The Grainger College of Engineering
Civil & Environmental Engineering

Ximing Cai

Ximing Cai
Ximing Cai
  • Ben Chie Yen Professor
  • Ven Te Chow Faculty Scholar in Water Resources
  • Donald Biggar Willett Faculty Scholar
  • Professor
(217) 333-4935
2030 Civil and Environmental Engineering Building

Primary Research Area

  • Water Resources Engineering and Science

Research Areas

Biography

Ximing Cai has been on the CEE at Illinois faculty since 2003, where he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in civil engineering systems and engineering economics, water resources and environmental systems analysis, and river basin management. He holds a B.S. in Water Resources Engineering (1990) and an M.S. in Hydrology and Water Resources (1994) from Tsinghua University, China, and a Ph.D. in Environmental and Water Resources Engineering (1999) from the University of Texas at Austin.

Ximing Cai's primary research area is water resources systems analysis, with a focus on coupled hydrology-human systems. He has been developing and applying systems approaches and data-driven methods to various water resources management problems, including food-energy-water nexus, river basin management, reservoir operation, drought management, and interdependent infrastructure system planning. His work emphasizes interdisciplinary research by connecting hydrology and economics for understanding environmental and water resources systems complexity and developing water management policies and solutions. He was elected to 2019 AGU fellow for forging a new science of hydrologic change accounting for human interaction and using it to advance water resources management, and 2025 fellow of the International Water Resources Association (IWRA) for influential contributions to international water management. He is the recipient of 2023 Julian Hinds Award from Am. Soc. of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the 2024 Warren Hall Medal from University Council of Water Resources (UCOWR), which highlights contribution to interdisciplinary research in water resources. He has served as a leader in national and international water resources communities, including a former executive member of the Working Group for Circular Bioeconomy Initiative, American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) and current Chair of Task Force Committee on Downscaling SDGs to decision making scales , with IWRA.

Cai's work has had substantial impacts on both academia and practice in water resources management. He has advised 26 M.S. and 38 Ph.D. students; three former PhD students received the Distinguished Dissertation Award from UCOWR. The IMPACT-Water model, for which he is the primary developer of the water component, has been widely used to explore national and global food and water development pathways. His integrated basin modeling framework, originally developed for the Aral Sea Basin in Central Asia and the Maipo River Basin in Chile, has subsequently been applied to address water allocation challenges in many other river basins worldwide. Estimates of marginal-land availability produced by his research group have provided an important basis for global bioenergy projections, while the group's drought studies have informed national drought risk management. The generic data-driven reservoir operation models (GDROM) developed by his group have been incorporated into the widely used Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and U.S. National Water Model (NWM).

Education

  • B.S., Hydraulic Engineering, Tsinghua University, P.R. China, 1990
  • M.S., Hydrology and Water Resources, Tsinghua University, P.R. China, 1994
  • Ph.D., Civil Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, 1999

Academic Positions

  • Colonel Harry F. and Frankie M. Lovell Endowed Professor in Civil Engineering, Aug. 2014 - December 2022
  • Professor, U of I, May 2013 - May 2014
  • Visiting Professor, ETH - Zurich, June - Aug. 2012
  • Associate Professor, U of I, Aug. 2009- July 2013
  • Assistant Professor, U of I, Sept. 2003-July 2009

Major Consulting Activities

  • International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), providing consultancy on the impact of extreme climate events on agriculture, 2014, 2016
  • Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development(OECD), writing a review paper on climate change, water and agriculture, 2013
  • NBI, advisor for the Regional Agricultural Trade and Productivity Project (RATP), 2011, 2012
  • World Bank/NBI, organizing workshops for stakeholders, 2010
  • World Bank/Nile Basin Initiatives (NBI), developing Nile Basin decision support system, 2009
  • McKinsey & Company, working on global water and food projection, 2008
  • Drainage Department, Fort Bend County, Texas, developing a floodplain webtool, 2008
  • The Brookings Institution and Columbia University, authoring a report on water resources sustainability in China, 2008

Professional Registrations

  • Professional Engineer, Civil Engineering, Maryland, since 2001.

