Baldi Memorial Award

The Baldi Memorial Lectures of the International Society of Limnology were established in 1952 to perpetuate the memory of Edgardo Baldi by stimulating research and inquiry within the field of theoretical limnology to which he devoted his life work. SIL honors one of its members by requesting a synthesis of a subject within theoretical limnology to be delivered as the foremost lecture at the initial General Assembly of each Congress. The selection of the lecturer is made by a committee elected by the International Committee of SIL, and consists of the President and General Secretary of SIL, and three members from different countries, one of which shall always be from Italy. The endowment of the Baldi Memorial Foundation in SIL provides a modest honorarium to the Lecturer.

The combination of the intellectual stimulation, research, and instruction in limnology that emanated from the Institute was so pervading and influential to the discipline that Italian was erected as one of the four initial official languages within SIL. That leadership position began with Baldi and has persisted with a continuing progression of excellent scientists and contributions to the development of limnology. It is to the memory of Edgardo Baldi’s contributions and leadership that this primal lecture is dedicated.

Biographical profile of Edgardo Baldi (1899-1951) >>>
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Rules for the Administration of the Edgardo Baldi Memorial Foundation
  1. The Edgardo Baldi Memorial Foundation is administered by the Baldi Memorial Committee according to the following rules adopted by the International Association of Theoretical and Applied Limnology (SIL).
  2. The aim of the Edgardo Baldi Memorial Foundation is to perpetuate the memory of Edgardo Baldi by stimulating research within the field of theoretical limnology to which he devoted his life work.
  3. With this object in view, the interest accruing from the Edgardo Baldi Memorial Foundation shall be used, in the first place, to defray the honorarium and expenses for one Baldi Memorial Lecture on subjects within the realm of theoretical limnology, to be delivered at each General Assembly (International Congress) of the International Association of Limnology.
  4. The selection of the Baldi Memorial Lecturer shall be decided by the Baldi Memorial Committee. The nomination should be announced, if possible, at the congress next before that at which the lecture is to be delivered.
  5. The Baldi Memorial Committee shall consist of five members, two of which shall be the President and General Secretary of the International Association of Limnology (who shall act respectively as Chairman and Secretary of the Committee), the three others to be elected by the International Committee. The elected members shall represent three different countries, other than those (that) represented by the Chairman and the Secretary. Italy shall always be represented on the Baldi Memorial Committee. Re-election of members is permissible.
  6. The Committee shall decide by vote, three members forming a quorum. If the voting is exactly even, the Chairman shall have a casting vote. Voting may be by correspondence.
  7. If the International Association of Limnology be dissolved, its last General Assembly shall decide the future use of the Edgardo Baldi Memorial Foundation.
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Edgardo Baldi Lecturers
Year Congress Recipient Country
2022 Germany David Hamilton Australia
2020 Republic of Korea Michell Burford Australia
2018 China Sally MacIntyre USA
2016 Italy Richard Battarbee United Kingdom
2013 Hungary Robert Naiman USA
2010 South Africa William Lewis, Jr. USA
2007 Canada Michio Kumagai Japan
2004 Finland Wolfgang Junk Germany
2001 Australia Jack Talling United Kingdom
1998 Ireland Charles Goldman USA
1995 Brazil Henri Décamps France
1992 Spain Arthur Benke USA
1989 Germany Robert Wetzel USA
1987 New Zealand David Schindler Canada
1983 France Gene Likens USA
1980 Japan Shoji Horie Australia
1977 Denmark Petur Jónasson Denmark
1974 Canada Noel Hynes Canada
1971 USSR Georgi Winberg  
1968 Israel Holger Jannasch USA
1965 Poland    
1962 USA John Lund United Kingdom
1959 Austria D. Jaag  
1956 Finland William Ricker  
1953 United Kingdom Umberto D‘Ancona  
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