About SAS

The School of Atmospheric Sciences at NJU is the cradle of modern meteorological education and research in China. It has been one of China's most respected atmospheric science programs.

The history of this discipline at NJU can be traced back to 1905, when the physics curriculum first included meteorological courses at Liang-Jiang Normal School, one of the predecessors of the university. In the 1920s, Dr. Coching Chu founded the Department of Geoscience at the National Southeast University (which later on became National Central University). In 1924, the department established three research disciplines in geology, meteorology, and geography. Among them was the earliest meteorology major in China and was the basis of the country's first department of meteorology, established at the National Central University in 1944.

In 1952, the National Central University meteorology program became part of the reorganized Nanjing University. In 1986, the department of meteorology was renamed the Department of Atmospheric Sciences when the first Atmospheric Environment major in the nation was established. In 2008, the Department of Atmospheric Sciences was promoted to the level of college within the university and gained its current name of School of Atmospheric Sciences (SAS).

Over the years, the department and school have undertaken a large number of national-level research projects, made significant contributions in basic and applied research in atmospheric sciences, and made vital scientific and technological achievements in the field for national economic, social development, and national defense. Meanwhile, the program has trained more than 7,000 meteorological professionals, producing many professors, researchers, and outstanding operational weather forecasters. Among them are 12 academicians of Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering. The atmospheric science program at NJU has been a critical supplier of advanced-level research and operational meteorologists to the country.