The 41st World Hydraulics Congress was held in Singapore, where the International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR) announced the recipients of the 24th Harold Jan Schoemaker Award. Professor Yuan Saiyu from our university was honored with this prestigious award for his outstanding research in water network system dynamics, marking the first time a Chinese scientist has received this distinction in the award's 45-year history.
Figure: IAHR President Philippe Gourbesville (right) presents the award certificate to Yuan Saiyu (left).
The award-winning paper, titled Effects of Tributary Floodplain on Confluence Hydrodynamics (JHR, 2023), features Professor Yuan Saiyu as first author and Academician Tang Hongwu of the Chinese Academy of Engineering as corresponding author. In this study, the research team systematically analyzed the complex turbulent structures, dynamic vortex evolution, and energy dissipation mechanisms in the hydrodynamic interactions of the Yangtze River-Poyang Lake system. The team advanced the theory of water network system dynamics, providing critical theoretical foundations for understanding flood propagation, water quality dynamics, and ecological evolution processes in river-lake systems.
Led by Academician Tang Hongwu, the research team has long been dedicated to hydraulics and river dynamics, addressing national and regional water security challenges while supporting high-quality development. In 2022, the team established the Key Laboratory of Hydrologic-Cycle and Hydrodynamic-System of the Ministry of Water Resources. In recent years, the research team has achieved remarkable theoretical and technological breakthroughs in water network system dynamics, hydrodynamic system simulation and reconstruction, as well as watershed hydrology-hydrodynamics modeling and digital twin applications. These advancements have been extensively implemented in major river and lake management projects across China's key plain regions, including the Yangtze River Delta, Huaihe River Basin, Pearl River Delta, and Poyang Lake area, providing crucial theoretical foundations and technical support for national strategies such as the National Water Network Development and Yangtze River Conservation initiatives.
The Harold Jan Schoemaker Award, established in 1980 by the IAHR, is a prestigious biennial academic honor recognizing authors of the most influential papers published in IAHR's flagship “Journal of Hydraulic Research” (JHR). To date, this award has been conferred upon only 27 exceptional scholars worldwide.