Journal Editorships

  • Co-editor, special issue on 50th year anniversary, Water International, 2025
  • Editor-in-Chief, Water Resources Management Section, Frontiers in Water (2021-)
  • Advisory Editor Board, Water Security (2017 -)
  • Editor Board, Wat. Intl., Intl. Wat. Resou. Assoc. (IWRA) (2010 - )
  • Editor, Water Resources Research, Am. Geo. Union (AGU), 2013-2017
  • Section Editor, Biuofuel, Current Sustainable/Renewable Energy Reports, 2014

Professional Societies

  • Member, American Geophysical Union (AGU), 1999-; committee member, water management and society (2011-2014)
  • Member, American Water Resources Association (AWRA), 1998-
  • Member (2003-), Secretary (2005-2007), Vice Chair (2007-2009) and Chair (2009-2011), Past-Chair (2011-2012), International Council, Environmental and Water Resources Institute (EWRI), ASCE
  • Member (2003-), Secretary (2010-2011), Vice Chair (2011-2012), Chair (2012-2013) of Environment and Water Resources System Committee, EWRI
  • Chair for Task Committee on Systems Analysis for Watershed Management, Environment and Water Resources System Committee, EWRI, 2006-
  • Track Chair, World Water and Environment Congress, EWRI/ASCE, Orlando, Florida, 2007
  • Scientific Committee member, Intl. Wat. Resou. Assoc. (IWRA) Conference in 2011
  • Member and Board Director, Intl. Wat. Resou. Assoc. (IWRA), 2012-2015
  • Member, Hydrology Section Nominations Committee, AGU, 2021-2023
  • Chair Task Force Bureau on Downscaling SDGs for Water Resources Management in Countries/Regions, Basins and Local Watersheds since 2023
  • Member, Bioeconomy Circularity System Institute (BCSI)nsince 2023

Service on Department Committees

  • Member (2003-) and graduate coordinator (2007-), Information technology (IT) Committee
  • Graduate Coordinator, Environmental Hydrology and Hydraulic Engineering (EHHE), 2004-2005, 2011-2012
  • Member, Advisory Committee, 2010
  • Coordinator, Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure Systems (SRIS), an interdisciplinary program of Civil & Environmental Engineering (2014-2015)
  • Chair, Faculty Search Committee for Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), Zhejiang University - University of Illinois Joint Institute (ZJUI), 2016 -
  • CEE P&T Committee (2015-2017)
  • CEE Award Committee (2020-2025, Chair since May 2023)
  • Chair/Coordinator, Water Resources Engineering and Science (2021-2025)

Service on College Committees

  • Member of a committee for international water and food research and education, appinted by Dean, College of Engineeirhttps://my.cee.illinois.edu/biodata/editC.asp#ng, 2010

Service on Campus Committees

  • Associate Director for Campus Sustainability, Institute for Sustainability, Energy and Environment (iSEE),,2017-2022
  • Chair, Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP) Working Group (iWG), 2017-
  • Steering member, Science and Technology in the Pacific Century (STIP), Center for Advanced Study (CAS), 2007-2009
  • Steering member, committee for international workshop on water resources, International Programs and Studies, 2005
  • Executive board member, Environmental Change Institute (ECI), 2008-2013
  • Chair, Sustainability Working Advisory Team – Resilience (working with community leaders) (2019-2020)
  • Co-writer, Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP) 2020 https://sustainability.illinois.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/iCAP-2020-FINAL-WEB.pdf 2020
  • Advisor, Student Sustainability Council, 2017-2021
  • Founding leader, Living Labs Program to integrate research, education and campus practice, selecting and evaluating seed funding projects, 2018
  • Chair, Illinois Climate Action Plan Working Group (iWG) which evaluates, recommends and monitors sustainability projects; organizes and coordinates Sustainability Working Advisory Teams (SWATeams), 2017-2021
  • Associate Director, Institute for Sustainability, Energy and Environment (iSEE), U of I, 2017-2021
  • No-vote member, Sustainability Council, U of I, 2017-2021

