AGU award voor hydroloog Huub Savenije

PERSONALIA - Hydroloog Huub Savenije (TU Delft) ontving de AGU Award voor zijn internationale werk. ‘An outstanding contribution to furthering earth and space sciences and using science for the benefit of society in developing nations’ aldus AGU voorzitter Eric Davidson.

Hydrologist Professor Huub Savenije received the prestigious International Award at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) conference on Wednesday 13 December 2017. The annual prize is awarded for ‘an outstanding contribution to furthering earth and space sciences and using science for the benefit of society in developing nations.’

Savenije has always felt drawn towards developing countries, involving local people and institutions in scientific research. “It is essential that research is done together and that both parties benefit from it.” Savenije favours simple approaches to complex issues: “We can learn to understand a river by looking at the landscape.” His approach can be called ‘holistic’ since he relates and connects elements such as soil type and vegetation, instead of studying them separately.

Many of his research projects have focussed on improving water management, especially in Africa. He is one of the initiators of WaterNet, a regional network of 50 universities and research institutes involved in integrated water management in Southern Africa.

Professor Huub Savenije (Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences) graduated as a hydrologist at TU Delft in 1977, after which he worked for six years in Mozambique and five years as an international consultant in Asia and Africa. Savenije did his PhD in 1992 and became Professor of Water Resources Management with UNESCO-IHE in Delft in 1994. He has been Professor of Hydrology at TU Delft since 1999.

In 2015, Savenije received the Alexander von Humboldt medal from the European Geosciences Union (EGU). He will retire in 2018.

Details: Delta TU Delft | Savenije receives AGU international prize