Academician Slobodan Simonovic's Insightful Visit Enhances Research Collaborations

In the morning of May 19, 2023, Prof. Slobodan Simonovic, Fellow of both the Royal Society of Canada and the Canadian Academy of Engineering, visited our university with an enlightening lecture entitled "Systems Approach to Management of Water Resources - Toward Performance-based Water Resources Engineering." The lecture was chaired by Prof. Yu Zhongbo,   Director of the National Key Laboratory of Water Disaster Prevention. Notable attendees included Prof. Li Yanping, a distinguished National High-Level Talent, as well as the research team from the laboratory, along with over 100 students and faculty members from the College of Hydrology and Water Resources.

Prof. Simonovic’s lecture was about the impact of global change, which results from population growth, global warming and land-use change (especially rapid urbanization) on the complexity of water resources management problems and the uncertainty to which they are exposed. He pointed out that both, the complexity and the uncertainty are the results of dynamic interactions between multiple system elements within three major systems: (i) the physical environment; (ii) the social environment; and (iii) the constructed infrastructure environment, including pipes, roads, bridges, buildings, and other components. He stressed that recent trends in dealing with complex water resources systems include consideration of the whole region being affected, explicit incorporation of all costs and benefits, development of a large number of alternative solutions, and the active (early) involvement of all stakeholders in the decision-making. His work on systems approaches based on simulation, optimization, and multi-objective analyses, in deterministic, stochastic and fuzzy forms have demonstrated in the last half of the last century, great success in supporting effective water resources management. His lecture explored future opportunities that will utilize advancements in systems theory that might transform the management of water resources on a broader scale. Prof. Simonovic presented performance-based water resources engineering as a methodological framework to extend the role of the systems approach in improved sustainable water resources management under changing conditions (with special consideration given to rapid climate destabilization). The lecture provided an excellent opportunity for both students and faculty to broaden their academic horizons and gain insight into cutting-edge advancements.

Just two days prior to his presentation, Prof. Simonovic visited the National Key Laboratory of Water Disaster Prevention. During his visit, he listened to the comprehensive work reports delivered by the research team focused on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and communicated with the young and talented faculty team from Hydrology and Water Resources College. His visit facilitated a seamless integration of expertise and fostered an environment of collaborative growth.