Director: Academician Changming Liu

Born in May 1934 in Hunan Province, Professor Changming Liu is an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and an expert in the field of hydrology and water resources. He graduated from Northwest University in 1956, studied in the USSR during the period of 1960–1962, and was a visiting scholar in the United States from 1981 to 1982. Professor Liu previously held the following positions: dean of the School of Resources and Environment, Beijing Normal University; dean of the College of Water Sciences, director of the Department of Geoscience, Beijing Normal University; director of the Joint Research Center on Water Issues (Institute of Geography Resources) within the Chinese Academy of Sciences; director of the Shijiazhuang Institute of Agricultural Modernization, Chinese Academy of Sciences; and vice president of IGU. He currently heads the expert committee of the Research Center on Water Issues, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He also serves as the editor-in-chief of the China Journal of Geography and is a member of the editorial board of the international journal, Hydrological Processes. Professor Liu has implemented a number of major national scientific research projects including the National Key Basic Research Program (973 projects) as well as key projects of the Natural Science Foundation. Moreover, he has participated in more than 20 major state consulting projects. He has published more than 400 papers, including over 200 SCI papers. He has won 14 provincial and ministerial science and technology awards, trained more than 150 graduate students, and been awarded numerous honors in recognition of his excellence as a graduate faculty member. As a pioneer who initiated the research field of hydrology and water resources in China, he has helped to steer the development of the discipline of natural geography. Moreover, he has conducted extensive pioneering work on various aspects of the hydrological cycle and developed runoff generation models, hydrological experiments, and various initiatives in the fields of agricultural hydrology, forest hydrology, and environmental hydrology. He helped develop what is now an established method of GIS analysis that has been applied in environmental impact assessments of the South-to-North Water Transfer Project. His notions on the utilization of rainwater and “green water” management have contributed significantly to improve the efficiency of water resources management in water-deficit areas of China.

Deputy Director: Academician Jianyun Zhang

Born in 1957, Jianyun Zhang, who is from Peixian, Jiangsu Province, is a academician, the Academy of Engineering in China, and a foreign academician, the Royal Academy of Engineering in UK. He graduated from the Department of Hydrology at the East China University of Water Conservancy in 1982, and received a doctorate in civil and environmental engineering from the National University of Ireland in 1996. Dr. Zhang is the deputy director, and chief engineer at the Hydrological Bureau of the Ministry of Water Resources. He also serves as the director of several institutes: Nanjing Institute of Water and Science, the Dam Safety Management Center of the Ministry of Water Resources, and the Climate Change Reseach Center. Moreover, he is the chairperson of the China National Committee of the International Hydrology Association, the vice-chairperson of the ninth committee of the co-association of Jiangsu Province, and a long-term hydrological consulting expert at the World Meteorological Organization. In his capacity as a senior engineer, Dr. Zhang supervises doctoral students and conducts research in the field of of water science. He is also the editor-in-chief of the Advances in Water Sciences, and Journal of Water and Water Transport Engineering. His areas of scientific research expertise include hydrology, water resources, flood control, drought resistance, climate change and water conservancy informatization, flood forecasting, assessments of the impacts of climate change on hydrological and water resources, and adaptation measures in response to heavy rain and flooding events. He has won several awards, including the National Science and Technology Progress award (first prize), four second prizes, three provincial and ministerial special prizes, and three first prizes. Moreover, he has published six monographs (one for translation), and more than 200 papers. He has received outstanding contributions from the state, young and middle-aged experts, outstanding returnees, outstanding professional and technical personnel, advanced workers, and the first batch of young and middle-aged scientists in Jiangsu Province. Dr. Zhang received Jiangsu Province’s “Five One” Labor Medal, and various honorary titles have been conferred on him. He has been granted a special allowance by the State Council.