Water security and regional sustainable development are closely linked with the national security as well as the regional and international peace and stability. As a positive response to the "Belt and Road" initiative, the Belt and road (B&R) Fund on Water and Sustainability was set up by the State Key Laboratory of Hydrology-Water Resources and Hydraulic Engineering (Hydro-Lab, Hohai University & Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute). Scholars and scientific researchers at home and abroad are warmly welcomed to conduct visiting research in the Hydro-Lab. Our purpose is to promote the collaborative research and cooperative development in the fields of hydrology-water resources and hydraulic engineering for countries and regions along the B&R.

Consisting of Key and General Fund Projects, the B&R Fund will offer financial support to excellent scientists for the fundamental research and applied fundamental research projects on water security and sustainability in countries and regions along the B&R which are of high scientific values and application prospects.

This Request for Applications (RFA) is seeking applications that take a system view to conduct investigations based on the five research topics lead by the Hydro-Lab. The applications are expected to focus on research topics on (1) hydrology, water resources, and ecological environment, (2) water cycle, flood and drought disasters, (3) water-sediment dynamics of rivers, (4) air-ocean-land surface interactions, (5) hydraulic constructions safety, etc. at typical climate zones along the Silk Road Economic Belt starting from western China (Hexi Corridor, Xinjiang) and 21^st-Century Maritime Silk Road starting from the southwestern headwater and Yangtze River economic belt of China.

1) Evolution and driving mechanisms of water resources

2) High-efficiency utilization and conservation of water resources

3) Allocation theories and methods of water resources

4) Integrated management of basin water resources

1) Runoff generation and routing mechanisms under changing environment

2) Extreme hydrological events under climate change

3) The spatiotemporal evolution of watershed hydrological processes

4) Risk assessment and regulation of watershed floods and droughts

1) The dynamics of water-sediment movement and pollutant transport

2) Material transport and aquatic ecological effects in river critical zone

3) The connectivity mechanism of hydraulics and river system

4) The influence mechanism and protection of water-related projects on ecological environment

1) Dynamic coupling mechanisms of water-sediment in estuarine and coastal regions

2) High efficiency and fine simulation methods of multi-source water disasters in estuarine and coastal regions

3) Biological geomorphology dynamic processes of tidal flats in estuarine and coastal regions

4) Integrated management and critical technologies of ecological restoration in estuarine and coastal regions

1) Safety monitoring, early-warning, and forecasting of hydraulic constructions

2) Mechanisms of dam failure and risk analysis

3) New and high-performance materials for hydraulic constructions

4) Danger removal and reinforcement of hydraulic constructions

The B&R Fund in 2020 is expected to support about 10 Key projects and 25 General Fund Projects, which will be under dynamic management. The rolling funding may last 1-2 years.

Top-level talents at home and abroad in the related fields are encouraged to work together with researchers in the Hydro-Lab to apply the B&R Fund. Approximately ￥150,000 will be awarded to each Key Fund Project. The proposals should be developed following the research orientations and contents listed above. High-quality research achievement and publications are required.

Young and middle-aged talents at home and abroad are encouraged to apply the B&R fund freely. Approximately ￥80,000 will be awarded to each General Fund Project. Feasible projects with prospective, original, and exploratory research are preferred.

(1) The applicant should have already earned a PhD degree, and are scientific teachers or researchers with a middle-level professional title or above. For the applicant without a senior professional title, two recommendation letters from peer experts who have possessed a senior professional title in the related fields are required for the application. The Hydro-Lab staff are out of consideration.

(2) Projects relying on the experimental platform and research bases of the Hydro-Lab will be given priority( please see the Attachment 1).

(3) Projects relying on the Xin anjiang Hydrologic Experimental Station of the Hydro-Lab will be given priority( please see the Attachment 2).

(4) Projects which are conducted by applicants aboard or in collaboration with fixed researchers of the Hydro-Lab will be given priority.

(5) Visiting scholars at home or aboard will be given priority.

(6) Key Fund Projects are encouraged to be applied in cooperation with the team members of the Hydro-Lab. The first signature institution of the high-level papers should be assigned as “the State Key Laboratory of Hydrology-Water Resources and Hydraulic Engineering” and the B&R fund on water and sustainability should be acknowledged.

(7) The application form is expected to be printed out in duplicate and submitted within the required time (accepted by postmark), and be submitted via email as well. Please see the Attachment 3 for the application form. All application materials submitted by the applicant will not be returned.

Application will be accepted since the date of guideline promulgation. And the deadline is October 20th, 2020.

The applications will be reviewed by the organized expert group, and then be submitted to the B&R Fund Academic Commission of the Hydro-Lab for the final review. Based on the reviewers comments, the applicants will be informed after the laboratory director issues the project assignments. Besides, the specific regulations of the B&R fund will be conducted following the “Management regulations of the Belt and Road Fund on Water and Sustainability of the State Key Laboratory of Hydrology-Water Resources and Hydraulic Engineering” (Please see the Attachment 4).

 

Rongrong Zhang, or Ranran Tao

State Key Laboratory of Hydrology-Water Resources and Hydraulic Engineering (Hohai University and Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute)

Phone: +86-025-83787286

Address: 1 Xikang Road, Nanjing 210098, China

E-mail: wdl@hhu.edu.cn

Website: http://hydro-lab.hhu.edu.cn