HKU Planetary Scientist Yuqi QIAN Wins AGU Early Career Award, a First for a University in Asia

Dr Yuqi QIAN, Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at HKU, has been named the 2026 recipient of the Ronald Greeley Early Career Award in Planetary Sciences by the American Geophysical Union (AGU), becoming the first awardee representing a university in Asia.

Presented annually, the award recognises significant early-career contributions to planetary science by scientists within six years of receiving their PhD. Established in 2012, it is named in honour of AGU Fellow Ronald Greeley, recognising his influential contributions to the training and mentoring of planetary scientists.

Dr Qian’s research spans lunar volcanism, the geological evolution of the Moon, and the study of returned lunar samples, with particular involvement in research related to China’s Chang’e-5 and Chang’e-6 missions. In 2023, he played a key role in HKU’s successful application for Chang’e-5 lunar samples, making HKU the first research team in Hong Kong to obtain such samples. He is currently conducting research on Chang’e-6 farside lunar samples, the evolution of the South Pole–Aitken Basin, and lunar water ice at the Moon’s south pole.

Dr Qian received his PhD in Geology, specialising in planetary geology and comparative planetology, from the China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), and was a visiting graduate student at Brown University. He joined HKU as a Postdoctoral Fellow in 2023 and became a Research Assistant Professor in December 2024.

Congratulations to Dr Qian on this distinguished recognition!