C·I·B researcher, Dr. Cang Hui, was appointed as Adjunct Professor of the Research School of Arid Environment & Climate Change (RSAECC) at Lanzhou University (http://wel.lzu.edu.cn/) for a period of two years.

Dr. Hui’s main focus is the interface between ecology and mathematics. Of particular interest is the application of mathematics to provide a deeper understanding of ecological patterns. He is the author or co-author of 62 journal articles, has contributed to many book chapters and full length proceedings, serves on the editorial boards of Applied Mathematics and Computational Sciences and The Open Zoology Journal, and is associate editor of Biological Invasions.

In 2011, Dr. Hui and colleagues in the research school published a paper in Ecological Economics, presenting a spatial appraisal of the regional sustainability using ecological footprint methodology (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2010.12.017). Further collaborative projects are undergoing on cross-scale assessment of social-ecological sustainability and ecosystem services in the northwest edge of the Tibetan Plateau. This appointment will further foster his collaboration with colleagues there in student training and research.

The RSAECC is developed from the Key Laboratory of Western China’s Environmental Systems which was officially opened internationally in 2001. It has 9 researchers and 2 fellows of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), with Prof. Fahu Chen (vice-Rector of Lanzhou University) being the current director. The academic disciplines of the research school include 3 Ph.D. programs and 4 M.S. programs. In addition, the NSFC-funded Sino-German Joint Research Center for Arid Environment and Paleoclimate (CAEP) and the MOE-funded Web-based Multi-institutional Collaboration Center for Resources and Environments in Western China are also parts of the research school.