IAHR honoured excellence and outstanding members during the joint opening ceremony of the 41st IAHR World Congress and the Singapore International Water Week (SIWW) Spotlight 2025, held on Monday 23rd June in Singapore.

IAHR Honorary Membership Award

The IAHR Honorary Membership Award, the most prestigious honour conferred by the IAHR Council, was conferred to four distinguished IAHR members for their life-time contributions to hydro-environment engineering and research and for their outstanding service to the association. 

  Words from new IAHR Honorary Members

Prof. Vallam Sundar, Advisory Consultant and Professor Emeritus of the Department of Ocean Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, received the 2025 IAHR Honorary Membership Award for his outstanding contributions to coastal, port, and harbour engineering, his leadership in advancing hydro-environment research and education, and his outstanding service to IAHR. Interview

Prof. Jing Peng, President of the China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research and Secretary General of IAHR, received the 2025 IAHR Honorary Membership Award for her exceptional service to IAHR and role model for international collaboration and for women in water-related disciplines. Interview

Federico Estrada, PhD Civil Engineering, Channels and Ports and Director of the Centre for Hydrographic Studies, CEDEX, Spain, received the 2025 IAHR Membership Award for his distinguished service, technical excellence, and unwavering dedication to the IAHR and the global water community. Interview

Arthur Thomas Ippen Award

The Arthur Thomas Ippen Award was established in 1977 to honour the memory of Professor Ippen, IAHR President (1959-1963), IAHR honorary member (1963-1974), and for many decades an inspirational leader in fluids research, hydraulic engineering, and international cooperation and understanding. The Award recognises an IAHR member who has demonstrated conspicuously outstanding ability, originality, and accomplishment in basic hydraulic research and/or applied hydraulic engineering, and who holds great promise for continuation of a high level of productivity in this profession.

The 24th Arthur Thomas Award was conferred to Prof. Bernhard Vowinckel, Professor for Transport Processes in Hydro Systems at the TU Dresden, Germany, in recognition of his pioneering contributions to sediment transport and multiphase flow dynamics, advancing hydraulic engineering through innovative modeling techniques and interdisciplinary research.

Ippen Lecture: Small is beautiful: What we can learn from grain-scale processes about sediment transport

"What we can learn from grain-scale processes about sediment transport" is the title of the Ippen lecture to be given by Professor Bernhard Vowinckel at the beginning of the IAHR General Members Assembly that will take place on Thursday 26 June, from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM (including the Ippen Lecture) at Room 1 of Singapore Expo and Online, as part of the 41st IAHR World Congress.

M. Selim Yalin Lifetime Achievement Award

Established in 2006 to honour the memory of Professor M. Selim Yalin (1925-2007), Honorary Member and Fluvial Hydraulics Committee Chairperson (1986-1991), remembered for his prolific and pioneering research contributions in fluvial hydraulics and sediment transport, and for his inspirational mentoring of students and young researchers, the M. Selim Yalin Lifetime Achievement Award is conferred upon an IAHR member whose experimental, theoretical, or numerical research has resulted in significant and enduring contributions to the understanding of the physics of phenomena and/or processes in hydraulic science or engineering and who has demonstrated outstanding skills in graduate teaching and supervision.

The 10th M. Selim Yalin Lifetime Achievement Award was conferred to Michele Mossa, Professor of Hydraulics at the Polytechnic University of Bari, and PhD in Hydraulic Engineering for the Environment and Land, in recognition of his groundbreaking contributions to ecohydraulics, particularly in wave-vegetation interactions, and his global leadership in advancing sustainable hydraulic engineering practices through research, education, and interdisciplinary collaboration.