IAHR HONORARY MEMBER PROF. LI GUIFEN PASSED AWAY ON JANUARY 5, 2020 AT THE AGE OF 89.
With deep sadness we pay tribute to Professor Li Guifen - a distinguished and devoted member of the IAHR family over several decades. Professor Li Guifen was a highly esteemed researcher who played a leading role in promoting international cooperation, international student exchange and the development of the IAHR China chapter in its global role. Professor Li Guifen was a member of the IAHR Council during 2001-2005, and before that served in the Technical Committee on Ice Research and Engineering (1996-2001) and the Technical Committee on Hydraulic Structures (1997-2003). She was elected IAHR Honorary Member in 2007. Professor and Senior Engineer Mrs. Li Guifen graduated from Shandong University, China in 1952. After graduation, Prof. Li joined the Huaihe River Conservancy Commission of the Ministry of Water Resources, China. Starting in 1956, she spent two years as a Visiting Scholar in the Department of Hydraulics of VNIIG, Leningrad, U.S.S.R., and then she joined the Institute of Water Conservancy and Hydropower Research (IWHR, now the China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research) where she was the Director of the Department of Hydraulics and Director of the Division of International Cooperation. Since 1958, she had been engaged in scientific and engineering research on hydraulics in the fields of water resources and hydropower. Her research covered a wide range of topics that include hydraulic structures, high speed flow, flood discharge and dam safety, energy dissipators, wind-induced waves in reservoirs, river ice, effects of plant-barriers on debris flow, and prototype measurements. She published 30 scientific papers and 8 research monographs, as well as hundreds of reports. In particular, her book on “Flood Releasing Structures in High Dams with High Discharge” (in Chinese) was a landmark that served as a valuable reference for designers and researchers in China. Professor Li Guifen also acted as consultant for many water engineering projects in terms of planning, assessment, laboratory design and construction, and capacity building. Due to her excellent work and achievements, she received many awards at national and ministerial levels. Professor Li was a Visiting Professor of Sichuan University and Shandong University, an advisor to the State Key Laboratory of High Speed Flows in Sichuan University and to various monumental hydraulic projects. Over the last two decades, she had been very active as a Council Member of the Chinese Hydraulic Engineering Society (CHES) and the China Society for Hydropower Engineering (CSHE).
Prof. Li Guifen had devoted herself to communication and exchange of water science between Chinese and international groups since the beginning of the 1980s. She had been actively involved in IAHR activities since the XXII Congress in 1987 (Lausanne, Switzerland). Owing to her introductions, dozens of Chinese hydraulic scholars and experts joined IAHR. She was Chairperson of the IAHR National Committee of China from 1987-2005. In 1988 she organized the first International Symposium on Hydraulics in China. Since then she and her Chinese colleagues had organized more than 10 conferences and symposiums, including the 7th IAHR-APD Congress (1990, Beijing, China), the 13th IAHR Ice Engineering Symposium (1996, Beijing, China), and was Chairperson for the highly successful 29th IAHR Congress in Beijing, 2001. She also led many delegations to attend IAHR congresses and events overseas. Professor Li Guifen was a true leader who helped to advance the mission of IAHR and the international water engineering community. In addition to her outstanding contributions to hydraulic research and practice, Madame Li has been a quiet and important guiding force in international collaboration over the past three decades. She had a keen interest in the professional development of younger colleagues and often provided mentorship and encouragement to them to be engaged in various IAHR committees and academic activities. She supported many conferences organized by APD researchers and provided valuable opportunities for them to experience the excitement of water in practical engineering projects. Professor Li will be remembered as an outstanding hydraulic engineer and an empathetic lady who had the rare gift of connecting researchers - particularly students and early career researchers across the globe. She was a warm and wonderful ambassador for China and IAHR in international networks – a role model instructive to young engineers and scholars, friendly to colleagues from abroad, gentle to partners from home and abroad, and helpful to all the visitors. Professor Li Guifen, a devoted hydraulic engineer and a distinguished member of our IAHR family, will be always in our hearts.
hydrolink
number 1/2020
29
