Invited Talks & Presentations

This section includes invited academic, professional, and public talks delivered over the years. Slide decks, summaries, or related materials will be linked when available.

Distinguished Lectures

2. Global Vision Forum, “Sponge City and Sponge Watershed Co-Construction: Linkage in Requirements and Water Systems.” Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing, China, June 30, 2016 (invited)
1. The Luce Foundation Lecture, “Urban Flood and Pollution Management in China and the United States.” Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA, February 24, 2014 (invited).

Plenary Addresses

16. “Weathering the Storm: Lessons from Hurricane Ida’s 2021 Impact on Coastal Defense and Urban Flooding in the United States.” The 6th International Forum on Urban Flood Control and Drainage Capacity, Wuhan, China, October 16-18, 2023 (Plenary address).
15. “Urban Flood Management in the United States.” International Forum on Flood Management, Beijing, China, October 19, 2018 (Plenary address).
14. “Mitigating Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) and Restoring Urban Water Environment.” Sustainable Cities: The iSEE Congress 2018, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, October 5, 2018 (Plenary address). ResearchGate
13. “Integration of large-scale and small-scale as well as gray and green measures in urban flood mitigation”. The 254th China Engineering Science and Technology Forum: The 7th High-level (academician) Forum in the field of Hydraulic Engineering and the 2nd International Symposium on Hydraulic Engineering Simulation and Safety, Tianjin, China, Sept. 22, 2017 (plenary address).
12. “Urban Flood Reduction and Pollution Control at Various Scales and with Green and Grey Measures.” Symposium on Urban Flooding and Sponge City Construction, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China, June 17, 2017 (plenary address).
11. “Four Approaches to Controlling Combined Sewer Overflow Pollution.” International Low Impact Development Conference, Shenzhen, China, July 4, 2016 (plenary address).
10. “Urban Runoff Pollution Control and Management.” Sponge City Construction Technology and Equipment Conference, Tianjin, China, July 2, 2016 (keynote address).
9. “Sponge City Construction: Science and Technology Support.” Sponge City Construction Development Forum, Beijing, China, January 10, 2016 (plenary address).
8. “Urban Stormwater Underground Treatment Devices: Performance and Maintenance”, Sustainable Utilization and Management of Water Resources under Changing Environment (SUMWR) Conference, Guangzhou, China, October 24, 2015 (plenary address).
7. “Green and Adaptive Flood Risk Reduction Strategies for Rebuilding in the Aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.” The 18th Cross-Strait Conference on Water Resources, Xi’an, China, October 20-25, 2014 (Plenary address).
6. “Rebuilding Strategies in the Aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.” The 3rd Remote Sensing and Hydrology Symposium and the 3rd International Conference of GIS/RS in Hydrology, Water Resources and Environment, Guangzhou, China, August 24-27, 2014 (plenary address).
5. “Green Infrastructure for Water Quantity and Quality Security of Engineered Water Projects.” The 1st International Symposium on Hydraulic Engineering Simulation and Safety, Tianjin, China, June 11-13, 2014 (plenary address).
4. “Superstorm Sandy Recovery and Rebuilding: Together and Forward.” Opening Ceremony, the 17th Cross-Strait Conference on Water Resources, Miaoli, Taiwan, November 14, 2013 (plenary address).
3. “Water Environment Protection and Restoration.” The 15th Cross-Strait Conference on Water Resources, Wuhan, China, October 24-25, 2011 (plenary address).
2. “Hydrologic and Water Quality Restoration of Mining Areas.” The 9th Sino-American Technology and Engineering Conference, Anhui, China, April 19, 2012 (plenary address).
1. “Urban Flood Management in the USA.” The Symposium on New Technologies for Urban Flood Forecast and Warning, Dongguan, China, November 19-21, 2008 (plenary address).

