Prof. Dr. Wenhao Li |  Water Management | Best Researcher Award

Director at Shihezi University, China

Prof. Dr. Wenhao Li is a renowned expert in arid zone water-saving irrigation and a leading figure in agricultural water resource engineering. He is among the first batch of young top talents recognized by the Ministry of Water Resources and is part of the “3152” top talents program at Shihezi University. He currently serves as the Secretary of the Agricultural Water Resources Engineering Department at the College of Water Resources and Architectural Engineering, Deputy Director of the Corps Key Laboratory of Modern Water-Saving Irrigation, and Director of the Key Laboratory of Agricultural Water-Saving Irrigation in Arid Zone Oasis.

Profile:

• Scopus

🎓 Education:

• B.Eng. in Agricultural Water Conservancy Projects, Shihezi University (2008–2012)

• M.Eng. in Agricultural Water and Soil Engineering, Shihezi University (2012–2015)

• Ph.D. (ongoing) in Agricultural Water and Soil Engineering, China Agricultural University (2020–2024)

🧑‍🏫 Current Roles:

• Secretary, Dept. of Agricultural Water Conservancy Engineering

• Associate Professor, School of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, Shihezi University

• Deputy Director, Corps Key Laboratory of Modern Water-Saving Irrigation

• Director, Key Lab of Agricultural Water-Saving Irrigation in Arid Zone Oasis

• Member, Communist Party of China

🔬 Research Focus:

Agricultural Water & Soil Engineering

• Simulation and coordinated regulation of water–fertilizer–salt coupling

• Eco-environmental impacts in water-saving irrigation systems

🧪 Projects & Funding:

• 🧾 2 National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) projects

• 🛠️ 15+ scientific research projects (R&D programs, consulting projects, and special topics)

• Total funding exceeds RMB 5 million

📚 Academic Output:

• 📝 24 peer-reviewed papers

• 📘 2 academic monographs

• 🧾 13 authorized patents

• 💻 3 software copyrights

• 📏 1 technical standard

🏆 Honors & Awards:

• 🥇 7 provincial and ministerial science & technology awards

  • Including 2 First Prizes of the Corps S&T Progress Award

• 🧑‍🎓 Outstanding Instructor, National Water Conservancy Innovation Competition

• 🏅 Shihezi University Youth May Fourth Medal

• 🏆 Teaching achievement awards (Provincial ×2, University-level ×2)

🌐 Academic & Professional Affiliations:

• 🌟 Young Top Talent, Ministry of Water Resources

• 🌟 “3152” Top Talent, Shihezi University

• 🧑‍🎓 Mentor, Central Committee of the Communist Youth League

• 📘 Editorial Board Member, Journal of Drainage and Irrigation Machinery Engineering

• 💧 Vice President & Secretary General, Shihezi Water Conservancy & Hydropower Society

• 👨‍🔬 Member, China Agricultural Soil and Water Engineering Committee

📊 Citation Metrics:

• 📚 Total Publications: 99

• 📈 Total Citations: 1,327 (from 1,039 citing documents)

• 🔢 h-index: 21

Publication Top Notes:

• Long-term mulched drip irrigation enhances cotton yield by improving soil quality, microbial community structure, and N conversion
  Agricultural Water Management

• Effect of dynamic pressure and emitter type on irrigation and fertigation uniformity of drip irrigation systems
  Agricultural Water Management

• Invisible threats in soil: Microplastic pollution and its effects on soil health and plant growth
  (Review)

• Leveraging Immersive Digital Twins and AI-Driven Decision Support Systems for Sustainable Water Reserves Management: A Conceptual Framework
  Sustainability (Switzerland)

• Tillage With Straw Returning Promotes Soil Functional Microbiomes and Nitrogen Transformation to Increase Cotton Yield
  Land Degradation & Development

• Spatial–Temporal Dynamics and Drivers of Crop Water Footprint in Xinjiang, China
  Agronomy

• Spatio-temporal evolution and simulation of soil salinization in typical oasis water-saving irrigation area based on long series data
  Agricultural Water Management

• Uncovering soil preferential flow induced by different drip irrigation emitter settings: Insights integrating wetting-fronts image variability, HYDRUS-2D, and active region model
  Catena

• Consecutive high-efficient water-saving irrigation increases crop yield and decreases soil salinity through reconstructing rhizosphere soil bacterial communities
  Science of the Total Environment