China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research

China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research (IWHR) is affiliated with the Ministry of Water Resources of the People's Republic of China. It is a non-profit scientific research institution engaged in water resources and hydropower scientific research. The headquarters consists of the South Campus located at No. 1A Fuxing Road, Haidian District, Beijing, and the North Campus at No. 20 Chegongzhuang West Road, as well as the Daxing Test Base and Yanqing Test Base. Outside Beijing, there are the Institute of Water Resources for Pastoral Areas in Hohhot and the Institute of Hydraulic and Electrical Machinery in Tianjin. The history of the institute dates back to 1933, with its predecessor being the earliest water resources scientific research institution in China—the National Hydraulic Laboratory. After several changes, in 1958, with the approval of the National Planning Commission of the State Council, multiple water resources and hydropower research units were merged to establish the Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, which was renamed as China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research in 1994 upon approval by the National Science and Technology Commission. In 2000, the Institute of Water Resources for Pastoral Areas under the Ministry of Water Resources and the Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering under the Ministry of Electric Power Industry were merged into IWHR. The current president is Kuang Shangfu; previous presidents include Zhang Zilin, Zhang Guangdou, Lin Bingnan, Zhang Zezhen, Yang Deye, Chen Bingxin, Liang Ruiju, and Gao Jizhang. The institute has had 15 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, namely Zhang Guangdou, Huang Wenxi, Qian Ning, Wang Wenshao, Lin Bingnan, Zhu Bofang, Chen Houqun, Wu Zhongru, Chen Zhikai, Han Qiwei, Chen Zuyu, Wang Hao, Miao Changwen, Hu Chunhong, and Du Xiuli. After decades of development, the institute has become a comprehensive water resources and hydropower research and technology development center with remarkable talent advantages and complete disciplines. As of the end of 2021, the institute has 1,293 employees, including 979 with master's degrees or above (574 with doctoral degrees) and 917 with senior or associate senior professional titles, and is recognized as the "Innovative Talent Training Demonstration Base" by the Ministry of Science and Technology. It currently has 13 research institutes (centers), 4 science and technology enterprises, 4 comprehensive business units, and 1 logistics enterprise, and houses 4 national research centers, 9 ministerial research centers, 1 national key laboratory, and 3 ministerial key laboratories. The research fields cover 18 disciplines and 93 specialty directions, including hydrology and water resources, water environment and ecology, flood control, drought relief, and disaster reduction, sediment and soil and water conservation, rural water conservancy, hydraulics, geotechnical engineering, hydraulic structures and materials, engineering seismic resistance, hydraulic machinery and electromechanics, automation, engineering monitoring and inspection, new energy, remote sensing technology and applications, water history and culture, and pastoral area water conservancy. The institute holds the Grade A qualification certificate for engineering consulting (water conservancy and hydropower, electric power (including thermal, hydropower, nuclear, and new energy), ecological construction and environmental engineering), Grade A qualification certificate for hydrological and water resources survey and evaluation, Grade A qualification certificate for water resources demonstration, level evaluation certificate for soil and water conservation monitoring of production and construction projects (5-star), level evaluation certificate for soil and water conservation plan compilation of production and construction projects (5-star), Grade A qualification certificate for water conservancy engineering quality inspection (geotechnical, concrete engineering, measurement, mechanical and electrical, and metal structure categories), AAA credit rating for water conservancy construction market entities (quality inspection, consulting, and supply categories), Grade A qualification for cultural relics protection engineering survey and design, and has passed national metrology certification and ISO9001 quality management system certification. It has been selected as a consulting and evaluation institution for fixed asset investment projects of the National Development and Reform Commission and Beijing Municipal Government, as well as the institution for reservoir storage safety appraisal of water conservancy and hydropower construction projects, safety evaluation of large and medium-sized sluices, and technical evaluation of soil and water conservation facility acceptance by the Ministry of Water Resources. The institute houses 4 national centers: the National Center for Efficient Irrigation Engineering and Technology Research - Beijing, the National Quality Supervision and Inspection Center for Agricultural Irrigation and Drainage Equipment, the National Research Center for Sustainable Hydropower Development, and the National Energy Research Center for Efficient Water Energy Utilization and Dam Safety Technology; and 9 ministerial centers: the Engineering Technology Research Center for Flood Control, Drought Relief, and Disaster Reduction of the Ministry of Water Resources, the Engineering Technology Research Center for Water Resources and Water Ecology of the Ministry of Water Resources, the Engineering Technology Research Center for Soil and Water Conservation Ecology of the Ministry of Water Resources, the Research Center for Water Environment Monitoring and Evaluation of the Ministry of Water Resources, the Remote Sensing Technology Application Center of the Ministry of Water Resources, the Research Center for Grassland Soil and Water Conservation Ecology of the Ministry of Water Resources, the Engineering Technology Research Center for Seismic Resistance and Emergency Support of Water Projects of the Ministry of Water Resources, the Collection Center for River and Water Conservancy Chronicles of the Ministry of Water Resources, and the Key Scientific Research Base of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage for Water Heritage Protection and Research. It has established one national key laboratory: the State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basins, and three ministerial key laboratories: the Key Laboratory of Construction and Safety of Water Projects of the Ministry of Water Resources, the Key Laboratory of Water-Sediment Science and River and Lake Regulation, and the Key Laboratory of Digital Twin Watersheds, in addition to 36 specialized laboratories equipped with large-scale high-speed flow vacuum tanks, large three-directional six-degree-of-freedom simulated seismic shaking tables, centrifugal simulation test machines, general test benches for hydraulic machinery models, water quality chromatograph-mass spectrometer systems, and many other important instruments and equipment that are at the forefront domestically and internationally in terms of scale and performance, as well as a large number of independently developed computer software for water resources and hydropower and large high-performance parallel computing platforms, providing excellent scientific research conditions. Over the years, the institute has led and undertaken a large number of national major scientific and technological projects and provincial/ministerial key research projects, undertaken research tasks on key technical issues of almost all major water conservancy and hydropower projects in China, and carried out a series of engineering technology consulting, evaluation, and technical services domestically and internationally. The institute's scientific research has developed steadily, yielding a large number of original and breakthrough results. In 2021, 46 achievements received provincial/ministerial awards, of which 13 were results led by the institute; 2 projects received international awards. Throughout the year, 736 papers were published, 68 books were published, 474 patents were authorized, 115 software copyrights were registered, and 30 standards were newly compiled or revised.