Min Yang
Professor
Biography
Professor Yang Min is a researcher at the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), a doctoral supervisor, and a member of the Communist Party of China. He is a recipient of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars and currently serves as the Director of the National Engineering Research Center for Industrial Wastewater Treatment and Resource Recovery and as the Associate Editor of ES&T Water.
Professor Yang obtained his PhD from Hiroshima University, Japan, in March 1992, and subsequently worked in Japan for six years before returning to China in 1998. He has long been dedicated to the study and application of technologies for identifying and controlling characteristic pollutants in water, with significant achievements in the identification and regulation of odor compounds in drinking water and the resource recovery and harmless treatment of wastewater in industries such as oilfields and antibiotics.
His contributions include the publication of three monographs, over 400 research papers, and more than 40 authorized invention patents. Professor Yang has been listed among Elsevier’s Most Cited Chinese Researchers for nine consecutive years. His research outcomes have been applied in the construction and operation of 37 engineering projects. He has led or participated in drafting six national and industry standards or guidelines.
Professor Yang has played a critical role in providing scientific and technological support during major events such as the nitrobenzene pollution incident in the Songhua River, cyanobacterial blooms in Taihu Lake, the Wenchuan earthquake, and the COVID-19 pandemic. He has also supported the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in addressing drinking water safety issues for embassies in challenging regions, assisted the Ministry of Commerce in establishing the “China-Sri Lanka Water Center,” and aided the Ministry of Ecology and Environment in planning the “China-Cambodia Environmental Cooperation Center.”
His work has been recognized with numerous awards, including the National Natural Science Award in 2007 and 2017, the CAS Outstanding Science and Technology Achievement Award in 2021, and the National Science and Technology Progress Award (second place) in 2023.
Education
Ph.D. | Hiroshima University
Min’s Publications
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WR2023a: Tengxin Cao, Ming Su, Min Yang, et. al. Early warning of MIB episode based on gene abundance and expression in drinking water reservoirs. Water Research 2023;231:119667. 10.1016/j.watres.2023.119667.
How to know when MIB episode comes? / Gene may tell you. Try / qPCR with mic gene! -
WR2025: Tengxin Cao, Ming Su, Min Yang, et. al. Green Light Suppresses Cell Growth but Enhances Photosynthetic Rate and MIB Biosynthesis in PE-Containing Pseudanabaena. Water Research 2025;231:123336. 10.1016/j.watres.2025.123336.
Red light fuels the growth, / Green deepens the pigments’ hue, / MIB’s quiet rise. -
WR2024: Jiao Fang, Ming Su, Min Yang, et. al. Mitigating harmful cyanobacterial blooms in drinking water reservoirs through in-situ sediment resuspension. Water Research 2023;267:122509. 10.1016/j.watres.2024.122509.
Cyanobacterial bloom in source water? / No solution? Try / in-situ Sediment Resuspension -
HA2019: Zeyu Jia, Ming Su, Tingting Liu, Qingyuan Guo, Qi Wang, Michael Burch, Jianwei Yu, and Min Yang. Light as a regulator of MIB-producing Planktothrix in source water: mechanism and in-situ verification. Harmful Algae, Volume 88, 2019, Article 101658. 10.1016/j.hal.2019.101658
Light nurtures the deep, / Shadows hold their quiet sweep— / Cyanobacteria creep. -
WR2019: Tingting Liu, Jianwei Yu, Ming Su, Zeyu Jia, Chunmiao Wang, Ye Zhang, Chunhua Dou, Michael Burch, and Min Yang. Production and Fate of Fishy Odorants Produced by Two Freshwater Chrysophyte Species under Different Temperature and Light Conditions. Water Research 2019;157, 529–534. 10.1016/j.watres.2019.04.004
Fishy scents arise, / Cold waters whisper secrets— / Light and warmth decide. -
WR2022: Jinping Lu, Ming Su, et. al. Driving forces for the growth of MIB-producing Planktothricoides raciborskii in a low-latitude reservoir. Water Research 2022;220:118670. 10.1016/j.watres.2022.118670.
