At the award ceremony on June 3rd, Paul Griswold, Chair of the ASRS Award Committee, announced that this year’s William T. Plass Medal would be conferred upon Professor Hu Zhenqi of CUMT. In presenting the award, he highlighted Professor Hu’s research accomplishments. Professor Hu discovered the mechanisms and patterns of mining-induced ecological damage to the terrestrial environment and developed the concurrent mining and reclamation technology, as well as the technique of using Yellow River sediment to reclaim farmland in subsidence areas, and the ecological restoration technology for self-combusting coal gangue mountains. He established a theoretical and technical framework for soil reconstruction centered around “soil ecotopes” and “critical soil layers”, which advanced the theories and technologies of mine land reclamation. Invited to speak at the event, Professor Hu presented a report entitled “Progress and Prospects of Mine Land Reclamation in China”, which received widespread acclaim and attention from the academic community.

Recently, Professor Hu Zhenqi attended the first face-to-face expert seminar for the inter-governmental scientific and technological innovation cooperation project “Impact of Coal Mining in Eastern China on Ecosystem Services and Optimal Pathways for Restoration”, one of the key national research and development programs, at College of Agricultural Sciences, University of Tennessee. Professors Donald G. Hodges, Dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences, and Jennifer Franklin, the project leader, met with the core Chinese members of the project team. Aside from discussing research tasks, short-term goals, work assignments, and work schedule, the core members from both sides exchanged information on their progress over the past six months. They conducted in-depth discussions on topics such as the ecosystem service indicator system, experiences and insights from the impacts of coal mining and ecological restoration in the eastern regions of China and the United States, and discussed the upcoming reciprocal visit to China in August.

Originally known as the American Society for Mining and Reclamation, the American Society of Reclamation Sciences (ASRS) is the most authoritative and influential society globally in the field of mine land reclamation and ecological restoration. The 41st annual academic meeting was held from June 2 to June 6, 2024 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. More than 200 scholars, technicians, and administrators from various countries including the United States, Canada, China, and South Africa attended the meeting, who gave two lectures at the plenary session, 61 oral presentations and 7 poster presentations.