang summarizing its geological evolution in a monograph titled "Geological Evolution and Hydrocarbon Prospect Evaluation of Qiangtang Basin, Tibet". The identified ancient reservoir zone, unearthed in the course of the study, constitutes a pivotal foundation substantiating the presence of extensive hydrocarbon accumulation and formation processes within the Qiangtang Basin. Situated as the concluding region for onshore hydrocarbon exploration in China, this discovery holds profound significance. The culmination of these endeavors has markedly contributed to catalyzing the Qiangtang Basin's recognition as a burgeoning frontier for hydrocarbon exploration in China.

Beyond Tibet, Wang extended his research to include shale gas resources in Sichuan Province, geothermal resource assessment in the Pearl River Delta, and the sources and generation mechanisms of naturally occurring molecular hydrogen in the Songliao Basin. These studies contribute not only to regional energy development in China but also introduce innovative perspectives for global energy resource exploration and management.

Awards and honors
Chengshan Wang, a geologist and sedimentologist, has not only made contributions to the fields of geology and sedimentology but also excelled in his role as an educator. Recognized with numerous prestigious awards and honors, Wang has demonstrated a commitment to scientific research, education, and the nurturing of future generations. His dedication to teaching has earned him the reputation of a highly respected and beloved professor.

As an accomplished academic, Wang has mentored over 150 graduate students, contributing significantly to the development of talent in the field of geology. His students have gone on to achieve notable success, including becoming academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (Name: Tang Juxing), recipients of the National Science and Technology Progress Special Prize, and leaders in various scientific and administrative roles.

2022: Science and Technology Progress Award in Higher Institution (First Class), awarded by the Ministry of Education of China.

2021: Top Ten Scientific and Technological Progress of China’s Colleges and Universities, awarded by the Ministry of Education of China.

2020-2021: Highly Cited Chinese Researchers, awarded by Elsevier.

2015: State Natural Science Award (Second Class), awarded by the State Council of China.

2013: Elected as an Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

2012: Fellow of the Geological Society of America.

2012: Natural Resources Science and Technology Award (First Class), awarded by the Ministry of Natural Resources of China.

2010: Science and Technology Progress Award in Higher Institution (Second Class), awarded by the Ministry of Education of China.

2010: National Advanced Worker.

2007: National Outstanding Teacher, awarded by the Ministry of Education of China.

2004: Natural Science Award (Second Class), awarded by the Ministry of Education of China.

2004: Science and Technology Achievement Award of Tibet Autonomous Region (Second Class), awarded by the Government of Tibet Autonomous Region.

2003: Li Siguang Prize, the highest lifetime honor for geologists in China

2003: Natural Resources Science and Technology Award (Second Class), awarded by the Ministry of Natural Resources of China.

2000: Science and Technology Achievement Award of Tibet Autonomous Region (First Class), awarded by the Government of Tibet Autonomous Region.

1998: Science and Technology Progress Award of Sichuan Province (Second Class), awarded by the Government of Sichuan Province.

1996: Distinguished Young Scholar, awarded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China

1992: Special Allowance, awarded by the State Council of China.

1991: Chinese Doctor's or Master's Degree Holders with Outstanding Contributions, awarded by the Ministry of Education of China.

1991: China Youth Science and Technology Award, awarded by China Association for Science and Technology.

Social evaluation
Now, a groundbreaking study, led by Professor Chengshan Wang from the School of Earth Sciences and Resources at China University of Geosciences (Beijing) (CUGB), has employed an innovative approach to paleoaltimetry to obtain remarkable insights into the formation of the Tibetan Plateau

Rresearchers from China University of Geosciences (Beijing) (CUGB) along with colleagues from other institutions, including Ludwig Maximilians University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, have now clarified that Greater India was a single plate of 2,000 to 3,000 km before it subducted under Asia.