Associate Director, Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center
Yiying Xiong, PMP, PE, D.WRE, is an associate director at Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center. Born and raised near the world’s largest hydroelectric project, China’s Three Gorges Dam, Xiong has been a water resources and hydropower engineer for over 20 years and involved in over 100 renewable energy, water and climate change programs around the world, including ones sponsored by Bill and Melinda Gate Foundation, National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Agency for International Development and U.S. Trade and Development Agency. She also served key roles in the restoration of Lake Delton in Wisconsin and Edenville and Sanford dams in Michigan following the failure of these dams.
Xiong is a strong advocate for women leadership and diversity and has served various leadership roles in domestic and international organizations such as the international “Women in Hydropower” mentorship program, International Commission for Large Dams, America’s Watershed Initiative Technical Advisory Committee and Midwest Hydro Users Group. She was the 2021 recipient of the international “Women with Hydro Vision” award and 2009 recipient of American Society of Civil Engineers – Wisconsin Chapter Young Civil Engineer of the Year award.
Xiong holds a master’s degree in civil and environmental engineering from Marquette University and a BE in hydraulics and hydropower engineering from Tsinghua University (China) and is an MBA candidate at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.