XU DEMIN Xu Demin, an expert in autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), was born in Shaanxi Province in November 1937. He graduated from Northwestern Polytechnical University (NWPU) in 1961 and completed his postgraduate study in 1964. Since then he has been working as a teacher in NWPU. From 1987 to 1988, he was a visiting scholar in Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science of the University of Michigan of U.S. From 1991 to 1998, he was the vicepresident and the dean of Graduate School of NWPU. He was member of Subject Evaluation Group of the Academic Degree Committee of State Council (1997-2003), and member of Hong Kong Council for Academic Accreditation(1999-2004). Now he is the director of the Academic Committee of National Science & Technology Laboratory for Underwater Information & Control. He was elected the academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering in 2005. Professor Xu has been engaged in the works of teaching and scientific research for more than 40 years, and dedicated to research and development on control, navigation and design of AUV.  He and his team of science and technology innovation have accomplished more than 20 important items of R&D projects. He was successfully in charge of research and development of two new types of AUV and the first engineering model of electronic depth control system and the first test model of three channels computer control system of AUV in China, the major performances of them achieved the domestic leading level and international advanced ranks as compared with the same kind of products in that time. He won one prize of National Science Conference, 2 prizes of National Science and Technology Progress (first and second class), 7 prizes of Ministerial and Provincial Science and Technology Progress (first and second class) as well as 3 National Patents of Invention Professor Xu also has been devoted to applied fundamental research in technical science for a long time and achieved the results of major significance. He has published 6 research and teaching books, 23 technical reports, more than 200 research papers on international and domestic publications and conferences, and more than 60 papers of them were collected by SCI, EI and so on. He has supervised 102 postgraduate students (46 doctors of them), and two of them got the honors of National Hundred Excellent Doctoral Dissertations. He won one first class prize of National Teaching Result Award and two special class prizes of Provincial Teaching Result Award. He was awarded for Excellent Teacher of Ministry, Expert with Outstanding Contribution of Province, and Advanced Worker on Science and Technology of National Universities.