(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-04-11 09:28

Dorje is a strongly built man with black, curly hair, and nothing unique to distinguish him from his fellow Tibetans. But this member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) is without peers in the world of engineering.

In the past two decades, his work has brought him from no-man's land in northern Tibet to the high mountainous areas further south. His research has earned honors at home and abroad.

Dorje (right) and his colleagues.

Born to a peasant family in 1953 in Gyacha county, Dorje became accustomed to the privations of extreme poverty during his childhood.

His experiences tempered his ability to work hard in difficult conditions.

In 1974, he moved out of his mountain village to study at Chengdu University of Geology, something his forefathers would never have dared dream of during his time.

Upon his graduation in 1978, he plunged into geothermal and geological prospecting work.

Yangbajain is the largest geothermal reserve in China, but the prospecting efforts of the 1970s and 80s were confined to areas near the surface.

Based on the materials he extracted, Dorje theorized the heat was generated by upward moving young magma.

Experts said his theory was at an internationally advanced level.

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