He Xiaogang, an assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at NUS, received the award on June 10 in the U.K. NUS was ranked third in Asia in the Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings 2026.

Founded by the University of Cambridge's Clare Hall college and LUT University, the Global Climate Research Prize is a biennial philanthropic award that recognizes research addressing the effects of climate change, including floods, droughts and the spread of infectious diseases.

He was selected ahead of finalists from Stanford University, the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Toronto for research aimed at helping communities adapt to climate-related water challenges.

According to the award organizers, his work examines how floodwaters can be captured, stored and reused to ease water scarcity and improve resilience in regions increasingly exposed to extreme weather.

Using data from the Global Drought and Flood Catalogue, he has developed frameworks to improve the forecasting and management of water-related hazards. The research seeks to help communities prepare for both severe flooding and prolonged drought while supporting groundwater sustainability and food security. The methods developed by his team have also informed practical applications in regions ranging from California to Southeast Asia.

He Xiaogang, an assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the National University of Singapore. Photo courtesy of University of Cambridge

The prize includes €200,000 ($231,000) in funding for NUS to continue the research. It is backed by the City of Lappeenranta and Marjatta ja Eino Kollin Saatio, a Finnish foundation that supports scientific and applied research.

"Winning the inaugural Global Climate Research Prize is beyond anything I could have imagined, especially being selected alongside such distinguished researchers... including Nobel laureate professor Omar Yaghi of the University of California, Berkeley, whose pioneering work on materials that harvest water from desert air using solar energy continues to inspire and complement my own research on climate extremes," He told The Straits Times.

He said the funding would support efforts to strengthen water, food and energy security across Asia. A key priority will be training the next generation of climate scientists and equipping them with the skills needed to address major environmental challenges, he said.

He also plans to expand international collaborations spanning climate science, hydrology, economics and artificial intelligence, with the aim of establishing NUS as a leading center for tropical climate science.