On March 20, 2018, Chinese Water Industry Leading Figures for 2017 were announced. Ji Min, a Professor from the TJU School of Environmental Science and Engineering won the Teaching and Research Contribution Award.

Professor Ji is mainly engaged in research on urban and industrial wastewater treatment, resource utilization theory and technology, and comprehensive urban water control and management. He has presided over ten national, ministerial and municipal projects in recent years, and received two first prizes, one second prize and one third prize of Tianjin Science and Technology Awards. In 2016, he won the Baosteel Award for Faculty. He published over 200 papers in renowned journals, and owned more than 20 granted patents. He took part in more than 10 sewage treatment projects, many of which are high-efficient, well-adapted, and of promising future application. His research centered on reducing water pollution and improving the ecological environment, contributing to environmental pollution control.

Professor Ji has been dedicated to teaching with great passion for 37 years. He pursued teaching reform, explored and made innovations to various teaching methods, hence his teaching was widely accepted by students. He taught two bilingual courses and two innovation courses for undergraduates, two courses for master students and two courses for postdoctoral students. The students he supervised have won many awards for their theses nationally and municipally. In recent years, he edited a monograph as editor-in-chief, participated in compiling a nationally planned textbook and presided over the review of a translated work.

The "Chinese Water Industry Leading Figures" award was established in 2011, aiming to recognize people from all walks of life who have made outstanding contributions to China's water industry.