Keynote Addresses

2. “Using High-Definition Topography Analysis and Adaptable Drainage Systems to Enhance the Multi-Functional Performance of Green Stormwater Infrastructure.” The 2023 International Symposium on Sustainable Urban Drainage, Jiashan, China, October 19-22, 2023 (Keynote address).
1. “Post-Sandy Reconstruction and Resilience Enhancement of Urban Flood Management System in Greater New York Area.” The 5th International Forum on Urban Flood Control and Drainage Capacity (hybrid conference, presented virtually), Shanghai, China, December 9-10, 2021 (Keynote address).

Other Invited Addresses (Selected)

46. “Green, Grey, Blue, and Smart (GGBS) Infrastructure for Pluvial, Fluvial, and Coastal Flood Resilience.” NSF CREST Doctoral Programs Support Initiative (Strengthening), Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland, September 11, 2025 (invited). ResearchGate, Video
45. “Advances in Coastal Flood Defense, Urban Stormwater Management, and Future Resilience Strategies.” Chinese American Water Resources Association (CAWRA) Lightning Talk, Anchorage, Alaska, May 20, 2025 (invited). ResearchGate
44. “Extreme Rainfall and Major Disasters in the Greater New York-New Jersey Region Caused by the Remnants of Hurricane Ida in 2021 as an opportunity for Exploring Extreme Hydrology and Hydraulics.” School of Civil Engineering, Sun Yat-Sen University, Zhuhai, China, November 1, 2023.
43. “Exploration of Extreme Hydrology and Hydraulics: A Case Study of Extreme Rainfall and Major Disasters in the Greater New York-New Jersey Region Caused by the Remnants of Hurricane Ida in 2021.” Department of Hydraulic Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, October 30, 2023 (invited).
42. “Flood Mitigation and Ecosystem Enhancement through Green Stormwater Infrastructure and Blue Acres Floodplain Restoration in City of Linden, New Jersey.” Environmental and Water Resources Engineering Seminar, University at Buffalo – The State University of New York, September 24, 2021 (invited). ResearchGate
41. “Mobile and Green Infrastructure Adaptation to Sea Level Rise.” The International Symposium of Hydrological Sciences and High-Efficiency Water Resources Utilization under the Changing Environment, Wuhan, China, October 26, 2019 (invited).
35. “Urban and Coastal Watershed Management: Science and Technology Support.” Seminar, Beijing University at Shenzhen, June 17, 2019 (invited)
28. “Rules and Policies for Stormwater Management in the United States.” Seminar, Beijing University of Civil Engineering, May 24, 2018 (invited).
27. “U.S. Stormwater Management: Planning, Design, and Outcome Assessment.” Seminar, School of Architecture and School of Environment, Tsinghua University, May 24, 2018 (invited).
22. “Urban Flood Reduction at Various Scales and with Green and Grey Measures.” Seminar, South China University of Science and Technology, Guangzhou, China, June 29, 2017 (invited).
18. “Urban Water Resources: History and Future.” The 20th Cross-Strait Conference on Water Resources, Taipei, Taiwan, November 1, 2016 (invited).
14. “Sponge City Construction: Watershed Impact Assessment and Technology Innovation Verification.” Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China, July 1, 2016 (invited).
10. “Stormwater Manufactured Treatment Devices: Performance and Maintenance.” Seminar Series for PhD Program in Environmental Management, Montclair State University, November 10, 2015 (invited). ResearchGate
9. “Sponge Watershed and Clean City: Science and Technology Support.” The 10th China Urban Water Conference, Zhuhai, China, November 4th, 2015 (invited).
8. “Flood Risk Reduction Strategies for Vulnerable Populations along Hackensack River, Hudson River, Arthur Kill, Barnegat Bay, and Delaware Bay.” The New Jersey Association for Floodplain Management’s (NJAFM) 10th Annual Conference, Atlantic City, NJ, October 14-16, 2014 (invited). ResearchGate

Distinguished Lectures

Plenary Addresses

Keynote Addresses

Other Invited Addresses (Selected)

Other Presentations, Lectures, and Demonstrations (Most Recent)