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Ir. Gustave Willems
1901 - 1982
Ir. Robert De Paepe
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PIANC is pleased to announce the ‘De Paepe - Willems Award’ competition.
This yearly prize is being given in honour of
Professor Gustave Willems,
President of PIANC from 1956 until his death in 1982. During his long,
distinguished association with PIANC, Professor Willems
dedicated much of his energy to promoting PIANC among young engineers,
research workers and other young professional people involved in ports,
waterways and coastal areas.
As the PIANC President for seventeen years, Robert De Paepe
fostered the international spirit and the professional development of PIANC.
His professional background was in both road- and hydraulic engineering. Serving
as Secretary-General in his home country, Belgium, he held the highest
office in both the federal and the Flemish ministry of Public Works. As one
of the founding fathers of ‘Belgian Construction Techniques’ (Belcotec) and, as from 1988, the moving spirit behind ‘Flanders
International Technical Agency’ (FITA), an institution that offers public
experience to other countries, Robert De Paepe always looked beyond the
borders of his own country. Besides being PIANC President for seventeen
years, he was also a Vice-President of the World Road Association (PIARC).
When he retired in the early nineties of last century, he preferred not to
receive any kind of present – which led his friends to suggest the
establishment of a Foundation in his memory. In 2002, it was decided to merge
the ‘Foundation Robert De Paepe’ with the Gustave Willems Award. As from 2003, the former Gustave Willems Award will be
known as the ‘De Paepe-Willems Award’.
Applicants for the prize are required to submit a paper on
subjects in the fields of design, construction, improvement, maintenance of
operation of inland and maritime waterways (rivers, estuaries, canals, port
approaches), of inland and maritime ports and of coastal areas.
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