A Brief introduction to
the Department of Resource, Environment and City-rural Planning

The Department of Resource, Environment and City-rural Planning, formerly the Department of Agrometeorology (the Department of Applied Meteorology), renamed in 1999 and reorganized in 2001 on the former Department of Environmental Science, was subdivided into 3 specialties and offered programs for full-time four-year undergraduate students, which include City-rural Planning Management, Geographical Information System and Remote Sensing Science and Technology, and 1 specialty of Tourism Management for full-time three-year undergraduate students as well. In May 2003, the department was redivided into the Department of Resource, Environment and City-rural Planning and the Department of Space Information Science. In May, 2005, the department began to function formally (as an independent unit). At present, it has 2 doctor's and master's degree programs, including the specialty of Climatological System and the specialty of Global Changes, 1 master's degree program for the specialty of Natural Geographical Science, 3 bachelor's degree programs, including the specialty of Resource, Environment and City-rural Planning Management, the specialty of Meteorology Science (orientation of climate resources), and 1 specialty for full-time three-year major students in Tourism Management. Among them the specialty of Resource, Environment and City-rural Planning Management started to enroll undergraduates in 1999. In September 2005, the other two specialties, i.e., the specialty of Climatology (orientation of climate resources) and that of Mapping Engineering began to enroll undergraduates. At present, the department has more than 300 undergraduates (including 33 three-year undergraduate majors), 50 full-time doctorate and post-graduate students. There are three teaching and research sections, namely, the section of Resource, Environment and City-rural Planning Management, the section of Climatology and that of Mapping Engineering, and 1 institute, i.e., Research Institute of Global Changes.

Now, the total number of the faculty and staff is 22, inclusive of 8 teachers with advanced professional titles, among whom 4 professors, 15 masters and doctors altogether, among whom 5 doctors, 4 cultivated young and middle-aged teachers of Jiangsu Province “333 Project” and Jiangsu “Qinglan Project”.

In recent five years, the teachers in the department have published 150 papers altogether in the domestic and overseas core academic journals, among which 8 are included in SCI, and published 1 professional monograph, 1 second prize of the award for “Science and Technology in China's Universities and Colleges” by the Ministry of Education; nearly 20 programs under research, with a total research funds amounting to 2,000,000 Yuan. Among the above research programs, those supported by the province or the ministry account for 40%, mainly dealing with the regional reactions to global changes, the diagnosis and prediction of climate changes, the evaluation of the influence of natural disasters, land surface process, interactional cycle, and the utilization and potential evaluation of natural resources.

The department has established a resource analysis and design laboratory, practicing equipments in mapping, geography, planning, meteorology, with a total value over 2,ooo, ooo Yuan. There is a professional reference room, with nearly 2,000 copies of various categories of books and videos, covering all the professional fields and specialties such as resource, environment and city-rural planning, etc. The department has also established many practicing bases concerning planning, mapping and resource analysis in Nanjing Institute of Municipal Planning and Design, Nanjing Institute of Stone and Soil Assistance-Testing and Jiangsu Province Mapping Institute; and practicing bases concerning natural geography in the Fangshan Mountain, Yanziji, the Xiao Jiaochang Meteorology Station and Geography Museum; and imitated practicing bases on the campus, too.

Brief Introduction to the Specialties

Climatology: Climatology is an important branch of atmospheric sciences, mainly dealing with the theories on climatological system and the influence of climate changes on ecological system and national economy. The specialty is designed to train interdiciplinary advanced professional talents not only with solid scientific basic knowledge (such as Climatology, digital weather prediction, etc.), a wide range of knowledge in resource, environment, ecology, and so on, the ability of applying climatological theory to such fields as resource, environment and social sciences, but also with an excellent scientific quality. In this specialty, both the master's degree and doctor's degree can be granted.

Mapping Engineering: The specialty of Mapping Engineering, a first-level subject in mapping science and technology, depending on the present teachers in some related sciences (such as geographical information system, remote sensing science and technology, resource, environment and city-rural planning management), and the present experimental conditions, has been established at a high starting point. Under the guidance of new program aims, a comparatively perfect course structure and system of new professional teaching knowledge structure have been established, including the following 4 teaching systems in professional mapping engineering theoretical basis, mapping engineering technological basis, mapping engineering practical teaching and computer application abilities. The new program aims include the following spirits: to embody a wide range of knowledge, to enhance practical teaching links, to train the students' operating abilities and to carry out a continuous computer teaching. The in-class teaching practice and comprehensive teaching practice amount to 40 weeks, of which the proportion of comprehensive practice courses reaching as much as 85%, hence fully reflecting the requirements of professional development for talents.

Resource, Environment and City-rural Planning Management: The specialty of Resource, Environment and City-rural Planning Management is a scientific one established to satisfy the demands of the current development in national economy. The specialty mainly offers courses in the basic theory and knowledge in resource, environment and city-rural planning management, enabling the students to be trained with scientific thinking and scientific experiments in applied basic research and applied research, besides, with excellent scientific qualities and preliminary basic abilities in teaching, research and resource development, design and management. The students are especially trained to develop a macroscopic understanding and cognition of various resources, and meanwhile, to master and know well the principles and methods to develop and utilize these resources. Through learning the specialty, the students will have a well-knit foundation of math and physics, grasp the general principles and methods in some close specialties, learn about some national policies concerning science and technology, and intellectual property right, and be familiarized with some related policies, regulations and laws concerning environmental protection, continuous development strategy; to keep breast of the forward theories, their application prospects and the latest development in resource, environment and city-rural planning management, have a good command of the basic methods in material inquiry, reference index and the elementary methods to obtain related information by means of modern information technology, design certain experiments, create some experimental conditions, summarize, systematize and analyze experimental results, write academic papers, and attend some academic exchanges.

The specialty has, since its enrollment in 1999, turned out nearly 300 graduates for the society. The graduates mainly work in such fields as resource development and utilization, house-and-estate development and management, city and rural planning and management, geographical information system application, meteorological application, mostly engaged in scientific research, management, teaching, scientific and technological development and other jobs.