MIB persists long / Warm reservoirs bloom anew / Odor challenges. -
WR2023b: Jinping Lu, Ming Su, Min Yang, et. al. MIB-derived odor management based upon hydraulic regulation in small drinking water reservoirs: Principle and application. Water Research 2023;244:120485. 10.1016/j.watres.2023.120485.
Small reservoirs / Adjust HRT to halt / MIB odors. -
WR2013: Ming Su, Min Yang, et al. Establishment of quantitative PCR methods for the quantification of geosmin-producing potential and *Anabaena* sp. in freshwater systems. Water Research 2013;47(10):3444-3454. 10.1016/j.watres.2013.03.043.
Geosmin presence felt, / PCR quickens the path, / Water's taste revealed. -
JES2014: Ming Su, Min Yang, et al. Spatial and temporal variations of two cyanobacteria in the mesotrophic Miyun reservoir, China. Journal of Environmental Sciences 2014;26(2):289-298. 10.1016/S1001-0742(13)60433-7.
Cyanobacteria bloom, / In Miyun’s mesotrophic, / Depths of the water. -
Hydrobiologia2014: Ming Su, Min Yang, et al. Importance of underwater light field in selecting phytoplankton morphology in a eutrophic reservoir. Hydrobiologia 2014;724:203–216. 10.1007/s10750-013-1739-2.
Light field in water, / Phytoplankton choose their form, / Seasonal changes. -
WR2015: Ming Su, Jianwei Yu, Min Yang, et al. MIB-producing cyanobacteria (Planktothrix sp.) in a drinking water reservoir: Distribution and odor producing potential. Water Research 2015;68:444-453. 10.1016/j.watres.2014.09.038.
Cyanobacter bloom, / Shallow waters' MIB, / Odor risks arise. -
STE2017: Ming Su, Wei An, Min Yang, et al. Reducing production of taste and odor by deep-living cyanobacteria in drinking water reservoirs by regulation of water level. Science of The Total Environment, Volume 574, Pages 1477-1483. 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.08.134.
Cyanobacteria deep, / Water levels shifted steep, / Odor risks now asleep. -
STE2019: Ming Su, Min Yang, et al. Succession and interaction of surface and subsurface cyanobacterial blooms in oligotrophic/mesotrophic reservoirs: A case study in Miyun Reservoir. Science of The Total Environment 649 (2019): 1553-1562. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.307.
Cyanobacteria grow, / Surface and subsurface dance, / Reservoirs transform. -
JES2021: Ming Su, Min Yang et. al. Ecological Niche and in-situ Control of MIB Producers in Source Water. Journal of Environmental Sciences 2021;110, 119–128. 10.1016/j.jes.2021.03.026
MIB lingers low, / Hidden where the light won’t go— / Waters whisper woes. -
WR2021: Ming Su, Min Yang, et al. Identification of MIB producers and odor risk assessment using routine data: A case study of an estuary drinking water reservoir. Water Research 2021;192:116848. 10.1016/j.watres.2021.116848.
MIB detection done, / Estuary's risk forecasted, / Water treatment strain. -
npj Clean Water: Ming Su, Yiping Zhu, Tom Andersen, Xianyun Wang, Zhiyong Yu, Jinping Lu, Yichao Song, Tengxin Cao, Jianwei Yu, Yu Zhang, and Min Yang. Light-Dominated Selection Shaping Filamentous Cyanobacterial Assemblages Drives Odor Problem in a Drinking Water Reservoir. npj Clean Water 2022;5:37. 10.1038/s41545-022-00181-2.
Light shapes their niche / Pseudanabaena reigns / Odors subside slow -
ER2023: Ming Su, Min Yang, et. al. Biosynthesis of 2-methylisoborneol is regulated by chromatic acclimation of Pseudanabaena. Environmental Research 2023;221:115260. 10.1016/j.envres.2023.115260.
Green light promotes / MIB synthesis and PE / Odor risks increase -
ER2022: MD. Suruzzaman, Yongjing Wang, Ming Su, et. al. Evaluation of the MIB-producing potential based on real-time qPCR in drinking water reservoirs. Environmental Research 2022;204:112308. 10.1016/j.envres.2021.112308.
Green light promotes / MIB synthesis and PE / Odor risks increase