Service to Federal and State Government

  • US National Research Council (NRC), committee member on strategic research on integrated water resources management, 2013.
  • Consultant to McKinsey & Company, working on global water and food projection, 2008
  • Drainage Department, Fort Bend County, Texas, developing a floodplain webtool, 2008
  • Consultant to the Brookings Institution and Columbia University, authoring a report on water resources sustainability in China, 2008

Other Outside Service

  • Consultant to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development(OECD), writing a review paper on climate change, water and agriculture, 2013
  • Consultant to Nile Basin Initiative (NBI), advisor for the Regional Agricultural Trade and Productivity Project (RATP), 2011, 2012
  • Consultant to World Bank/NBI, organizing workshops for stakeholders, 2010
  • Consultant to World Bank/Nile Basin Initiatives (NBI), developing Nile Basin decision support system, 2009
  • Consultant to United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), contribution author of Human Development Report, 2006
  • Hong Kong University Grants Committee, Built Environment Program Panelist, 2025-2025

Research Interests

  • Reservoir operation
  • Drought management
  • Analysis of human interferences to hydrologic processes
  • Hydrologic-economic modeling
  • Integrated assessment of water-food-energy-environment nexus
  • Developing generic reservoir operaton models 
  • Quantifying human interventions for large-scale hydrologic models 

Research Statement

Dr. Cai’s research interests include large-scale system optimization, river basin planning and management, drought management, water resources economics and policy, geographic information system and spatial statistics, and international water resources development.

Primary Research Area

  • Water Resources Engineering and Science

Research Areas

Books Authored or Co-Authored (Original Editions)

Chapters in Books

  • Rosegrant M.W. and X. Cai (2004). Implications of water development for food security, in Water science, policy, and management, by R Lawford et al. (eds). Amer. Geophysical Union (AGU) Water Resources Monograph Series, Vol. 16, 422 pages, Washington DC.
  • Levy, M., S. Babu, K. Hamilton, V. Rho, A. Catenazii, W. Reid, D. Sengupta, and X. Cai (2005). Ecosystem conditions and human well-being, Chapter 5 of Ecosystems and conditions and human well-being: current condition and trends, vol. 1, Millennium Ecosystems Assessment, p125-142, Island Press, Washington (the group of authors won the Zayed Int. Prize for the Environment).
  • Cai, X. and M.W. Rosegrant (2007). Future prospects for water and food in China and India, Chapter 10, pp 207-234, in The Dragon and the Elephant: Agricultural and Rural Reforms in China and India by A. Gulati and S. Fan (eds), 576 pages, Johns Hopkins University Press.
  • Moraes, M., C. Ringler and X. Cai (2011). Polices and instruments affecting water use for bioenergy production, Chapter 5 in The Bioenergy and Water Nexus, UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Paris, France.
  • Cai, X. and U. Lall (2012), The sustainability of water resources in china, Chapter 11 in A New Economic Growth Enigne for China, edited by Woo et al., World Scientific Publishing Company (In both English and Chinese).
  • Cai X. and M. Miro (2014), Sustainable Water Resources Management in China: Critical Issues and Opportunities for Policy Reforms, Chapter 58, The Oxford Companion to the Economics of China, ed. by S. Fan, R. Kanbur, S. Wei and X. Zhang. Oxford University Press.
  • Bauer-Gottwein P., N. Riegels, M. Pulido-Velazquez, J. Harou, XM Cai, C. Davidsen, S. Pereira-Cardenal (2016). Chapter 37. Hydroeconomic analysis, Handbook of Hydrology, V. Singh (eds.), McGraw-Hill Inc.
  • Tian, F., J.L. Wescoat Jr., D.P. Loucks, A. Montanari, A. Mukherji,  G.D. Baldassarre, J. Wei, H. Kreibich, XM Cai, V.  Villarejo, & M. Zwarteveen (2025). Ch 1. Coevolutionary change in hydrology and society, in coevolution and prediction of coupled human-water systems, Tian et al. (eds), Elsevier (member of advisory board)

