- Email: [email protected]
Giuseppe Bendoricchio
Ecological Modelling 184 (2005) 1–3
Editorial
Giuseppe Bendoricchio
This special issue of Ecological Modelling, is dedicated to the memory of Professor Giuseppe Bendoricchio. Giuseppe passed away on December 5th 2003. He fought cancer, but despite his size and strength, the disease won.
0304-3800/$ – see front matter © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2004.11.003
Born on March 15, 1949, Prof. Bendoricchio got his doctoral degree in Mathematics at the University of Padua in 1973. Since 1982 he was research professor at the School of Engineering of the University of Padua where he was teaching the course of “Modelling and Control of Environmental Systems” and member of the professors board of the PhD in “Environmental Systems Modelling”. He was permanent member of the International Water Academy of Oslo; member of the International Society for Ecological Modelling (ISEM), of the Special Group “Diffuse Pollution Sources” of the International Water Association (IWA) and member of the editorial board of the Journal of Ecological Modelling. He was member and consultant to many commissions and scientific committees of public institutions and private companies, concerning environmental and ecological problems, and was scientific coordinator of several international conferences and workshops on environmental sciences and engineering. The scientific expertise of Prof. Bendoricchio focused on the development and application of mathematical models and system analysis in environmental management, related to diffuse pollution, wetlands ecotechnology, water quality of natural systems, theoretical aspects of the applications of thermodynamics to ecology. Large part of his professional experience concerned the restoration of the ecological equilibrium of shallow water bodies, in particular the Lagoon of Venice (IT), the Milwaukee river (USA), the Roskild fiord (DK), the Lake lagoon (Philippines) and the Belau lake (D). Recently he was asked to work on the ecological state of Ypacarai lake (Paraguay).
2
Editorial
During his outstanding career Prof. Bendoricchio published more than 70 scientific and technical papers, reports, monographic contributions on mathematical modelling, water quality management, non-point pollution, eutrophication and ecological thermodynamics. One of the latter of these, that might be considered his scientific legacy, is the book written in collaboration with Prof. Sven Erik Jørgensen, “Fundamentals of Ecological Modelling” published by Elsevier in 2002. Beppe was a brilliant scientist, capable of working in a truly multi-disciplinary environment. In particular, he has the ability of explaining complex concepts in a simple way thereby allowing end users of scientific results, such as policy makers, to understand concepts at the cutting edge of science. Beppe used to confront environmental issues in a pragmatic way: his knowledge was not confined to the dusty pages of scientific journals. Instead he applied it in the field in projects, e.g. the constructed wetlands of Castelnovo Bariano and Ca’ di Mezzo (Italy). Indeed Beppe was one of the first in Italy to understand the importance of natural and constructed wetlands for water pollution control, at a time when wetlands were still considered as malaria and bad-odour generating swamps. His effort to disseminate these innovative concepts among the people as well as policy makers were continuous and very effective. Beppe was not only a teacher. He was a great communicator who was marked by a rare combination of humour, cordiality and intelligence. He shared with others not just his work but own life experiences – ready to give of his knowledge and experience at all times. Over the years Beppe created and sustained a place of learning at the University of Padua, a place that allowed many to write theses, earn degrees, obtain grants, or land contracts. Each became an occasion for growth. For those of us who had the opportunity to work with him, Beppe was a strong point of reference. He was an invaluable source of information, through his wide knowledge and his multi-disciplinary approach. He conditioned our modus operandi through his charisma, his intellectual insight, his passion for science, his ability to analyze and synthesize. He was able to show unexpected ways of deepening research and to highlight the values and faults of reasoning, constantly guiding us toward fresh ideas and concepts. A kind-hearted grum-
bler, he forced everyone to examine grand and simple ideas on the same level. It is still hard for us to accept that such a big, dynamic person could be brought down by cancer. But we hope that his legacy will be, at least partially, present in this collection of papers. He and his work will live in our memory and our work. It will be always a pleasure to remember him and the privilege of having known him. Prof. Bendoricchio is co-author of several of the papers presented in this issue, the evidence that he was in the middle of his working activity while he suddenly disappeared. His co-workers decided to publish only those papers that he himself considered ready to submit. However he had no opportunity to do a final revision of the works. The editor has tried to organize the papers according to the wide spectrum of research interests of Prof. Bendoricchio. Hence four main research sectors have been identified: ecosystem theory, modelling loads from point and non-point sources, water quality models, models as management tools. L. Palmeri and S. Jørgensen
