Congratulations to Water Research Centre (WRC) research associate Dr Ze Jiang who has been awarded an ARC Early-Career Industry Fellowship.
ARC Early Career Industry Fellowships are to help build innovation in the industry, community organisation, not-for-profit, and other government and publicly funded research sectors, and to facilitate the adoption, translation and commercialisation of Australian research over time.
Dr Ze Jiang, working with industry partner WaterNSW, will receive $308,194 to craft a reservoir flow forecasting framework to enhance water resource management.
The funded project seeks to enhance water resource management by establishing a reservoir flow forecasting framework spanning seasonal to decadal scales. This initiative utilizes state-of-the-art climate models, hydrological simulations, and statistical methods to address an industry-identified need. It will assist utilities like WaterNSW in decision-making for water supply planning, drought preparedness, and resilience enhancement. By integrating academic innovation with industrial needs, the project aims to bolster Australia’s capability to tackle the challenges posed by extreme events and climate change.
Dr Jiang specializes in hydroclimate extremes modelling and forecasting. His research focuses on understanding the impact of climate change on the water cycle, particularly investigating the effects of global warming on hydroclimate extremes such as floods and droughts. He received his PhD in Water Resources Engineering from UNSW in 2021 under the supervision of Prof Ashish Sharma and A/Prof Fiona Johnson. During his doctoral research, Dr Jiang developed a novel method known as Wavelet System Prediction (WASP), capable of predicting hydroclimate extremes. The funded project builds on this method and the associated tool he developed.
WRC Director A/Prof Fiona Johnson said “WRC has been collaborating on research with WaterNSW for many years, with projects on climate change impacts on water supply, catchment health, remote sensing of waterbodies, the implications of algae on the taste and odour of drinking water and testing new data science approaches to understanding water quality. This Industry Fellowship will further strengthen the relationship between WaterNSW and UNSW WRC. I’m very excited to see the outcomes of this research.”
“This is an outstanding achievement’, said UNSW Civil & Environmental Engineering Head of School Scientia & PSM Professor Nasser Khalili, “and a testament to Ze’s pursuit of excellence, commitment to quality, and working closely with industry.”
