Rien van Genuchten: A short autobiography

Abstract

1 INTRODUCTION

I am extremely honored to receive the 2023 Wolf Prize in the field of agriculture for “groundbreaking work in understanding water flow and predicting contaminant transport in soils,” and for that reason, being invited to contribute an autobiography to this special section of Vadose Zone Journal. Receiving the Wolf Prize reflects the guidance, support, and input I received from so many over the years, starting from the very beginning from my parents who instilled in me the beauty of the natural environment through their careful management of a small family farm in the Netherlands. They encouraged me to pursue my MS studies in Holland, after which I went to the United States, subsequently to Brazil, and back to the Netherlands. Throughout my life, I enjoyed enormous freedom to pursue whatever I felt was important to better describe fluid flow and contaminant transport processes in the near-surface environment. I could interact with a large number of colleagues from all over the world. This collaboration made me see not only the important gaps in science but also the difficulties of applying what we know to the many environmental and socio-economic problems facing this planet. As such, my appreciation goes to the Wolf Foundation for recognizing, through this award, the importance of us taking care of this planet and its inhabitants.