Recently, the China Machinery Industry Federation and the Chinese Mechanical Engineering Society issued a notification regarding the recognition of the 2023 "Machinery Industry Science and Technology Award" reward projects. The project titled "Key Technologies and Applications of Efficient and Stable Design for Large-Capacity Irrigation and Drainage Pump Units," led by Professor Pei Ji from the Research Center of Fluid Machinery Engineering and Technology, received the Second Prize for Technological Progress.

Irrigation and drainage pump stations, as crucial agricultural infrastructure, play a key role in ensuring China's food security and contributing to rural revitalization. Over the years, the project team has addressed industry challenges in the low efficiency and poor operational stability of pump units in China's agricultural water conservancy and water resources allocation sectors. Leveraging the National Research Center of Pumps and the National Key Discipline of Fluid Machinery and Engineering, they conducted long-term, systematic, and in-depth research on the key technologies for the efficient and stable design of large irrigation and drainage pump units, achieving breakthrough progress. The developed high-performance, large-flow pump units and digital twin operation and maintenance technology have been widely applied in major national projects such as water diversion irrigation, inter-basin water transfer, urban flood control and drainage, contributing significantly to the construction of the national water network.

The China Machinery Industry Science and Technology Award is jointly established by the China Machinery Industry Federation and the Chinese Mechanical Engineering Society, approved by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China. In 2023, a total of 429 projects were evaluated for the awards, including 35 Technical Invention Awards (14 First Prizes, 16 Second Prizes, and 5 Third Prizes) and 394 Scientific and Technological Progress Awards (2 Special Prizes, 27 First Prizes, 174 Second Prizes, and 191 Third Prizes).