Selected Articles in Journals

  • Rosegrant, M., C. Ringler, D.C. McKinney, X. Cai, A. Keller, and G. Donoso (2000). Integrated economic-hydrologic water modeling at the basin scale: the Maipo River Basin, J. of Ag. Econ. (IAEA) 24(1): 33-46 (senior authorship shared).
  • Cai, X., D.C. McKinney and L. Lasdon (2001). Solving nonlinear water management models using a combined genetic algorithm and linear programming approach, Adv. in Wat. Resou., 24(6): 667-676.
  • Cai, X., D.C. McKinney, L.S. Lasdon, and D. Watkins (2001). Solving large nonconvex water resources management models using generalized benders decomposition, Operations Res. (INFORMS), 49(2):235-245.
  • Cai, X., D.C. McKinney, and L. Lasdon (2002). A framework for sustainability analysis in water resources management and application to the Syr Darya Basin, Wat. Resour. Res., 38(6).
  • Cai, X., D.C. McKinney, and L.S. Lasdon. (2003). An integrated hydrologic-agronomic-economic model for river basin management, J. of Wat. Resour. Plan. Managt., 129 (1): 4-17.
  • You J. and X. Cai (2008). Hedging rule for reservoir operations: (1) A theoretical analysis, Wat. Resour. Res., 44, W01415, doi:10.1029/2006WR005481.
  • Yang Y., X. Cai and DM Stipanović (2009). A decentralized optimization algorithm for multi-agent system based watershed management, Wat. Resour. Res., 45, W08430, doi:10.1029/2008WR007634
  • Wang, D. and X. Cai (2009). Detecting human interferences to low flows through recession analysis, Wat. Resou. Res., 45, W07426, doi:10.1029/2009WR007819.
  • Yang Y. and X. Cai (2011). Reservoir reoperation for fish ecosystem restoration using daily inflows A case study of Lake Shelbyville, J. of Wat. Resour. Plan. Managt., 137 (6) doi:10.1061/(ASCE)WR.1943-5452.0000139 (featured paper by Global Water Forum, see Magazine Article #2).
  • Cai, X., X. Zhang, and D. Wang (2011). Land availability for biofuel development, Envirn. Sci and Tech., 45 (1), pp 334-339.
  • Zhang X. and X. Cai (2011). Climate change impacts on global agricultural land availability, Environ. Res. Letter, 6 (2011) 014014. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/6/1/014014 (featured study  by Nature-Climate, see Magazine Article #3).
  • Hejazi, M. and X. Cai (2011). Building more realistic reservoir optimization models using data mining – A case study of Shelbyville Reservoir, Adv. in Wat. Resour. 34 (2011) 701–717.
  • Zhang X. and X. Cai (2013). Climate change impacts on global agricultural water deficit, Geophysical Res. Letter, 40, 1–7, doi:10.1002/grl.50279 (Featured article at AGU Blogosphere).
  • Housh, M., X. Cai et al. (2014) System of systems model for biofuel development analysis (SoS - Biofuel), J. of Infrastructure Systems, 10.1061/(ASCE)IS.1943-555X.0000238 , 04014050.
  • Cai, X., R. Zeng, W.H. Kang, J. Song, and A. J. Valocchi (2015). Strategic planning for drought mitigation under climate change, J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage., 10.1061/(ASCE)WR.1943-5452.0000510 , 04015004.
  • Vogel, M., U. Lall, X. Cai, B. Rajagopalan, P. Weiskel, R. P. Hooper, and N. C. Matalas (2015). Hydrology: The interdisciplinary science of water, Wat. Resour. Res. 51(6): 4409–4430. DOI: 10.1002/2015WR017049.
  • Marston, L., M. Konar, X. Cai, T. Troy (2015). Virtual groundwater transfers from overexploited aquifers in the United States, PANS, 112(28): 8561-8566.
  • Brown, C., J. Lund, X.M. Cai et al. (2015). The future of water resources systems analysis: Toward a scientific framework for sustainable water management, Wat. Resou. Res., 51(8): 6110-6124, DOI:10.1002/2015WR017114.
  • Marston, L. and XM Cai (2016). An overview of water reallocation and the barriers to its implementation, WIREs Water 2016. doi: 10.1002/wat2.1159.
  • Majid Shafiee-Jood, M. and XM Cai (2016). Reducing food loss and waste to enhance food security and environmental sustainability, Environ. Sci. Technol., DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.6b01993.
  • Zeng, R. XM Cai, C. Ringler, and T. Zhu (2017), Hydropower versus irrigation - an analysis of global patterns, Environ. Res. Letters (ERL), . 12 034006.
  • Apurv, T. M. Sivapalan and XM Cai (2017). Understanding the role of climate characteristics in drought propagation, Wat. Resour. Res., 10.1002/2017WR021445 (EOS Highlight)
  • Cai, XM, K. Wallington, M. Shafiee-Jood, L. Marston (2018). Understanding and managing the food-energy-water nexus – opportunities for water resources research, Ad. in Wat. Resources, 111 (2018) 259–273.
