Prof. Hou Defeng (1900-1980), one of the founders of the CHIQUA, had made an important contribution to the
development of
Quaternary Sciences in China. He would be in our memories forever.I got to know Prof. Hou Defeng in 1946. From then to 1980, I had worked under his supervision for a long time. I am very familiar with him, but it is difficult for me to describe his behavior and academic contribution in words. This may be owing to that our understanding and respect for him become deeper and deeper with the passage of time.Prof. Hou is a teacher who had not set any demands on his students, but nobody can fulfil his expectations. He is a person with full goodwill and sympathy,and always did his best to help the others.Prof. Hou was a scientist who opened up a number of geological fields in China. He was appointed to be a
professor, the head of the Institute of Geology,and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences after the foundation of the P. R. China. Prom 1950s to 1960s, Prof. Hou started the studies of Sedimentary Deposit and Sedimentology, Quaternary Geology, Geochronology and Isotope Geology,Petroleum Geology, salt lake resources and salt lake research, and rare element deposit and Geochemistry, etc. In the meantime, many important institutions was set up by his supervisions.Prof. Hou is a scientist and a supervisor full of foresight. He knew deeply the importance of inheritance and
development in science, and devoted to the constructions of institutions without tradition losing but with talents coming forth.As a geologist, Prof. Hou has broad and profound knowledges. He studied almost all fields of geology, and achieved great successes.Prof. Hou is adept in both self-perfect and self-surmount. He believes that only when the custom was broken, could progresses be made in science.It has been 15 years from the year when Prof. Hou left us. The fields of geology initiated by Prof. Hou have been developed to various degrees. Although he did not leave any concrete demands to us, his expectations get clear with the development of the country and the needs of the times, and will encourage us forward.