On October 17, the inauguration ceremony of the Institute for Earth's Water Systems (IEWS) at the Eastern Institute of Technology, Ningbo (EIT), together with an international symposium, was held at the University. Academicians, experts, and scholars from the fields of hydrology and water resources, environmental ecology, marine science, the cryosphere, remote sensing, and artificial intelligence gathered in Ningbo to witness the establishment of the Institute and to exchange views on frontier scientific questions concerning Earth's water systems against the backdrop of global climate change.
The event was attended by Mr. Qiang Xu, Vice Mayor of Ningbo and a member of the Leading Party Members Group of the Ningbo Municipal Government, and Prof. Shiyi Chen, President of EIT and Member of the Chinese Academy of Science. The inauguration ceremony was presided over by Prof. Chunmiao Zheng, Vice President of EIT and Director of the Institute for Earth's Water Systems.
Global climate change and human activities are profoundly altering the Earth's water cycle. Floods and droughts, water scarcity, pollution of the aquatic environment, and coastal risks are placing ever-higher demands on the safeguarding of water security. The transport and transformation of water among the Earth's spheres involve complex cross-sphere, cross-scale interactions, making it imperative to strengthen multidisciplinary collaborative research.
To meet this need, EIT—building on its research foundations in hydrology and water resources, environmental science and engineering, ocean engineering, remote sensing, artificial intelligence, and Earth system modeling—has consolidated its relevant research strengths to establish the Institute for Earth's Water Systems. The Institute will focus its work on integrated observation, process modeling, risk prediction, and decision support, and will establish a standing mechanism for interdisciplinary collaboration in support of the nation's strategic water security needs.
Mr. Qiang Xu delivers an address
On behalf of the Ningbo Municipal Government, Mr. Qiang Xu extended warm congratulations on the founding of the Institute and offered his welcome and thanks to the experts and guests present. He noted that Ningbo owes its prosperity to water and has a long history of water governance, yet the city now faces such practical challenges as the uneven temporal and spatial distribution of water resources, the increasing frequency of extreme weather, and growing demands on the health of its water ecosystems; water management and ecological protection are therefore in urgent need of scientific support. He stated that the municipal government would give its full support to the Institute's development, promote coordinated university–local collaboration, facilitate the practical application of research outcomes, respect the inherent laws of scientific research, and safeguard a sound environment for scholarship. He expressed the hope that the Institute would develop into a world-class research platform and deliver high-quality results, and he encouraged the experts in attendance to deepen cooperation and offer insights and advice, jointly supporting Ningbo's water security and high-quality development.
President Shiyi Chen delivers an address
In his address, Prof. Shiyi Chen reviewed the evolution of interdisciplinary research in water science and, drawing on his own research experience in fluid mechanics, expounded the scientific value of research on Earth's water systems. He noted that the Institute should ground itself in regional realities, focus on water security issues in Ningbo and the Yangtze River Delta, leverage the University's strengths in areas such as artificial intelligence and Earth system modeling, and advance the integration of data-driven approaches with physical mechanisms. At the same time, the Institute should closely combine high-level scientific research with the training of young talent, deepen cooperation at home and abroad, produce original results, and gradually build a research platform on Earth's water systems with significant international influence.
Unveiling ceremony
Appointment ceremony
The ceremony included the unveiling of the Institute and the appointment of members of its Academic Committee. President Shiyi Chen and Prof. Chunmiao Zheng presented letters of appointment to the inaugural members of the Institute's Academic Committee, a group of academicians and experts including Prof. Jianyun Zhang, Prof. Dongxiao Zhang, Prof. Zhifeng Yang, Prof. Chuangbing Zhou, and Prof. Charles Andrews. In a video message, Prof. Jun Xia, Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, congratulated the Institute on its establishment, expressing the hope that it would continue to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation, tackle formidable challenges in the field of Earth's water systems, and contribute to the cause of national water security.
Prof. Chunmiao Zheng delivers a keynote speechProf. Chunmiao Zheng delivers a keynote speech. From Peking University to the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) and then to EIT, Prof. Zheng's team has been deeply engaged in the fields of water resources, water science, and Earth's water systems for more than two decades. He noted that in taking the lead in establishing the Institute, the team seeks to build an interdisciplinary platform for addressing a wide range of water-related challenges. Grounded in its research strengths, the Institute will take groundwater, mass transport, and ecohydrology as its foundations; connect the cryosphere, river basins, and estuarine and coastal zones to study cross-sphere processes; and foster long-term collaboration by bringing together multidisciplinary teams from China and abroad to work continuously on shared scientific questions. At the ceremony, he also gave a comprehensive introduction to the Institute's development goals, research layout, team building, and medium- and long-term development plans.
At the event
The keynote session featured a distinguished lineup of scholars, with several renowned experts from China and abroad delivering high-level academic presentations.
The participating experts then held discussions on the Institute's priority research directions, key scientific and technological questions, talent development models, and the building of an international cooperation network, offering comments and suggestions on the Institute's research layout and future development.
Group photo
The establishment of the Institute for Earth's Water Systems is an important initiative through which EIT draws on the strengths of a new research university to advance interdisciplinary research in response to major national needs. The Institute will continue to bring together leading expertise from across China and around the world, explore long-term, stable mechanisms for interdisciplinary collaboration and international cooperation, and promote the translation of fundamental research findings into solutions for water security, climate risk response, and ecological and environmental protection. It aims to become an internationally influential center for science and engineering research on Earth's water systems, contributing its research expertise to global water security, greater climate resilience, and ecological and environmental protection.
