E’chuan Yan was born in Mianyang, Sichuan province in 1969, and earned bachelor degree, master degree and doctor degree in geological engineering in Chengdu University of Technology in China respectively in 1990, 1995 and 1998, and is still studying in this field now. Dr. Yan is deputy director of Youth Committee of Engineering Geology in China, and association for Engineering Geology of Hubei Province. And he was awarded the leader of the subject of geotechnical engineering in China University of Geosciences in Wuhan.
He has worked for 2 years after undergraduate from 1990 to 1992 at Northwest Geological Team in Sichuan, and was a teacher in ChengDu University of Technology from 1995 to 1999, and was a post-doctoral and associate professor in China University of Geosciences in Wuhan from 1999 to 2001 and became a professor in 2003. He was a doctoral advisor in 2005 and continued to work on education in China University of Geosciences in Wuhan from then on. During this period he also cooperated with Hong Kong, Switzerland, Leica Geosystems Ltd in 2001 at the study of the monitoring of Landslide disaster. 

In 2005, got the title of “excellent instructor” in the 9th challenge cup university student extracurricular academic science and technology activities, "excellent teacher" in the sixth youth science, "excellent head teacher ", China university of geosciences 7th"ten outstanding youth" and so on. He took part in 30 projects or tasks since 1995, 3 of them are still on study and the rest were completed.
Since 1997, more than 34 papers or articles were published in the domestic and foreign public journals, including six papers for EI and ISTP retrieval. Other two articles won prizes：one article got the first prize for 2000, Chinese academy of sciences journal papers, the other got outstanding prize for 2002 the second national post-doctoral geological academic seminar. major writings includes: principles and applications numerical modeling in engineering geology( second author), the evaluation and utilization of engineering stability (the first author). Three achievements obtained provincial  rewards, a scientific and technological progress first prize awarded by Henan provincial water resources bureau, a scientific research achievements third prize in geology (ministry of land and resources), another for 2003 science and technology progress first prize of Hubei province. In November 2001, won first prizes of youth research group in China university of geosciences. 2008 got thesilver hammer prize。 
his major writings includes: principles and applications numerical modeling in engineering geology(Wuhan, China: press of China University of Geosciences, 2001 ,second author), the evaluation and utilization of engineering stability (Wuhan, China: press of China University of Geosciences, 2002,the first author). He has high attainments in landslide. He mainly engages in scientific research and teaching work on engineering geology, geotechnical engineering and environmental geological. Now he makes researches on geological hazard and geotechnical engineering design and evaluation on environmental protection and prevention. He especially does well in numerical modeling in engineering geology.