Overview:

The Department of Municipal Engineering, offering the major in Water Supply and Drainage Science & Engineering, was established in 1952 and stands as one of the earliest institutions in China to introduce this specialized field. In 1958, it commenced the enrollment of four-year undergraduate students in the Water Supply and Drainage Science & Engineering major, marking one of the first undergraduate programs when WHUT resumed enrollment in 1977. As a primary discipline, it falls under Civil Engineering and is a key discipline in Hubei Province. Additionally, it is among the first disciplines nationally to be granted doctoral degree authorization, and it is a key construction discipline in the "211 Project." The department hosts the Ministry of Education's postdoctoral research station for Civil Engineering, contributing significantly to the university's distinctive and advantageous disciplines. In 1984, the Municipal Engineering major obtained authorization for master's degree conferral, followed by doctoral degree authorization in 2003. In the same year, a postdoctoral research station was established.

The major of Water Supply and Drainage Science & Engineering has successfully passed multiple teaching assessments conducted by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Housing & Urban-Rural Development. In the ranking of Chinese University Majors in Soft Science 2023 (Water Supply and Drainage Science & Engineering ), our major is ranked 14th, securing an A-level classification. It has been approved as a provincial first-class undergraduate major program, part of the strategic emerging (pillar) industry talent cultivation plan for higher education institutions in Hubei Province, and a participant in the "Jingchu Outstanding Talent" collaborative education program. In 2013, the "Wuhan University of Technology - Hubei Zhongbi Environmental Protection Water Treatment Integration Equipment Industry-University-Research Technology Center" was established. In 2020, a collaborative "Wuhan University of Technology-Road Environmental Joint Technology Research and Development Center" was formed with the publicly listed company Road Environment. Our major has numerous outstanding alumni.

The major of Water Supply and Drainage Science & Engineering is dedicated to serving the significant demands of national water resources sustainable development and the major strategic goals of water environment protection. With a mission to build "Lucid waters and lush mountains", the program aims to cultivate high-caliber engineering professionals with practical skills and innovative entrepreneurial capabilities. Graduates are prepared for careers in various industries, including water resources utilization and protection, municipal water supply and drainage, architectural water supply and drainage, water environment management and restoration, smart water management, and sponge city construction. There are vast employment prospects and substantial development potential in fields such as water pollution control, water environment protection, and water resource utilization

Characteristic research fields:

In the process of long-term development of our discipline, considering the needs of key national projects, following representative research directions were formed.

Urban Water Supply and Wastewater Treatment

Sludge Reduction and Resource Utilization

Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration and Water Environment Management

Sponge City and Smart Water Management

Treatment of Specialized Industrial Wastewater

High-rise Building Water Supply & Drainage, and Fire Protection Systems

Research Team/ Staff

Overview:

The Department of Municipal Engineering currently comprises a faculty of 13 full-time teachers, including 4 professors and 8 associate professors. Among them, 12 hold doctoral degrees, and 7 are young faculty members under the age of 45. The faculty includes 3 teachers recognized as Teaching Masters for university-level outstanding courses and 2 recognized as Young Teaching Masters at the university level. Ten faculty members have studied or conducted research at renowned overseas universities, and several serve as reviewers for the National Natural Science Foundation of China, communication reviewers for the Ministry of Education’s degree center, experts in the national science and technology expert database, directors of the China Urban Water Supply and Drainage Association, editors and youth committee members of “China Water Supply and Drainage” magazine, directors of the Water Industry Branch of the China Civil Engineering Society, vice directors and members of the Municipal Water Supply and Drainage Professional Committee of the Hubei Civil Architecture Society, vice directors and members of the Water Conservation Professional Committee of the Hubei Hydraulic Engineering Society, committee members of the Science and Technology Committee of the Yangtze River Eco-Environmental Protection Group, members of the International Water Association (IWA), and members of the American Water Works Association (AWWA). Additionally, they serve as reviewers for internationally authoritative and well-known journals i.e., Advanced Materials, Water Research, Journal of Hazardous Materials, Journal of Cleaner Production, Bioresource Technology .etc.

Staff list:

Professor: Xiangling Zhang, Qian Zhang, Xinhua Tang, Yu Jiang

Associate Professor: Jianhua Jin, Wenjiao Sang, Jing Cheng, Xiaoying Liu, Shaohui Zhang, Zhouying Xu, Xi Jin, Shiyang Zhang

Lecturer: Bi Wu

Postdoctoral Researcher: Chen Wang

Senior Experimentalist: Cuihua Li

Teaching and Research Achievements:

In recent years, the department has undertaken and participated in over 100 research projects, including the National Water Special Project and the National Natural Science Foundation, with research funding exceeding 20 million RMB. The efforts have resulted in the achievement of more than 10 awards at the national and provincial levels, including 2 national-level awards and 6 provincial-level awards (Fig. 1). The department has been recognized with the designation of 3 national-level high-quality (online) courses. Over the past 5 years, the faculty has published over 200 academic papers, including more than 160 English papers indexed in SCI, 105 papers in authoritative and important journals in JCR Zone 1, and 28 Chinese papers in Zone A (Fig. 2). Additionally, nearly 30 national invention patents have been granted, and active participation in the formulation of industry standards such as the "Algae-containing Water Supply Treatment Technical Regulations" has been undertaken..

Young teachers have won multiple provincial and university-level teaching competition awards and teaching achievement awards. Several teachers have been recognized as university-level “Outstanding Course Teaching Masters” (Xiangling Zhang, Qian Zhang, Jing Cheng) and “Young Teaching Masters” (Xiaoying Liu, Zhouying Xu). Seven university-level teaching teams have been established, facilitating the development of more than 10 top-notch online courses. Numerous textbooks and books have been published, along with the publication of over 20 teaching papers. Additionally, a variety of educational and teaching reforms have been implemented.

Laboratory Facilities