Theo van Asch
The 2008 Sergey Soloviev Medal is awarded to Theo van Asch for his innovative research on modelling natural hazards, and for his leadership as President of the European Centre on Geomorphological Hazards and many other scientific organizations.
Theo van Asch has been a leader in Geomorphology, Engineering Geology, and Physical Geographyfor more than 25 years, His research activities focus on analysing and modelling many types of hydrological and land degradation (hazardous) processes at site, drainage basin, and regional scales. He has worked and continues to work on erosion processes, landslides hydro-mechanical processes, gully development and debris flows kinematics or the influence of vegetation on slope stability. geomorphological contexts. He has motivated his colleagues around the world to creatively look across research fences, for example by stimulating geophysical prospecting or hydrochemical tracering in landslide research, applying debris flow dynamic models in a GIS environment and more recently in developing laboratory controlled experiment of slope failure in large flumes.
Theo van Asch has been the principal supervisor of 15 PhD students, several post-docs and numerous graduate students. He has been invited as an external examinator for many PhD’s and Habilitation Degrees at home and abroad. He stimulated with European colleagues the development of education and mobility programs for graduates and post-graduate students on Geomorphology, Landslide Hazard mapping and modeling and Environmental Impact Assessment, and participated to the organization of intensive courses and post-graduate schools at international level (Erasmus, EU-TMR, Form-Ose).
As a researcher, teacher and consultant he has worked in many countries in Europe, Central and South America, Canada and Asia. He participated in more than 30 European and National research projects. He is scientific consultant for TU Delft, ITC Enschede, the Dutch National Research Council, the French CNRS, and the Council of Europe. Furthermore, he is President of the ‘European Centre on Geomorphological Hazards’ (CERG), one of the 22 research and training centres of the EUR-OPA Natural Hazards Network of the Council of Europe. In addition, he is a member of the editorial board of the International Journals ‘Engineering Geology’, ‘Landslides’, and ‘Géomorphologie: Relief, Processus, Environnement’. He has (co-) authored an impressive list of publication.