Erich Plate

The 2000 Henry Darcy Medal is awarded to Erich Plate in recognition of his fundamental contributions in water resources research and applied hydrology.

Professor Erich Plate is a renowned scientist who made exceptional contributions to the progress of water resources research and applied hydrology during the last 30 years. In these fields he was the leading scientist in Germany for the last decades. He opened the eyes of many water scientists and engineers on the need for a sustainable development and use of water resources. He was one of the first to urge the scientific community for a multi-disciplinary approach, to cope with the future challenges in water resources management.

Internationally he has been very active. As the chairman of COWAR (ICSU) in 1993 he initiated a study on the need for sustainable water resources: “Water in our common future; A research agenda for sustainable development of water resources”. He has been guest lecturer at many universities and institutes and supervised more than 60 PhDs. He has an excellent reputation as a researcher (he published over 300 articles in scientific journals) who is respected worldwide, not only for his excellence but also for his stimulating, gentle and honest character.