  • Apurv, T. and XM Cai (2019). Evaluation of the stationarity assumption for meteorological drought risk estimation at the multi-decadal scale in contiguous US, Wat. Resour. Res., https://doi.org/10.1029/2018WR024047
  • Khanna, M., BM Gramig, EH DeLucia, XM Cai, and P Kumar (2019), Harnessing the potential of emerging technologies to mitigate the Hypoxia challenge, Nature-Sustainability, vol. 2:889–891.
  • Xu, Z, XM Cai, X. Yin, M Su, Y Wu, and Z. Yang (2019), Is water shortage risk decreased at the expense of deteriorating water quality in a large water supply reservoir? Water Research, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2019.114984
  • Apurv, T and XM Cai (2020). Drought propagation in contiguous US watersheds: a process-based undestanding of the role of climate and watershed properties, Wat. Resour. Res., https://doi.org/10.1029/2020WR027755
  • Zhao, Q., Cai, XM, Mischo, W. and Ma, L. (2020). How do the research and public communities view biofuel development? Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2020.110265
  • Apurv, T and XM Cai (2021). Regional drought risk in the Contiguous United States, Geophysical Res. Letter, doi.org/10.1029/2020GL092200.
  • Li, S. XM Cai, S.A. Emaminejad, A. Juneja, S. Niroula, S. Oh, K. Wallington, R.D. Cusick, BM. Gramig, S. John, G.F. McIsaac, V Singh et al. (2021). Developing an integrated technology-environment-economics model to simulate food-energy-water systems in Corn Belt watersheds, Environ. Model & Software, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2021.105083
  • Zeng, X., J. Lund and XM Cai (2021), Linear vs. nonlinear (convex and concave) hedging rules for reservoir optimization operation, Wat. Resour. Res., https://doi.org/10.1029/2020WR029160
  • Chen, Y., D. Li, Q. Zhao and XM Cai (2022). Developing a generic data-driven reservoir operation model, Ad. Wat. Resour., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2022.104274
  • Li, S., XM Cai, S. Niroula, K. Wallington, B. Gramig, R. Cusick, V. Singh, G. McIsaac, S. Oh, K. Chinmay; S. Emaminejad, S. John, "Integrated agricultural practices and engineering technologies enhance synergies of food-energy-water systems in Corn Belt Watersheds", Environ. Sci. & Tech., https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.3c02055
  • Zhang, B. Li, Y, C. Zhang, C. Hu, G. Fu, and XM Cai (2023). Dual water-electricity cooperation improves economic benefits and water equality in the Lancang-Mekong River Basin. Nature- Communication, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-42009-8
  • Yang, Y, Bo, A Castelletti, P. Dumas, J. Gao, XM Cai, J. Liu, T. Kahil, W. Yoshihide, S. Hu, B. Liu, F. Zhou, and J. Zhao (2024). Transboundary cooperation in infrastructure operation generates economic and environmental co-benefits to the Lancang-Mekong River Basin， Nature-Water, 2, 589–601 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-024-00246-1 
  • Li, D., Y. Chen, L. Lyu and XM Cai (2024). Uncovering historical reservoir operation rules and patterns: Insights from 452 large reservoirs in the Contiguous United States, 60(8), Wat. Resour. Res. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023WR036686 
  • Cai, XM. (2025). Circular economy: Opportunities for water resources management, J. of Wat. Resour. Plan. & Managt. 151(8), https://doi.org/10.1061/JWRMD5.WRENG-6860 
  • Cai, X., Celeste, A. B., Du, E., Foster, T., Mohtar, R. H., Ringler, C., … Stephan, R. M. (2025). Downscaling SDG6 (clean water and sanitation) to decision relevant scales. Water International, 50(5), 397–415. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508060.2025.2481742
  • Vora, A and XM Cai (2026). A diagnostic framework and data inventory to analyze human intervention on streamflow, Wat. Resour. Res., DOI 10.1029/2025WR041029
  • Chen, Y., Zheng, Y., Cai, XM, Yu, B., and Zheng, Z. (2026), A hybrid empirical and conceptual model for improving the representation of reservoirs with limited data in hydrological models, Wat Resour. Res. 62(5), e2025WR041958. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025WR041958 
  • Wu, C., Yang, D, Cai, XM, Chen, D, Yang, Y., Wang, T., Zhang, Y., Zhao, J., and Fu, B. (2026). Balancing energy, water, and ecology through renewable energy transitions in the Yellow River Basin, Nature – Communication, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7342-4512    

