Saturday, 14 December – The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) is proud to announce that VUB climate researcher Professor Wim Thiery (37) has been awarded the "Laureate of the Academy" prize by the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts (KVAB). This prestigious award recognises his significant contributions to scientific research.
Professor Thiery – a climate scientist, geographer, and philosopher – has been honoured within the Class of Natural Sciences, one of the four divisions of the Academy.
By receiving this distinction, Professor Thiery follows in the footsteps of VUB Professor Dr. Frank De Proft (Chemistry), who was also previously honoured with the same prize.
The "Laureate of the Academy" prize is one of the highest distinctions awarded by the KVAB. Since 2001, it has been presented annually to a young Flemish researcher or artist in the categories of Natural Sciences, Humanities, Arts, and, since 2009, Technical Sciences.
About the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium (KVAB)
The Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts (KVAB) is a society of distinguished scientists, artists, and business leaders. Academy members are appointed for life and belong to one of its four divisions: Natural Sciences, Humanities, Arts, or Technical Sciences.
Through various initiatives, the KVAB aims to develop long-term visions on key scientific and societal challenges and contribute to policymaking on these issues. The Academy also publishes reports and position papers, organises colloquia and conferences, awards several prestigious scientific prizes, and invites eminent international scholars.
About Wim Thiery
Wim Thiery is a climate scientist with a keen interest in modelling extreme weather events in a changing climate.
After earning Master's degrees in Philosophy (2008) and Terrestrial Ecosystems and Global Change (2011) from KU Leuven, he began his doctoral research as an FWO PhD fellow. His PhD work (2011-2015) focused on the interaction between climate and Africa's Great Lakes, using a regional climate model.
From 2015 to 2018, he was a postdoctoral researcher at ETH Zurich, where he investigated the historical and future impact of irrigation on global climate extremes.
At just 29 years old, Thiery was appointed as a research professor at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) in 2017. He went on to establish the BCLIMATE research group. Over the course of his career, he has conducted research exchanges in Montreal, Berlin, and Zurich and has carried out three field campaigns in Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where he installed automatic weather stations on Lake Kivu and Lake Victoria.
Thiery has contributed as a co-author on two landmark UN climate reports:
- IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Land (2019)
- IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (2021)
His expertise spans several key areas, including:
- Climate change
- Climate extremes
- Regional and global climate modelling
- Land-atmosphere interactions
- Land use
- Storm early warning systems
- Energy meteorology
- Impact modelling of climate change on a global scale
Most recently, he developed My Climate Future, a website where young people can easily explore the potential impact of climate change on their generation. As part of an ongoing European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant, he and his team are delving deeper into the relationship between climate change and intergenerational justice.
In 2017, he was recognised as a member of Forbes "30 Under 30 Europe", which highlights "Europe's brightest young entrepreneurs, innovators, and game changers." More recently, in 2023, he was awarded one of the Arne Richter Awards for Outstanding Young Scientists by the European Geosciences Union. Earlier this year, he also received the Scientific Prize for Climate Research from the Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO).*
*This is a machine translation. We apologise for any inaccuracies.
Contact:
Prof. Wim Thiery
📧 wim.thiery@vub.be
📞 +32 2 629 30 29