Mengqian, who currently holds the positions of Director of the Otto Poon Centre for Climate Resilience and Sustainability, Director of World Sustainable Development Institute and Director of the Digital Meteorological Services Innovation Lab at HKUST Shanghai Centre, is also an Associate Professor of Hydrometeorology in the Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Dept. of Ocean Science and Dept. of Finance at HKUST. She is the Chairman of The International Association For Hydro-Environment Engineering And Research – Hong Kong Chapter and the Founder and Chair of The Climate, Weather and Water Forum (CWWF). She is also the chair of UNESCO Decade Science program “Seamless Prediction and Services for Natural and Built Environments” (SEPRESS), 2025 – 2032. 

Mengqian graduated with First-Class Honors from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) in 2009, receiving the Academic Achievement Medal. She went on to complete her Ph.D. in Earth and Environmental Engineering at Columbia University in 2014. Her research centers on understanding and predicting hydrometeorological extremes—including heavy rainfall, floods, tropical cyclones, heatwaves, and their compound hazards. Her ultimate goal is to enhance seamless forecasting and services that support sustainable development.