Prof. Dr. Wanchang Zhang | Remote Sensing Awards | Best Researcher Award 

Prof. Dr. Wanchang Zhang | Chinese Academy of Sciences | China

Prof. Dr. Wanchang Zhang is a distinguished scientist and academic leader in the fields of remote sensing, GIS, and hydrology. With decades of professional experience across China and Japan, he has established himself as a pioneer in applying space technology, geospatial data, and digital earth methodologies to disaster monitoring, water resource management, and environmental studies. He currently serves as a Professor and Ph.D. Supervisor at the Institute of Remote Sensing & Digital Earth (RADI), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), where he directs the Global Disaster Division and holds the position of Vice Director at the CAS-TWAS Centre of Excellence on Space Technology for Disaster Mitigation. Throughout his career, Prof. Dr. Wanchang Zhang has played a critical role in advancing global change research, hydrological modeling, and geospatial integration for disaster mitigation and sustainable resource management.

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Summary of Suitability for Best Researcher Award

Prof. Dr. Wanchang Zhang is an internationally recognized scholar in remote sensing, GIS, hydrology, and environmental monitoring, with over three decades of impactful research. His academic journey spans China and Japan, where he earned advanced degrees in geography, hydrospheric-atmospheric science, and remote sensing, culminating in a Ph.D. from Nagoya University.

Education

Prof. Dr. Wanchang Zhang earned a strong multidisciplinary academic foundation, beginning with a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering Geology from Chengdu Science & Technology University. He pursued a Master’s degree in Geography from the Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute (CAREERI), CAS, where he focused on glaciology and paleo-climate studies through snow and ice chemistry. His academic path then expanded internationally when he studied at Nagoya University, Japan, under the UNESCO Special Program with Monbusho Scholarship support, where he obtained a second Master’s degree in Hydrospheric-Atmospheric Sciences. He later advanced into doctoral studies at Nagoya University with a prestigious JSPS Fellowship, completing a Ph.D. in Earth System Sciences with a specialization in Remote Sensing and GIS. This progression reflects his deep expertise in both fundamental geosciences and advanced space-based monitoring systems.

Experience

Prof. Dr. Wanchang Zhang has held influential academic and research positions at several leading institutions. He began his research career at CAREERI, CAS, where he worked on ice core science and environmental reconstructions. After earning his doctorate in Japan, he was promoted as a research fellow and later returned to China, where he joined Nanjing University as a full professor and Ph.D. supervisor. At Nanjing, he contributed significantly to teaching and research in hydrology, water science, and environmental monitoring, and also served as Deputy Director of the International Institute of Earth System Sciences. Later, he was recruited into the prestigious “100 Talent Program” of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, an honor that positioned him at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics. Since then, he has been leading major research divisions at RADI, CAS, overseeing programs in global disaster mitigation, hydrological modeling, and remote sensing applications. Alongside his research, he has taught courses in remote sensing physics, GIS, ecological remote sensing, and resource monitoring, influencing generations of undergraduate and graduate students.

Research Interests

Prof. Dr. Wanchang Zhang research interests are wide-ranging but unified by a focus on remote sensing and GIS applications in hydrology, disaster monitoring, and environmental management. His work has advanced the application of remote sensing data to surface radiation and energy budget measurement, hydrological modeling in arid and semi-arid regions, and integration of spatial data into hydro-climatic models. He has pioneered methods to resolve spatio-temporal scaling challenges in global change studies and land-use analyses, as well as applied geo-statistics to soil and water resource management. His recent research emphasizes developing land data assimilation systems, integrating global climate models with distributed land surface models, and innovating flood and drought monitoring techniques through satellite-based remote sensing. His vision integrates technology and environmental science to provide practical solutions for climate adaptation, disaster preparedness, and water sustainability.

Awards

Prof. Dr. Wanchang Zhang has received multiple academic honors and recognition for his outstanding contributions to earth observation and hydrological sciences. He was selected for the highly competitive “100 Talent Program” of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, an award that identifies promising leaders in scientific research. He has also been recognized by international organizations for his contributions, serving as a committee member of IEEE since frequently invited as co-chair of major international conferences. His achievements are further marked by domestic invention patents, registered software, and professional service as an editorial board member and reviewer for numerous international journals.

Publication Top Notes

Semantic segmentation of urban buildings from VHR remote sensing imagery using a deep convolutional neural network

Year: 2019

Citations: 264

Landslide susceptibility mapping using multiscale sampling strategy and convolutional neural network: A case study in Jiuzhaigou region

Year: 2020

Citations: 223

Mapping favorable groundwater potential recharge zones using a GIS-based analytical hierarchical process and probability frequency ratio model: A case study from an agro-urban

Year: 2020

Citations: 194

Assessment of water quality and identification of polluted risky regions based on field observations & GIS in the Honghe River Watershed, China

Year: 2015

Citations: 192

Long-term groundwater storage variations estimated in the Songhua River Basin by using GRACE products, land surface models, and in-situ observations

Year: 2019

Citations: 150

Genetic correlation of fatty acid composition with growth, carcass, fat deposition and meat quality traits based on GWAS data in six pig populations

Year: 2019

Citations: 137

Conclusion