The 2011 Summer School on Spaceborne Earth Observations and Global Change was held in the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory (SHAO), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) during the week of July 18 - 22. It was jointly organized and sponsored by the newly established Laboratory of Astronomical and Spacebourne Techniques Application and Global Change (LASTAGC) at SHAO and the Center for Space Research (CSR), University of Texas at Austin (UT).

The scorching hot summer weather in Shanghai simply could not discourage the enthusiasm of those young students and researchers learning new skills and knowledge. There were nearly 100 participants coming from different institutes and universities in Mainland China, Taiwan, and USA. In order to encourage more students, and especially undergraduate students’ participation, the summer school waived the registration fee for all undergraduate student participants. The school also offered full scholarships to nine qualified students, which covered all related costs of those students during their stay in Shanghai.

Five world-renowned scientists in the field of space geodesy convened in Shanghai during the summer school and offered a full week of diverse, informative, and yet very interesting classes.

Dr. Danan Dong, a world expert in GPS data processing and programming, had been working at the prestigious NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for 18 years, until very recently when he joined the faculty as a full professor at the Eastern China Normal University. Dr. Dong is the leading developer of the QOCA GPS data processing software system. He has brought to the summer school a full day’s classes focusing on different aspects of GPS data processing and applications, including introduction of basic GPS theory and history, development of GPS data processing methods, and applications of GPS observations in tectonic movement, surface mass redistribution, and some other emerging fields. The students are very impressed by Dr. Dong’s broad knowledge and diligent and tireless working altitude.

Dr. Jianli Chen, a world expert in satellite gravimetry data processing and applications, has been working at UT/CSR for over 17 years. As a Senior Research Scientist at CSR, Dr. Chen has also been appointed as the head of the newly established Laboratory of Astronomical and Space Technique Application and Global Change (LASTAGC) at SHAO. Through some rich materials and informative slides, Dr. Chen helped to draw a global picture of climate change and showed the major challenges the world is facing. His classes also led the students into the forefront of modern space geodesy, monitoring the Earth climate system using space geodetic observations. In addition, Dr. Chen taught a separate and much-wanted class on scientific writing, offering the students and young scientists some very valuable suggestions and ‘tips’ on how to write high-quality scientific papers.

Dr. Ben Chao, a world-renowned scientist in space geodesy and geophysics and the CAS Einstein Chair professor, had worked at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center for over 20 years, until 2006 when he became the dean of the Earth Sciences College at the Taiwan Central University, and later as the director of the Earth Sciences Institute of the Taiwan Academia Sinica. Dr. Chao started his classes by telling a long ‘story’ of the Earth, from why the Earth is not a sphere, why a meter is defined as a meter, and to why the Earth acts like an instrument when earthquakes occur. Some sophisticated geophysical phenomena have become so easy to understand here via his simple and interesting examples and illustrations. His humorous languages and interactive teaching skills have greatly inspired students’ interest in geophysics and space geodesy.

Dr. C.K. Shum is a professor and Distinguished University Scholar at the Ohio State University, and is a world distinguished scientist focusing on contemporary scientific research relates to the accurate measurements of 20th century and present-day sea-level rise, and the improved understanding of the geophysical causes of the rise, including anthropogenic climate-change. Dr. Shum highlighted the recent progress in the forefront on climate change and sea level rise studies, and demonstrated the revolutionary advancement and great potential of satellite altimetry in monitoring the global sea level change. Dr. Shum also thoroughly explained various geophysical processes contributing to sea-level rise which include ice-sheet mass balance, solid Earth viscoelastic glacial isostatic adjustment resulting from ancient ice-sheet melt, thermal expansion of the ocean and ocean circulations, mountain glacier ablation, and terrestrial hydrology.

Dr. Junping Chen is a rising young scientist in GPS and GNSS data processing. He had been working in the German GFZ for 4 years until recently relocated to Shanghai to work as a professor at the SHAO. He is currently leading the effort to establish the first GNSS data processing center in China. Dr. Chen has offered a detailed description of the progress of GNSS data analysis in the world, and painted a blueprint of future GNSS development in China.

Thanks to the great effort of these invited teachers, these enriched classes during the full week long summer school have greatly inspired the interest and confidence of the students in pursuing future career development in the broad field of space geodesy, and also helped the students to build more solid foundations in related fields. The students all have expressed their gratefulness to having the opportunity to attend this wonderful summer school, and to the teachers for their dedicated effort in putting together all the teaching materials.

Time flies fast! By the end of the week (when the summer school had to come to an end), the students and teachers had already established a very close relationship. They all enjoyed very much the time they spent together this week and with greater expectations, they hope to see each other next year.

During the workshop, a field trip was also organized to visit the Sheshan Astronomical Station of SHAO.