On 23 November, the results of the 2023 election of foreign academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) were announced, and a total of 16 foreign academicians were elected by the CAE in 2023. Among them, Ranjith Pathegama Gamage, a professor of Monash University, Australia, and an honorary professor of Shenzhen University, was elected as a foreign academician of the Energy and Mining Division of the Chinese Academy of Engineering relying on SZU, and Academician Xie Heping of SZU was the main nominee of Professor Ranjith. He is the first foreign academician of the two academies produced by Shenzhen University.

Professor Ranjith Pathegama Gamage, male, born in 1968, is currently a Professor at Monash University, Australia and an Honorary Professor at Shenzhen University. He is an internationally renowned expert in rock mechanics and energy engineering, and has led the innovative development of rock mechanics in the energy field, as well as scientific and technological advances in the fields of shale gas extraction, geothermal energy development, and geological storage of carbon dioxide.

In shale gas extraction, he has developed key fundamental theories of shale gas drilling and fracturing, proposed a new method of fracturing shale gas reservoirs based on ultra-low viscosity carbon dioxide, foam-based, and energy-retardant agents, and developed a new technology of shale gas reservoir modification based on supercritical carbon dioxide and micro-support agents.

In the field of geothermal energy development, an ultra-high-temperature and high-pressure, ultra-large-scale true triaxial rock mechanics test system has been developed, revealing the rock damage mechanism of deep ultra-high-temperature geothermal reservoirs, and forming a carbon dioxide-enhanced geothermal energy development technology system.

In the field of carbon dioxide geological storage, a new method of carbon dioxide-nitrogen mixed injection for seepage enhancement in deep coal beds has been proposed, and carbon dioxide geological storage technology for coal bed methane production has been developed, which has solved the problem of unknown carbon dioxide storage mechanism in deep coal beds.

He has published two international monographs in this field and more than 500 academic papers, with H index of 73 in Web of Science database and total citations of more than 17,000. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, a Member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, a Foreign Member of the Indian Academy of Engineering, and the Founding Editor-in-Chief of Geomechanics and Geophysics for Geo-Energy and Geo-Resources. He has been honoured as one of Australia's nine leading global academics (Australian Research Council), Excellence in Sustainability Award (Elsevier), Global Leader in Mining and Mineral Resources Engineering (The Australian), Future Fellow Award (Australian Research Council).

Scientific Cooperation with Academician Xie Heping's Team at SZU

"Zhida Forum" hosted by Shenzhen University

Professor Ranjit has a long standing relationship with Academician Xie Heping's team at Shenzhen University. He is an Honorary Professor of SZU, a part-time researcher at the Guangdong Key Laboratory of Deep Earth Science and Geothermal Energy Development and Utilisation, a keynote speaker at the Zhida Forum, a high-end international forum organised by the Institute of Deep Earth Science and Green Energy of SZU, and co-editor, together with Academician Xie Heping, of the international journal Geomechanics and Geophysics for Geo-Energy and Geo-Resources. Together with Academician Xie Heping, he is the editor-in-chief of the international journal Geomechanics and Geophysics for Geo-Energy and Geo-Resources, and assisted in the establishment of the international journal Energy Reviews of Shenzhen University. He also cooperates closely with Academician Xie Heping's team at Shenzhen University in talent training, personnel exchange and scientific research.

Co-Editor-in-Chief of GGGG International Journal with Academician Xie Heping

Contributed to the establishment of EnergyReviews, an international journal of Shenzhen University