The certificate of the Honorary Fellow of the Geological Society of America. [Photo/qz123.com]

Quzhou geologist Xie Shucheng was named an Honorary Fellow of the Geological Society of America (GSA) on Oct 15 at the GSA's 135th anniversary meeting in Pittsburgh, USA.

Xie is a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a leader in geobiology and geovirology.

The GSA praised Xie for his innovative geo-lipid technology method and his contributions to understanding the ecological crisis in the Phanerozoic and the changes of the East Asian monsoon.

This is Xie's third international honor this year, after being elected as a Fellow of the International Geochemical Society and receiving the Alfred Treibs Award, the highest award in organic geochemistry.

Xie has been promoting the integration of earth science and life science in China. He edited China's first geobiology textbook, led the national innovation research group in geobiology, and published two books on China's discipline development strategy in geobiology and extreme geological environment microbiology.

Xie has also made breakthroughs in studying microorganisms in geological periods. He proposed a new field of geovirology and revealed the patterns of mass extinction and paleoclimate in China. His research results were reviewed by Science and Nature Geoscience and have won many national and provincial awards.

The GSA Honorary Fellow is an honorary title established in 1909 to recognize outstanding international geologists. Only two people are awarded each year. This year, Xie shared the honor with French geologist Jacques Schott. In 114 years, only 114 geologists worldwide have received the honor.