In the spring of 1925, with support from his elder sister, the thirteen-year-old Dr. Chen Guoda enrolled at Xinhui No. 1 Middle School.

He later entered the geology programme at Sun Yat-sen University in 1930. During each winter and summer break, he returned to his hometown to conduct field investigations across Xinhui County, applying his classroom learning directly to the region’s geological features.

His first paper in 1932, Research on the Geology of Xinhui County, Guangdong Province, received the annual geology and mineral resources research award from the National Academy of Peiping.

In 1933, his subsequent article Problem of “Canton Delta”, based on field investigations around Guangzhou and submitted to Shanghai’s Science Journal, was recognised by the Science Society of China with both a monetary prize and a gold medal engraved with the maxim, “Investigate Things to Acquire Knowledge; Apply Knowledge to Improve Life.”

Upon graduating from the Department of Geology at Sun Yat-sen University in 1934, Dr. Chen completed his thesis, Red Rock Series in Guangdong, which examined the province’s Mesozoic-Cenozoic red formations and identified structural features that would later become integral to his diwa basin model. Published in the Bulletin of the National Academy of Peiping, the thesis received a geology and mineral resources research award and became another important milestone in the early development of his diwa tectonic theory.

Supported by a Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship, Dr. Chen studied at the National Academy of Peiping from 1934 to 1935 under the mentorship of eminent geologist Weng Wenhao. During this period, he also undertook advanced study with American geologist Amadeus W. Grabau at Peking University.

From 1936 to 1945, he worked at the Geology Survey Institute in Guangdong and Guangxi and at the Jiangxi Institute of Geological Survey, advancing from technician to senior technician.

In 1946, Dr. Chen returned to Sun Yat-sen University as Professor and Chair of the Department of Geology, a position he held until 1951.

From 1952 to 1977, he served as Professor and Head of the Department of Geology at the Central-South Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, the predecessor of CSU.

Between 1978 and 1984, he served as Vice President of the institute and Director of the Changsha Institute of Geotectonics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. During this time, he also served concurrently as Vice Chair of the IUGS Commission on Tectonics of Ore Deposits.

In 1980, Dr. Chen represented China at the 26th International Geological Congress in Paris. His contributions earned wide acclaim, leading to his unanimous election as Vice Chair of the IUGS Commission on Tectonics of Ore Deposits and his appointment as an advisory editorial board member of Global Tectonics and Metallogeny.

When the 27th International Geological Congress convened in Moscow in 1984, bringing together more than 5,000 geologists from over 100 countries, Dr. Chen was invited to sit in the front row on the rostrum, a distinction no Chinese scholar had received in the history of the congress.

In 1988, Changsha hosted the First International Symposium on Diwa Tectonics and Metallogeny. At the meeting, more than 30 leading scientists from seven countries jointly called for the establishment of the International Research Center for Diwa Tectonics and Metallogeny. The center became a group member of the IUGS Commission on Ore Genesis in 1990, which subsequently formed the Research Group on Tectono-Magmatic Activation (Diwa). Dr. Chen was elected to serve as Chair of the center.

Beginning in 1985, Dr. Chen provided academic leadership to the Central South Institute of Technology and served as Honorary Director of the Changsha Institute of Geotectonics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. His broader service to the profession included roles as Vice President of the Geological Society of China, President of the China Diwa Tectonics Research Association, and Chair of the International Research Center for Diwa Tectonics and Metallogeny.

Dr. Chen passed away on 8 April 2004 at the age of 93.