It is with profound sadness that the International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR) announces the passing of its Honorary Fellow Emeritus Professor Arthur Mynett, on 6th November 2025. An internationally distinguished leader in the field of hydro-environmental engineering and research, Professor Mynett’s distinguished career embodied scholarly rigour, international collaboration, and an unwavering dedication to education and research.

Prof. Arthur Mynett earned his MSc degree in Civil Engineering from the Technical University of Delft (TU Delft), Netherlands (1976), and his ScD degree in Hydrodynamics and Coastal Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA (1980). He held senior posts at Delft Hydraulics (1980-2010), where he was appointed Director of Strategic Research and Development in 1995, and at IHE Delft (1985-2015), where he was appointed Professor of Environmental Hydroinformatics (1997-2010) and Chair Professor of the core group Hydraulic Engineering and River Basin Development (2010-15), and Head of the Water Science and Engineering Department (2011-2015). Since his retirement as an employee at IHE Delft in 2015, he has held the prestigious positions of Emeritus Professor of Hydraulic Engineering and Environmental Hydroinformatics at both IHE Delft and TU Delft.  

Apart from his applied research and academic appointments Prof. Mynett has held many external prestigious appointments including, for example: Adjunct Professor at the Iowa Institute of Hydraulic Research (2003) and a Chinese Academy of Sciences institution (2005), Visiting Professor at Sichuan University, Chengdu, China (2011), Honorary Professor at the Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute, Nanjing (2015) etc. Since his retirement as an employee at IHE Delft in 2015, he has also served as an Advisor to the Dutch Government and the China-Europe Water Platform on Urban Flood Risk Management, as well as being a key member of the 111 Project, at Hohai University, Nanjing. In addition to his lifelong engagement with IAHR, Prof. Mynett was also an active member of IWA, IAHS, ASCE-EWRI and, more recently, a Board Member of the International Association for Coastal Reservoir Research (IACRR), now embedded within the IWA Sustainable Coastal and Estuarine Development Specialist Group.

Arthur Mynett’s contributions to IAHR have been exceptional and second to none. He joined the association in 1985, becoming a lifetime member in 2017 and elected an Honorary Fellow in 2019. He actively contributed to establishing the IAHR-IWA-IAHS joint Hydroinformatics Committee in 1994, serving as Secretary (1994-98) and Chair (1998-2004). Later he became Chair of Technical Division I (Hydraulics) and engaged heavily in bringing the joint committee on Ecohydraulics closer to IAHR.

Arthur Mynett’s contribution to IAHR Council is probably unsurpassed in the history of IAHR. Arthur was elected to Council at the World Congress in Seoul (2005) and served uninterruptedly as elected and co-opted Council Member until the Chengdu Congress (2013), when he was elected Vice President, until his completion of two terms at the Kuala Lumpur Congress (2017). While on the EC (2013-17) he spent considerable time and effort as Chair of the Finance Committee, responsible for sustaining the financial viability of IAHR at a particularly challenging time for the Association. On a personal note, Arthur was a Council Member and Vice President during my term as President (2011-15) and he always gave me his unwavering support in delivering several key strategic missions including, most notably: (i) the Chengdu Global Water Security Declaration, supported and signed jointly with ICID, ICOLD, WASER, IWRA, IAHS, World Council of Engineers, and the UN Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation; and (ii) the establishment of the highly successful IAHR China Office (2015), with much support from Prof. Jing Peng (now President of IWHR China).

One of IAHR’s most successful World Congresses was held in The Hague, Netherlands (2015), where Arthur Mynett was Chair of the Local Organising Committee. The congress attracted over 1400 delegates world-wide, with special emphasis on relations with practitioners and an important role reserved for some additional 400 Young Professional Network participants. More recently (since 2019) Arthur and I worked together as Co-Chairs of the IAHR Global Water Security Working Group (established in 2019, and converted to a Technical Committee in 2020), with Arthur and myself handing over the reins in 2024 to Prof. Reza Ahmadian (Cardiff University, UK) and Prof. Qiuwen Chen (NHRI, China). During our period of co-chairing this technical committee we could never have imagined the success of our webinars and first conference, with the 7 webinars attracting over 50,000 views and the first conference held in Hohai University’s new campus, in Changzhou, attracting over 1,200 delegates.

Outside of academia and IAHR, Arthur’s warmth and humility shone through just as passionately as his devotion to IAHR. He was a devoted family man, whose greatest joy came from time spent with his loved ones and friends. His friends will remember him for his intellectual conversations, his interest in others (particularly younger colleagues), his passion for music, scuba diving and golf, and his ability to find humour even in difficult times. He will be remembered passionately by those IAHR members who knew him as a friend and he will be sadly missed.

