Louis Alberto Mendes-Victor

The 1996 Sergey Soloviev Medal is awarded to Louis Alberto Mendes-Victor for his distinguished work on seismic, tsunami, hydrological and geological hazards in complex environments at an interdisciplinary and international level.

For more than 30 years Louis Mendes-Victor has been involved in researches in various branches of geophysics, and he has taken high responsibilities at national as well as at international level. With his work he has demonstrated the great importance of an interdisciplinary approach and of international cooperation to study natural hazards problems. In particular, he has been very active in promoting and carrying out programmes for assessment and reduction of seismic, tsunami, hydrological and geological hazards in a very complex environment such as a coastal mega-city and its surroundings (see his numerous studies on Lisboa), and he has always shown an extraordinary talent in bringing together scientists, technicians, administrators and decision makers.

Since 1991 Louis Mendes-Victor has been full Professor of Physics at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisboa, lecturing in Geophysics, Seismology, Geophysical Prospecting, Fluid Mechanics, Hydrology and Physics of Natural Resources. He has been a member of the Portuguese Committee of the International Unions of Astronomy, Geodesy and Geophysics (1979), member of the National Geothermal Committee (1975-1978), Official Representative of the Nato Scientific Research Council of Portugal (1978-1985), member of the National Research Institute (1975-1980), Chairman of the Portuguese Committee on Outer Space Studies (1983-1986), Director-General of the Instituto National de Meteorologia e Geofisica (1977-1987), Vice-President and President of Regional Association of the VI World Meteorological Organisation (1980-1986), EEC-DGXII Delegate (1986-1989), Elected Vice-President (1981-1983) and President (1984-1986) of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Council Meeting, President of the Ad Hoc Committee of Experts on Earthquake Research of the Council of Europe Meetings (1980, 1981, 1982, 1983) and member of the Executive Council of WMO (1984-1986). He is a member of the Regional Advisory Committee for Europe of the American Geophysical Union, Secretary General of the Centro de Geofisica da Universidade de Lisboa, member of the Scientific Council of the European Centre for the Cultural Heritage, President of the Scientific Coordination Committee of the European University Centre for the Cultural Heritage (Ravello), Director of the Centro de Geofisica da Universidade de Lisboa, President of the Direction of the Instituto de Ciencias da Terra e do Espaqo (ICTE) of the Lisboa University and President of the European Consulting Committee for the Evaluation of Earthquake Prediction (Council of Europe).

Mendes-Victor is a member of the following Science Societies: Sociedade Protuguesa de Fisica, Sociedade Protuguesa de Geografia, Associaqao Portuguesa de Engenharia Sismica, Associaqao Portuguesa de Recursos Hidricos, Society of Exploration Geophysics (USA), European Association of Exploration Geophysics, American Geophysical Union, European Geophysical Society, European Union of Geosciences and the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS).

S. Tinti and C. Eva
Newsletter 59, 37, 1996