Beppe: a figure larger than life A personal recollection by Stefano Marsili-Libelli I don’t remember when I first met Beppe. In hindsight, I feel he has always been with me all along my academic carrier. Though three years junior to me, I have always perceived him as a guide, a mentor, a friend to turn to in time of need. His benign presence always seemed to pervade my life and whenever I found a problem too difficult to handle, the bottom line invariably was “I’ll ask Beppe”. That was enough for my peace of mind, knowing for sure that Beppe would have come forward with the right solution, the most appropriate suggestion. Though he possessed an outstanding scientific culture, his answers were always simple and yet exhaustive, utterly practical, because he had the rare gift to blend science with practical commonsense. Whenever I tended to propose elaborate contraptions, he brought me down to earth with his savvy “mind ye”, uttered in his liquid and gentle Venetian accent, to remind me that the problem at hand, if not simple, yet
Editorial
could have a simple solution, as he was quick to explain. He not only possessed an unparalleled scientific knowledge, he also knew how to communicate it, never giving the impression of “lecturing” his listeners, because he used the most colloquial ways to convey his views and downplay his precious suggestions. For this reason he had won universal acclaim, both in scientific and professional circles. He was a highly opinionated man and the bedrock of this strength was a profound honesty, both scientific and moral which made him an extraordinarily right man. His calm behaviour, I never heard him raise his voice or loose his temper, came from be an utterly moral and coherent behaviour. As a consequence he never feared anything or anybody. He was a man at peace with himself and he left a fundamental lesson to be learned, that excellence in science is nothing if unmatched by excellence in moral qualities. Even when he knew that the bell was tolling for him, he didn’t give in to despair and prepared for the last battle with his usual strength and calm. I shouldn’t
3
say that he lost, just because he died. After all, we all are destined to die, so death in itself is not a failure. It is the way we die that make us winners or losers. And a winner he certainly was, because cancer may have deprived him of his life, but not of his spirit! Now his is in the Eternal Peace and it is a comfort to know that he will be in the host of dear souls welcoming me when the time will come. I am sure that he will lavish some witty tips on how things are going Up There, with his confidential “mind ye”. Then I shall feel secure again. S. Marsili-Libelli L. Palmeri∗ , S.E. Jorgensen Vaerlose, Langkaer Vaenge 9 Copenhagen DK-3500, Denmark ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +45 35 370850 fax: +45 35 375744 E-mail address: [email protected]
Editorial
Giuseppe Bendoricchio
This special issue of Ecological Modelling, is dedicated to the memory of Professor Giuseppe Bendoricchio. Giuseppe passed away on December 5th 2003. He fought cancer, but despite his size and strength, the disease won.
0304-3800/$ – see front matter © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2004.11.003
Born on March 15, 1949, Prof. Bendoricchio got his doctoral degree in Mathematics at the University of Padua in 1973. Since 1982 he was research professor at the School of Engineering of the University of Padua where he was teaching the course of “Modelling and Control of Environmental Systems” and member of the professors board of the PhD in “Environmental Systems Modelling”. He was permanent member of the International Water Academy of Oslo; member of the International Society for Ecological Modelling (ISEM), of the Special Group “Diffuse Pollution Sources” of the International Water Association (IWA) and member of the editorial board of the Journal of Ecological Modelling. He was member and consultant to many commissions and scientific committees of public institutions and private companies, concerning environmental and ecological problems, and was scientific coordinator of several international conferences and workshops on environmental sciences and engineering. The scientific expertise of Prof. Bendoricchio focused on the development and application of mathematical models and system analysis in environmental management, related to diffuse pollution, wetlands ecotechnology, water quality of natural systems, theoretical aspects of the applications of thermodynamics to ecology. Large part of his professional experience concerned the restoration of the ecological equilibrium of shallow water bodies, in particular the Lagoon of Venice (IT), the Milwaukee river (USA), the Roskild fiord (DK), the Lake lagoon (Philippines) and the Belau lake (D). Recently he was asked to work on the ecological state of Ypacarai lake (Paraguay).
