World renowned glaciologist and paleoclimatologist, Prof. Thompson has been in long-term cooperation with Prof. Tandong Yao in ice core retrieval and paleoclimatology from the Tibetan Plateau. Through the joint cooperation, he has helped cultivate a number of outstanding Chinese scholars by inviting them to do research at the Byrd Polar Research Center, the Ohio State University, where he maintains a cold room for storage of ice cores drilled throughout the tropical alpine regions. At the founding of the ITPCAS, he was invited by Prof. Yongxiang Lu for an interview and appointed by the CAS as the Academic director of the institute. In spite of his busy schedule, he always tries to present at the welcoming ceremony of postgraduates in the ITPCAS. Early 2009, he also managed to hold a teleconferenced lecture on Climate Change, a course held synchronously at the Ohio State University and the Institute of Tibetan Plateau.