Xiaotong Peng, male, from China, born in September 1973, currently serves as the Party Committee Secretary and Deputy Director of the Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is also the Director of the National Key Laboratory of Deep-sea Science and Intelligent Technology, a distinguished professor of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the initiator and leader of the Global Trench Exploration and Dive Programme (GLOBAL-TREnD). Dr. Peng is primarily engaged in research on hadal science and exploration technology. He has led and served as the chief scientist for more than ten Chinese and international manned deep-sea diving missions, completing scientific expeditions to the world’s eight major oceanic trenches. His work has significantly promoted in-depth collaboration between China and leading international marine institutions in the field of hadal research.