So sorry for the loss of professor An Yin.  Myself and others of the class of 88’ remember the early years of An Yin when he began his distinguished career at UCLA.  

In 1993 I took a graduate class on the Whipple Mountains where An Yin was the instructor.  He also took us in the field and for myself very impressed by his view and knowledge on tectonics.  An amazing structural geologist.  

Later when he took on the summer field classes he provided great help and raised the bar for students while making it fun.

My husband and I are in absolute shock. We were both geology students in the early 90s, and enjoyed good times at Rainbow Basin and White Mountains with Prof. Yin; we just found out about his untimely death via the UCLA EPSS newsletter. We visited the Department just this past spring, and I so regret not leaving a funny note on An’s office door. He was one of my favorite (if not THE favorite) professors in the department: enthusiastic, brilliant, patient, and oh-so funny! And he was one of the few profs that took the time to give me educational and life advice. We can only imagine the hole his passing leaves in the lives of those closest to him.

Dear Sandy and Yin’s family:
It is with profound shock and sorrow that we received the tragic news of Prof. A Yin's passing. When Jason joined the UCLA faculty in 1990, Yin was the first colleague he met who shared a special connection as a fellow graduate of Peking University. We still vividly recall the visit by An and Sandy to our house back in 1997, where An shared captivating slides from his incredible expeditions in Western China. His passion for research, nature, and life itself was evident, and we always looked forward to hearing the fascinating stories from his journeys. The suddenness of this loss is beyond comprehension, and our hearts ache with grief.

Please accept our deepest and most heartfelt condolences. We can only imagine the immense pain you must be feeling during this difficult time. Please know that you are not alone, and our thoughts are constantly with you. May the memories of An bring you some comfort and solace as you navigate through this sorrow.

In this time of profound grief, we extend our greatest sympathy to you and your family. May An's soul find eternal peace.

With heartfelt sympathy,
Jing Chang and Jason Cong
August 6, 2023

This is An's photo as part of a video for UCLA International Education Week 2020.

A kind soul, a brilliant mind, and a generous and beautiful human being.  We will forever miss you!

We are fortunate to have been able to count An as our friend. An was a remarkably caring and generous man whose humility belied his prodigious memory and intellect. One could never predict what we might learn from spending even a little time with him. He was always open to new experiences and meeting all sorts of people. This photo is of An and family participating with our family and friends in Drag Queen Bingo at the site of a former Chinese restaurant that An used to frequent in Hollywood. Good times, happy memories.


In 1994, at just 35-years-old, our cousin Prof An Yin got an award as The Young Talented Geologist. Cousin An is not only a brilliant scientist but also he is a great communicator. His outgoing, down-to- earth and friendly personality get him a lot of faithful friends. Aside of cousin An's passion in geology, he has keen interest in history and he likes to visit museum.

In this modern world, cousin An's unconditional love, gracefulness, generosity and kindness make him a real example of an angel. We always remember and miss him deeply.


An was a great tutor. I was fortunate and grateful to work with and learn from him since I was a Ph.D. student. He was always full of energy, enthusiasm, and innovation. I will always remember his kindness, humor, big smile, and all the good times with him. Deep in my heart, I miss him!

I express all my sympathy and condolence to An's friends and family. An was a pillar in the EPSS department at UCLA. I will miss the long discussions about Tibet, his encyclopedic knowledge of geology, his enthusiasm and energy, his sense of humor and kindness. I will miss you, An. 

I was deeply shocked when I learned that we lost our beloved colleague An. Words can not express how much he will be missed by our department. In loving memory --- Tina Treude

This video was taken on a field trip to the Salton Sea to see mud volcanoes for his 60th birthday celebration.  The audio captures very well An’s enthusiasm while doing fieldwork.  

My deepest condolences to the Yin family. May you cherish An’s love and fond memories. He is with the Lord.  
Prayers and blessings. 

Another great recent memory was a recent AGU conference. Uncle An was a very busy AGU fellow at these conferences, but he made the time to join my live session and he saw my brother’s first poster at a national conference in the same year. I was a little worried that my call to action for geology field work training would make Uncle An and my dad (CSULB geology field camp prof) a bit nervous. To my delight, Uncle An let me know he was so proud of me for my passion for geology students and for sharing this message with AGU. Uncle An loved the challenges and supported our future leaders in so many ways! 

I am so grateful that Uncle An was able to join my family for my wedding in Feb. He drove up after swim practice and made it just in time. We had a wonderful evening catching up and he shared the sweetest stories about my grandparents and our many family holidays. Cheers to you Uncle An! 

1/3 This video was taken at Patriarch Tree, which is what Professor An Yin was, he was a true patriarch in the department, a leader of his geology tribe, a passionate geologist, a distinguished scientist, a friend, a mentor, a "tough coach", and a person who was full of life and joy.
He will be deeply missed by so many around the world.
To those that got to take part in any of his "YIN-diana Jones" adventures, got to talk to him about geology, were mentored by him, got to talk to him about basketball, got to take a class with him, or simply heard his voice across the hall... know that he deeply cared about his students and he got to do what he loved until the very end. May he rest in peace <3

Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest 07/08/2022

Dr. Yin is my college classmate and a roommate in Beida graduate school. He showed his instincts and boundless imagination for geology in college. He is the glue holding our 78 Geomechanics class together with his humor and enthusiasm. We will forever miss his energy and big smile!

An Yin one of the earliest trips to central Tibet. His big smile shows his excitement to be in the moment. Others on the trip. Paul Kapp, Ding Lin, Wu Chuming. The jacket he is wearing is recognizable to others. He handled these challenging times with direction (to us), inspiration, and laughter. I miss him.

An Yin and Paul Kapp hours before discovering a blueschist-core metamorphic core complex in the most remote part of Tibet.

An Yin mapping the geology of the southern Tibet

An doing geology around Mount Kailas with his original Ph. D. backpack, 1995 Xizang.

An and his PKU advisor riding through the streets of PKU college town, 1995

An Yin 1995 Coqin, Xizang. An was proud to use his polaroid camera.

I had the pleasure of being An's student almost 20 years ago.  This January I stopped by his office before giving a lecture at UCLA.  It was as if no time had passed - he remembered my family and my interests and time at UCLA.  I showed him some pictures my children drew of geologic cross sections and he took the time to really look and compliment their interpretations.  He later emailed me this photo.   An had a genuine love of life and family and his students.

This was in 2020 right before UCLA went remote due to COVID-19. An took the class of 2021 to the field for structure. He was a fountain of knowledge and a leader. He was also a great mentor and I attribute a lot of my success to the help he gave me in undergrad during the COVID pandemic. He will be greatly missed. 

An was always a joy to work with and for when I was at UCLA. His various field trips with Mark Harrison and students were always fascinating and seemed so challenging but gave them all some good research results.  He and his family always brought a smile with their warmth. Sandy and the kids will be in my heart and prayers as they try to move forward.  Blessings to all.  Loving hugs,Diane (Hunter)

An was a great tutor. He was a man of integrity, and was always full of enthusiasm and innovation. An will live in my heart foever. R.I.P.

An is our our inspiration, pride and a big brother.  His humor, big smile and kindness are forever in our hearts!  -Chunming & Fang Wang 

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An Yin

June 24, 1959 – July 12, 2023

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