He is survived by his beloved wife Monique, daughter Bo, son Loran and their 3 children.

By: Emeritus Professor Roger Falconer (Past President of IAHR, 2011-15 and Hon.FIAHR).                      

 Condolence messages 

I first met Professor Mynett at the 1994 NATO-IAHR Workshop at Castle Vanenburg in the Netherlands, where Professors Mike Abbott and Jean Cunge introduced the computational hydraulics community to the nascent field of Hydroinformatics. Dr. Mynett was already widely recognized in the computational field having studied under C.C. Mei at MIT and was leading major modeling initiatives and research at Delft Hydraulics. His warmth and ability to connect colleagues was evident and contributed to the success of the workshop and these traits continued in the ensuing decades. As Professor Falconer has highlighted, no one has shown greater dedication and passion for IAHR and our Association is the stronger for his commitment. Dr. Mynett was an outstanding mentor who supported his protegees far beyond their student years and perhaps his most enduring legacy will be the numerous young professionals whose research and career he touched in Europe, Asia, the Americas and Africa. This commitment to the next generation of leaders in our field is also reflected by his major contributions to establishing and ensuring the IAHR Young Professional Network is an institutional priority. We learned much from Arthur about the importance of Work-Life Balance. His deep love and commitment to Monique and his family was always paramount - a fact that was proudly displayed and evident to all. Professor Mynett will be missed greatly.

Peter Goodwin , California  

I am deeply saddened by the passing of Professor Arthur Mynett, a distinguished scholar, devoted IAHR leader, and dear friend. During his tenure as IAHR Vice President, Arthur made remarkable contributions to the Association. I had the privilege of working closely with him and other IAHR colleagues, and our joint efforts led to the establishment of the IAHR Global Secretariat Beijing Office in 2015, hosted by my institute, IWHR. Arthur visited IWHR many times, engaging in academic exchanges and sharing his deep expertise and warmth with colleagues and students alike. His wisdom, kindness, and commitment to international collaboration have left a lasting legacy. He will be greatly missed and fondly remembered by the IAHR community and beyond.

Dr. PENG Jing ,  President, IWHR  

In the picture (left to right): Marian Muste, Arthur Mynett, Roger Balconer, Jing Peng, Chris George, Ramón Gutiérrez Serret and Zhaoyin Wang, taken in Beijing in 2015 

"It is with great sorrow that I learned the sad news of the passing of a good friend and colleague. I had the privilege of working with Arthur as early as the late eighties on the International Working Groups on Irregular Waves, sponsored by the IAHR. This was followed by several years of close collaboration within the IAHR Executive Committee in the early 2000s. Arthgur made substantial contributions to strengthening the IAHR as a more relevant organization for scientists, academics, and practitioners. He will also be greatly missed for his camaraderie. 

My deepest sympathy goes to his family, his friends, and his students." 

Etienne Mansard , Past President of IAHR  

"Sad to hear the news that Honorary Fellow Prof. Em. Arthur Mynett is no more with us. Condolences to the breavered family. May his soul rest in peace. With regards,"

Dr-Ing. Dr. Vallam Sundar , FINAE, Fellow IAHR  

"I was deeply saddened to hear that the Honorary Fellow, Professor Emeritus Arthur Mynett passed away on November 6, 2025. Professor Mynett was Emeritus Professor of Hydraulic Engineering and Environmental Hydroinformatics at IHE-Delft Institute for Water Education and Delft University of Technology. During his tenure, he served on 12 IAHR technical committees and served as Chair on Committee on Global Water Security, Innovation and Professional Development, Hydraulics, on Global Water Issues, and Vice-President of IAHR Council. The last time I saw him was at the 38th IAHR World Congress held in Panama City in 2019. We sat together in a train for a technical visit of the Panama Canal that left Colon, passed through Gatum Lake, Culebra Cut, and arrived at Panama City in the evening. It was a life-time memorable experience for me. Professor Mynett was a true scholar, gentleman, and one of the outstanding hydraulic engineers of our time. The hydraulic engineering community will miss him for years to come. My sympathy and prayers go to his family and friends at this difficult hour. With condolences,"

Young C. Kim , Ph.D., Dis.D.CE, F.ASCE, Honor F. IAHR  

If you wish to share a condolence message please send it to condolences@iahr.org