Magazine Articles

  • Cai X. (2009). Water transfers from agriculture: China's challenge. Water Front Magazine, No. 2:13-15.
  • Zhang X. and X. Cai (2011). Climate change impact on agricultural land, Research Highlights, Nature-Climate (2011) doi:10.1038/nclimate1113.
  • Yang Y. and X. Cai (2012). Reservoir re-operation for fish ecosystem restoration, Global Water Forum.
  • Lawford R. et al. (2013). NASA Satellite and Modeling Products Improve the Monitoring of the 2012 Drought, Global Energy and Water Exchanges News, 23(2)
  • Cai, X.M. and Paolo Gardoni (2015). Preparing for the worst, Huff Post, Sept. 15, 2015.

Teaching Honors

  • Listed as Excellent Graduate Advisor, College of Engineering, UIUC. (2007 )
  • Listed in the incomplete list of teaching excellence, CEE 598 RVB, CEE 450, CEE 552, CEE 535 (2006,2007,2010, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2022 )

Research Honors

  • Xerox Award for Faculty Research, College of Engineering, UIUC (2008)
  • NSF CAREER award (2008)
  • Provost's recognition for outstanding promotion (2009)
  • Donald Biggar Willett Faculty Scholar, College of Engineering, UIUC (2013)
  • Colonel Harry F. and Frankie M. Lovell Endowed Professorship in Civil Engineering (2014)
  • Environ. and Water Resources Institute (ASCE) 2015 Service to the Profession Award (2015)
  • American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fellow (2019)
  • Julian Hinds Award, Am. Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) (2023)
  • Warren Hall Medal, University Council of Water Resources (UCOWR) (2024)
  • International Water Resources Association Fellow (2025)