Volker medal - For outstanding original contributions, which have significantly benefited society by addressing critical issues of public interest and development, such as coupled human-flood and human-drought interactions - Prof. Giuliano Di Baldassarre, at the Uppsala University, Department of Earth Sciences, in Sweden.
The Volker Medal was presented in October 2025 during IAHS2025 Scientific Assembly in Roorkee, India.
Citation for Prof. Giuliano Di Baldassarre by Prof. Berit Arheimer
Prof. Giuliano Di Baldassarre has achieved exceptional international standing through the significant contributions he has made to the study of coupled human-flood and human-drought interactions.
Giuliano’s contributions to the study of floods and droughts in the Anthropocene have been highly innovative, in the way that they have drawn on interdisciplinary scholarship. They benefited from his collaborations with many social scientists while he was a faculty member in the Department of Integrated Water Systems and Governance at UNESCO-IHE in Delft. Such multi-disciplinary work is exceptionally difficult to pull off, yet Giuliano has produced numerous papers in most prestigious journals. Altogether, he has published more than 200 peer-reviewed publications, most of which have one of his students or postdocs as first author, and he holds an H-index of 68.
Some of Giuliano’s articles bridge the traditional disciplines of natural hazards, hydrology and socio-hydrology, climatology, and disaster risk. He has led development of methodological frameworks for modelling human response and adaptation to a changing climate. Giuliano and colleagues outlined models for describing the so-called “adaptation effect” and “levee effect”.
Giuliano’s works has significant societal relevance. He explored the etiology of increasing flood hazards and disasters in Africa with new approaches to analyze changes in the spatial distribution of physical processes and human population dynamics. He demonstrates how, and to what extent, development of formal and informal human settlements in flood-prone areas has led to increasing losses and fatalities in Africa.
Giuliano’s service to the scientific community is exemplary. He is an editor of Hydrology and Earth System Sciences and a frequent reviewer of more than 20 journals. He was also an associate editor of Hydrological Sciences Journal, and member of the International Advisory Board of WIRES Water. He was one of the Chairs of 2nd scientific decade of IAHS (Panta Rhei) focusing on changes in hydrology and society.
Today, Giuliano is currently the Head of LUVAL –a large research division bringing together over 85 hydrologists, meteorologists and physical geographers studying the interplay of air, water and landscape processes, as well as human impacts, to address grand societal challenges related to water resources, sustainability, energy, natural hazards and climate.
With both outstanding scientific excellence and significant contributions with broader societal impacts, Prof. Di Baldassarre earns the Volker’s medal.
Response by Prof. Giuliano Di Baldassarre
Dear Berit, colleagues and friends,
It is an incredible honour to be the recipient of the International Hydrology Prize, Volker Medal, awarded by IAHS, UNESCO, and the WMO. I am deeply grateful for this recognition, which I accept with great humility and appreciation. Receiving a medal named after Adriaan Volker, who championed international cooperation in hydrology, is especially meaningful to me.
I would like to thank the selection committee, my mentors and collaborators, and the institutions that have supported my work over the years in Bologna, Bristol, Delft and Uppsala. This medal reflects the collective dedication of many brilliant minds I have had the privilege to work with.
I also would like to express my deepest gratitude to the people who have stood beside me throughout this journey. To my colleagues and collaborators: thank you for challenging my work and enriching my path with your insights and passion. To my team members, past and present, thank you for inspiring me with your energy and your questions. To my friends and family: your support, patience, and encouragement have been the foundation upon which everything else rests. This recognition is as much yours as it is mine.
Thank you again to the IAHS, UNESCO, and WMO for this extraordinary honour.
Best regards,
Giuliano