The   department of Geophysics was founded in 1975 and cultivated more   than 1000 students to become professional talents in the field of   geophysics. There are 1 master"s degree authorization of first-level   discipline on Geophysics and 1 doctoral degree authorization on   Earth Interior Physics.

In 2007,   the China"s Earthquake Administration signed the agreement with   Yunnan University and launched the comprehensive cooperation in   order to meet the demand for talents. Additionally, the   Institute of Geology and Geophysics, CAS and Academician Liu   Guangding Foundation together set up the Geophysics Motivational   Scholarship (later changed into Geo-science climbing scholarship)   and Liu Guangding Geophysics Scholarship. In 2015, the  Kunming   Southern Geophysical Company set up the Southern Geophysical   Scholarship aiming at motivating undergraduates who want to engage   in the field of Geophysics.

Teaching   Staff:

At present,   there are 17 faculty members in the department, 5 professors, 3   associate professors, 9 doctors (3 PhD candidates), and 4 overseas   returned intellectuals. 2 of them are Yunnan provincial young   academic leaders while 1 of them is selected to be the backup talent   of young academic leaders.

Disciplinary Characteristics:

Geophysics   is a comprehensive discipline that researches into the movement,   physical state, material composition, forces and other physical   processes of earth circles from the perspective of Physics and   mathematics. This discipline requires solid foundation for Physics   and Mathematics and abundant knowledge for Geophysics, which   contributes to building the ability of the operational work and   scientific researches.

Research   Overview:

Since 2008,   faculty members of the department have undertook 17   research projects supported by the National Natural Science   Foundation of China (NSFC)(one of them is the core project), 8   research projects supported by Yunnan Natural Science Foundation, 1   subtopic in a “973” program and 2 international cooperation   projects. Meanwhile, more than 30 high-level academic essays were   published in SCI publications and ministerial Natural Science Award   and Technological Progress Award were given for 5 times. It"s worth   mentioning that the department undertook the State Key Construction   Projects, namely the test for Blasting Vibration Effect of   Dachaoshan Hydropower Station, advance detection of expressway   tunnels in Yunnan Province, construction quality monitoring of   railway tunnels, seismic safety evaluation of some construction   projects, etc, which promoted the development of the discipline and   achieved good social benefits.

Undergraduate Cultivation:

The   students of this major mainly study basic knowledge and theory in   the field of geophysics and accept the training of basic researches,   and scientific thinking and scientific experiment in applied basic   researches in order to master the basic skills in research and   development of earthquake prediction, exploration of deep earth   structure, geophysical engineering, energy and exploration of   mineral resources. The main courses are as follows. (1)Discipline   Foundation Course: Advanced math, Mechanics, Thermology, Theoretical   mechanics, General geology, Electromagnetism, Mathematical physics,   Electrodynamics, Elastic mechanics and Probability theory and   mathematical statistics. (2)Professional Core Courses: Seismology,   Geomagnetism, Gravity, Geoelectricity, Fundamentals for   computational geophysics, Seismic digital signal processing,   Regional tectonics. (3)Professional Elective: Fundamentals for   geophysical inversion, Rocky mechanics, Principles of Seismic   Prospecting, Geothermology, Introduction to comparative planetary   magnetic field. Main practical teaching process are Geological   Knowledge practice, Geophysical practice, Geomagnetic observation,   Seismic observation and data processing and Training for scientific   researches. In recent years, 40%-50% of the graduates succeeded in   matriculation to Peking University, University of Science and   Technology of China, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, CAS,   Institute of Geophysics, China Earthquake Administration, Institute   of Geology, China Earthquake Administration, etc. The employed   graduates mainly engaged in the provincial seismological Bureau,   research institutions, universities, and departments of Petroleum   and Engineering Exploration.

Laboratory Construction:

The   department owns 4 professional laboratories, including Seismological   Laboratory, Gravitational Laboratory, Geomagnetic and Geoelectric   Laboratory, and Rocky mechanical Laboratory. The laboratories are   equipped with Broadband Digital Seismograph, Engineering   Seismograph, CG5 Gravimeter with micro-gamma precision, Proton   Magnetometer, Fluxgate magnetometer, CTM-DI(A) Magnetometer,   Magnetic declinometer, Magnetic inclinometer, Magnetic detector,   Magnetotelluric sounding meter, Magnetic susceptibility meter, EM3W   Transient electromagnetism, High Density Resistivity Measurement   System, Multi-functional Digital DC Induction Meter, etc, which   shows good experimental conditions.

Fig.1. Main   practice base, Deep Well in West Yunnan Earthquake Prediction   Experimental field, China Earthquake Administration.

Fig.2.   Students learning water chemical experiments.

Fig.3.   Students analyzing the small aperture network to obtain real-time   monitoring data.

Fig.4.   Students learning about the cave where the seismograph is placed

                          Fig.5.   Teachers in the department of geophysics inspecting the 2008   Wenchuan earthquake site