Since 1940, the IAHR Honorary Membership Award rewards IAHR members, as well as individuals and entities outside the IAHR community, for their life-time contributions to hydro-environment engineering and research, and for outstanding service to the association. 

This is the most prestigious honour conferred by the IAHR Council, and rewards four IAHR members and one individual/institution from outside the IAHR community.

Who can be awarded?

According to article 12 of the IAHR Constitution "Individual members and institutional members, as well as individuals and entities outside IAHR, may be awarded honorary membership, upon the unanimous recommendation of the Executive Committee and endorsed by a two-thirds majority of the Council in a ballot, in the year preceding the biennial congress. Not more than three honorary members from among the IAHR membership and one from outside IAHR may be elected in a given biennial cycle."

Nomination

To submit a nomination please download the form and send it to awards@iahr.org by 31 January 2025.

When and where will the award recipient be announced? 

The award is presented at the biennial IAHR World Congress.

For further information, please refer to our FAQs section on our website. Additional enquiries regarding the nomination process should be directed to the IAHR Secretariat via email to awards@iahr.org

32nd Honorary Membership Award | 2023
Prof. James Ball, Associate Professor at the University of Technology, Sydney, Australia, In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the modelling of physical processes, notably in the analysis and interpretation of statistical data on hydrology, hydraulics and water quality, and for his exemplary service to IAHR | Interview
Prof. Marcelo García, Director of the Ven Te Chow Hydrosystems Laboratory, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA. In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the fundamental understanding and engineering applications of sediment transport, sedimentation engineering, hydraulic engineering education, and for his exemplary service to IAHR | Interview 
Dr Peter Goodwin, President of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, USA. In recognition of his outstanding contributions to hydro-environment engineering and research, notably in the fields of river restoration and ecohydraulics and for his exemplary service to IAHR, including his service as President | Interview 
Dr Áurea Perucho Martínez, Director of the Spanish Centre for Studies and Experimentation of Public Works (CEDEX). In recognition of her career contributions and support to the field of water research and her exemplary service to IAHR as the director of CEDEX | Interview

31st Honorary Membership Award | 2021
Prof. Dr. Anton Schleiss, Switzerland | Interview
Prof. Peter A. Davies, UK | Interview
Dr. Teodoro Estrela Monreal, Spain | Interview

30th Honorary Membership Award | 2019
Dr. Angelos N. Findikakis, USA | Interview
Prof. Young C. Kim, USA | Interview
Prof. Em. Arthur Mynett, Netherlands | Interview

29th Honorary Membership Award | 2017
Prof. Zhaoyin Wang, China | Interview
Prof. Roger Falconer, ;UK
Prof. Jörg Imberger, USA | Interview

28th Honorary Membership Award | 2015
Prof. Joseph Hun-Wei Lee, Hong Kong SAR China
Prof. Jean-Paul Chabard, France
Dr. Mariano Navas Gutiérrez, Spain

27th Honorary Membership Award | 2013
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Rodi, Germany | Interview
Prof. Em. Nobuyuki Tamai, Japan | Interview
Prof. Dr. Willi H. Hager, Switzerland | Interview

26th Honorary Membership Award | 2011
Prof. Dr. Ramón Fuentes Aguilar, Chile | Interview
Prof. Giampaolo Di Silvio, Italy | Interview
Prof. Pierre-Louis Viollet, France | Interview

25th Honorary Membership Award | 2009
Dr. Etienne Mansard, Canada
Prof. Cristóbal Mateos Iguacel, Spain
Prof. K.G. Ranga Raju, India

24th Honorary Membership Award | 2007
Prof. Forrest Holly, USA
Prof. Guifen Li, China

23rd Honorary Membership Award | 2005
Prof. Em. Helmut Kobus, Germany
Prof. Felipe Martínez, Spain
Prof. M. Selim Yalin, Canada.

22nd Honorary Membership Award | 2003
Dr. Henk Jan Overbeek, Netherlands
Prof. Akira Wada, Japan
Dr. Jean A. Cunge, France

21st Honorary Membership Award | 2001
Prof. Oleg Fedorovich Vasiliev, Russian Federation
Prof. James C.I. Dooge, Ireland

20th Honorary Membership Award | 1999
Prof. Torkild Carstens, Norway
Prof. Em. Michael B. Abbott, Belgium

19th Honorary Membership Award | 1997
Rex A. Elder, USA
Bingnan Lin, China
O. Starosolszky, Hungary

18th Honorary Membership Award | 1995
Prof. Peter Larsen, Sweden
Ir. Jacob Egbert Prins, The Netherlands
Prof. Yen Kai, China

17th Honorary Membership Award | 1993
Prof. Yoshiaki Iwasa, Japan
Prof. Em. Erich J. Plate, Germany

16th Honorary Membership Award | 1991
Prof. Lev A. Zolotov, Russia
Prof. Em. Eduard Naudascher, Germany
Dr. Sorin Dumitrescu, France. Extraordinary member of distinction
John S. McNown, Sweden

15th Honorary Membership Award | 1989
Prof. Pavel Novak, United Kingdom
John Fisher Kennedy, USA. John F. Kennedy Award

14th Honorary Membership Award | 1987
José Antonio Maza Álvarez, Mexico
Dr. Stevan Bruk, Serbia

13th Honorary Membership Award | 1985
Dr. Michel Hug, France
Taizo Hayashi, Japan
Hunter Rouse, USA

12th Honorary Membership Award | 1983
P. Ackers, UK
M.F. Skladnev, USSR

11th Honorary Membership Award | 1981
Vujica Yevjevich, USA
Masashi Hom-ma, Japan

10th Honorary Membership Award | 1979
Janos L. Bogardi, Hungary
Harold Jan Schoemaker, Netherlands

9th Honorary Membership Award | 1973
James Wallace Daily, USA

8th Honorary Membership Award | 1970
Léopold Escande, France

7th Honorary Membership Award | 1966
Arthur Thomas Ippen, USA

6th Honorary Membership Award | 1960
Lorenz G. Straub, USA

5th Honorary Membership Award | 1959
Johannes Th. Thijsse, Netherlands

4th Honorary Membership Award | 1958
G. de Marchi, Italy
J.W. Egiazaroff, USSR

3rd Honorary Membership Award | 1951
Eugene Meyer-Peter, Switzerland

2nd Honorary Membership Award | 1949
Wolmar Knut Axel Fellenius, Sweden

1st Honorary Membership Award | 1940
Prof. Dr. Ing. Hubert Engels, Germany