This Medal was created in 1987 to mark the centenary of the Belgian Society of Geology, in honor of its first General Secretary. (See special volume of the "Centenary of the Belgian Society of Geology", 1987). The first laureate was Maurice Lys from Orsay University, specialized in Paleozoic foraminifera.
During the centennial ceremonies, the President Alphonse Beugnies, who died a few weeks later, and Ernest Van den Broeck handed a medal to the organizers: The Aymard Comte d'Ursel, President of the Centennial Committee and E. Groessens, General Secretary. The following medals were awarded to Mrs. J.-P. Cobbold and C. Samama
The laureates of the last decade of the century were: A. Strasser (Switzerland), G. Kukla (USA), C. Chopin (France), J.-C. Roux (France), C. Babin (France), H. Kucha (Poland), F. Bergerat (France) and Aigner T. (Germany). A medal was also awarded to Prof. Yves Coppens of the "Collège de France".
The medal was not awarded in 1998 and 1999.
The last laureate of the Van den Broeck medal was B. Beets (NL) in 2000.
In 2015, the GB boarding committee decided to attribute again a "Ernest Van den Broeck" medal every year to a Belgian geologist for his/her career.
2024 awarded Laureate of the Van den Broeck medal has given a lecture entitled "Scale and definition challenges in quantitative hydrogeology", which happened on the 20 November 2024 at the Station de traitement des eaux de Hesbaye in Ans.
The lecture was preceded by a guided tour of the CILE (Compagnie Intercommunale Liégeoise des Eaux) water potabilization plant at Ans, near Liège.
Detailed programme of the afternoon
The venue
Station de traitement des eaux de Hesbaye à Ans - 60, rue de la Légia (access via Mabiet street recommended), 4430 ANS
The pictures hereafter have been selected to highlight both the visit of the CILE facilities and plant installations and the lecture before receiving the medal by the GBLsp representative (i.e. Steve Gruslin, secretary).
On the 23rd November 2023, the Van den Broeck Medal Lecture of Geologica Belgica entitled "A look back on an interdisciplinary research career in the field of geological sciences" was given by Prof. Dr Rudy Swennen during a special session and meeting organised by GBLsp in KULeuven.
On Thursday 9th June 2022, activities include the Van den Broeck Medal Lecture of Geologica Belgica entitled "Serving society as a GSB Geologist", awarded to Dr. Michiel Dusar, as well as discussions on the importance of geological surveys in catalysing Earth Science Research (full day lectures). This lecture was organised during the activities related to the 125 years anniversary event of the Geological Survey of Belgium in the main auditorium of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences.
On the 17th September 2021, the Van den Broeck Medal Lecture of Geologica Belgica entitled "Earthquake activity in Western Europe is typical of stable continental regions" was given by Dr Thierry Camelbeeck during the Geologica Belgica Meeting organised by the RMCA in Tervuren.
On the 23rd November 2023, the Van den Broeck Medal Lecture of Geologica Belgica entitled "Recent work on the Ypresian/Lutetian boundary interval of Belgium" was given by Dr Etienne Steurbaut during a special session and meeting organised by GBLsp in KULeuven.
2019 awarded Laureates of the Van den Broeck medal on the field during the GB excursion in the region of Malmedy. More details (images, videos, documents, etc) for the GB members in the hidden part [Member login zone]
from left to right in the back: Timothy Debacker, Pierre Ghysel, Frédéric Favart, Martin Laloux, Eric Lemonne, Jean-Louis Pingot, Jonathan Michel, Isabelle Bélanger, Jean-Marc Marion
from left to right in the front: Bernard Delcambre, Serge Delabby, Bernard Mottequin, Virginie Dumoulin, Céline Vanneste, Alain Herbosch, Dominique Delsate