Dr. Yongqiang Zhang is a Distinguished Professor in Hydrology and Water Resources at the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He also serves as the Deputy Director of the Key Laboratory of Land Water Cycle and Surface Processes. Professor Zhang is a Fellow of the Modelling and Simulation Society of Australia and New Zealand and a Fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Germany. He currently holds leadership roles as the Director of the Hydro-Geography Committee of the Geographical Society of China and chairs the Hydrometeorology Stream of the Modelling and Simulation Society of Australia and New Zealand. In addition, Professor Zhang serves on the editorial boards of five major international journals, including Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Journal of Hydrology, and Remote Sensing of Environment. Over the past five years, he has led seven key research projects, including grants from the National Key Research and Development Program, a key project of the National Natural Science Foundation, and the Talent Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Professor Zhang has devoted his career to large scale hydrology, with a special focus on evapotranspiration mechanisms and their eco-hydrological effects. He has published 260 papers in peer-reviewed journals, including prestigious titles such as Science, Nature Water, and Nature Communications. In the past five years alone, he has authored or co-authored 70 papers as first or corresponding author in top-tier journals. His research has been cited more than 21,000 times, and he has an H-index of 70. His most cited first-authored paper has accumulated over 700 citations. In addition, Professor Zhang has ten ESI Highly Cited Papers and has been recognized as an Elsevier Highly Cited Chinese Researcher for four consecutive years.

The team led by Professor Zhang comprises professors, associate professors, postdoc fellows, doctoral candidates, and master's students, totaling nearly 25 members. Students in the team are primarily recruited from leading universities such as Tsinghua University, Beijing Normal University, Northwest A&F University, and Hohai University. The team actively collaborates with top researchers both in China and abroad and has established long-term academic partnerships with internationally renowned institutions, including Ghent University, Vienna University of Technology, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in the United States, and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in Australia.

Under Professor Zhang's supervision, students and young researchers from both China and abroad have thrived in a dynamic, interdisciplinary research environment. Domestically, team members regularly present at major national conferences and have received numerous awards for young scientists. International students and visiting scholars contribute diverse perspectives, with many going on to secure positions at leading global institutions. This cultivation of next-generation talent underscores the team's lasting impact on the hydrological sciences worldwide.