Liu Defu
Professor (Grade II) · Ph.D. · Founder / Senior Advisor
Eco-hydraulic research seeks to make dam operation harmonious with watershed ecosystems and to sustain their healthy development.
Former Party Secretary and President of Hubei University of Technology, and doctoral supervisor at Wuhan University, Hubei University of Technology and China Three Gorges University. A nationally recognised expert with outstanding contributions, recipient of the State Council Special Government Allowance, a 973 Program chief scientist, and a top-tier member of Hubei’s New Century High-Level Talent Project. He is honorary deputy chair of the Hydraulics Committee of the China Hydraulic Engineering Society and chair of the River–Lake Health Committee of the Hubei Hydraulic Engineering Society.
His work centres on eco-hydraulic engineering. In recent years he has led more than ten major projects — NSFC key grants, 973 Program projects and national major programs for water-pollution control — with over 15 million RMB in funding, and has published more than 200 papers in journals such as Science, Nature Ecology & Evolution, Water Research and the Journal of Hydraulic Engineering. His achievements have earned 17 provincial and national science awards, including a Special Prize of the Dayu Water Science and Technology Award and a First Prize for Science and Technology Progress of Hubei Province.
Focusing on algal blooms in the tributaries of the Three Gorges Reservoir, he revealed the widespread density-stratified currents in tributary bays and identified the “chaos ratio” as the key control on bloom dynamics, and proposed eco-friendly reservoir-operation methods for bloom prevention. His findings on how cascade reservoirs affect nitrogen transport and water-temperature accumulation are recognised at the international leading level.