Dr. Xingyu Hu

I am a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Professor Graham Farquhar’s lab at the Australian National University (ANU). My research focuses on (i) understanding how plant photosynthesis and water use respond to changing environments and the underlying physiological mechanisms, and (ii) integrating new mechanistic insights into models to improve simulations of plant photosynthesis and water use. 

During my PhD, I received joint training from Tsinghua University (THU) and ANU. Motivated by a deep passion for nature and plants, I have developed an interdisciplinary research background in ecohydrology and plant physiology.

From September 2019 to November 2022, I conducted ecohydrological research at THU under the supervision of Associate Professor Huimin Lei. My work focused on the winter wheat–summer maize rotation system on the North China Plain and addressed two key scientific questions: (i) how ecosystem-scale evapotranspiration measured using the eddy covariance technique can be accurately partitioned into soil evaporation and plant transpiration? , and (ii) how crop photosynthesis and water use respond to seasonal and interannual variability in major environmental drivers, including temperature, vapor pressure deficit (VPD), solar radiation, ambient CO₂ concentration, and soil moisture. This research experience equipped me with skills in field observations of ecosystem-scale water vapor and CO₂ fluxes, meteorological and soil variables, plant phenology, as well as in processing and analyzing observational datasets and remote sensing products.

From December 2022 to January 2025, I conducted plant physiology research at the Research School of Biology, ANU, under the guidance of Professor Graham Farquhar and Dr. Suan Chin Wong. My research focused on three C₃ crop plants: cotton, sunflower, and dwarf bean. The key scientific question I explored was: What are the functions of stomatal, mesophyll, and biochemical components in the photosynthetic response to temperature and leaf-to-air vapor pressure difference (△e) across different CO₂ levels? During this period, I gained experience in leaf-level gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence measurements, as well as in the analysis and interpretation of these data.

My doctoral dissertation, entitled Crop Photosynthesis and Water Use in Response to Changing Environments and the Underlying Physiological Mechanisms, received the Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award from both THU and its Department of Hydraulic Engineering in 2025.

• Environmental responses of plant photosynthesis and water use

• Stomatal, mesophyll, and biochemical functions in photosynthesis

• Physiological mechanisms regulating gas exchange

• Modeling plant carbon and water fluxes

• Ph.D. in Hydraulic Engineering

September 2019 – December 2022  Institute of Hydrology and Water Resources, Department of Hydraulic Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China 

Specialization: Ecohydrology  Supervisor: Associate Prof. Huimin Lei

December 2022 – January 2025  Research School of Biology, College of Science and Medicine, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia  

Specialization: Plant Physiology  Supervisor: Prof. Graham D. Farquhar

Ph.D. degree awarded by Tsinghua University in June 2025.

• B.Eng. in Hydraulic Engineering

August 2015 – June 2019  Department of Hydraulic Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China