2
Editorial
During his outstanding career Prof. Bendoricchio published more than 70 scientific and technical papers, reports, monographic contributions on mathematical modelling, water quality management, non-point pollution, eutrophication and ecological thermodynamics. One of the latter of these, that might be considered his scientific legacy, is the book written in collaboration with Prof. Sven Erik Jørgensen, “Fundamentals of Ecological Modelling” published by Elsevier in 2002. Beppe was a brilliant scientist, capable of working in a truly multi-disciplinary environment. In particular, he has the ability of explaining complex concepts in a simple way thereby allowing end users of scientific results, such as policy makers, to understand concepts at the cutting edge of science. Beppe used to confront environmental issues in a pragmatic way: his knowledge was not confined to the dusty pages of scientific journals. Instead he applied it in the field in projects, e.g. the constructed wetlands of Castelnovo Bariano and Ca’ di Mezzo (Italy). Indeed Beppe was one of the first in Italy to understand the importance of natural and constructed wetlands for water pollution control, at a time when wetlands were still considered as malaria and bad-odour generating swamps. His effort to disseminate these innovative concepts among the people as well as policy makers were continuous and very effective. Beppe was not only a teacher. He was a great communicator who was marked by a rare combination of humour, cordiality and intelligence. He shared with others not just his work but own life experiences – ready to give of his knowledge and experience at all times. Over the years Beppe created and sustained a place of learning at the University of Padua, a place that allowed many to write theses, earn degrees, obtain grants, or land contracts. Each became an occasion for growth. For those of us who had the opportunity to work with him, Beppe was a strong point of reference. He was an invaluable source of information, through his wide knowledge and his multi-disciplinary approach. He conditioned our modus operandi through his charisma, his intellectual insight, his passion for science, his ability to analyze and synthesize. He was able to show unexpected ways of deepening research and to highlight the values and faults of reasoning, constantly guiding us toward fresh ideas and concepts. A kind-hearted grum-
bler, he forced everyone to examine grand and simple ideas on the same level. It is still hard for us to accept that such a big, dynamic person could be brought down by cancer. But we hope that his legacy will be, at least partially, present in this collection of papers. He and his work will live in our memory and our work. It will be always a pleasure to remember him and the privilege of having known him. Prof. Bendoricchio is co-author of several of the papers presented in this issue, the evidence that he was in the middle of his working activity while he suddenly disappeared. His co-workers decided to publish only those papers that he himself considered ready to submit. However he had no opportunity to do a final revision of the works. The editor has tried to organize the papers according to the wide spectrum of research interests of Prof. Bendoricchio. Hence four main research sectors have been identified: ecosystem theory, modelling loads from point and non-point sources, water quality models, models as management tools. L. Palmeri and S. Jørgensen
Beppe: a figure larger than life A personal recollection by Stefano Marsili-Libelli I don’t remember when I first met Beppe. In hindsight, I feel he has always been with me all along my academic carrier. Though three years junior to me, I have always perceived him as a guide, a mentor, a friend to turn to in time of need. His benign presence always seemed to pervade my life and whenever I found a problem too difficult to handle, the bottom line invariably was “I’ll ask Beppe”. That was enough for my peace of mind, knowing for sure that Beppe would have come forward with the right solution, the most appropriate suggestion. Though he possessed an outstanding scientific culture, his answers were always simple and yet exhaustive, utterly practical, because he had the rare gift to blend science with practical commonsense. Whenever I tended to propose elaborate contraptions, he brought me down to earth with his savvy “mind ye”, uttered in his liquid and gentle Venetian accent, to remind me that the problem at hand, if not simple, yet
Editorial
could have a simple solution, as he was quick to explain. He not only possessed an unparalleled scientific knowledge, he also knew how to communicate it, never giving the impression of “lecturing” his listeners, because he used the most colloquial ways to convey his views and downplay his precious suggestions. For this reason he had won universal acclaim, both in scientific and professional circles. He was a highly opinionated man and the bedrock of this strength was a profound honesty, both scientific and moral which made him an extraordinarily right man. His calm behaviour, I never heard him raise his voice or loose his temper, came from be an utterly moral and coherent behaviour. As a consequence he never feared anything or anybody. He was a man at peace with himself and he left a fundamental lesson to be learned, that excellence in science is nothing if unmatched by excellence in moral qualities. Even when he knew that the bell was tolling for him, he didn’t give in to despair and prepared for the last battle with his usual strength and calm. I shouldn’t
3
say that he lost, just because he died. After all, we all are destined to die, so death in itself is not a failure. It is the way we die that make us winners or losers. And a winner he certainly was, because cancer may have deprived him of his life, but not of his spirit! Now his is in the Eternal Peace and it is a comfort to know that he will be in the host of dear souls welcoming me when the time will come. I am sure that he will lavish some witty tips on how things are going Up There, with his confidential “mind ye”. Then I shall feel secure again. S. Marsili-Libelli L. Palmeri∗ , S.E. Jorgensen Vaerlose, Langkaer Vaenge 9 Copenhagen DK-3500, Denmark ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +45 35 370850 fax: +45 35 375744 E-mail address: [email protected]