Presentation of the Albert Einstein Award
to Prof. Sir John Houghton

by Prof. Frédéric Boulvain
Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Science

November 25th 2009, Academic Hall, University of Liege
Liege, Belgium

In some aspects, we are living in a sad society, where money is more important than knowledge, where the value of a stock option is higher than of a physical constant, where teachers are considered less than footballers. But that cannot go on, because people need true ideals and values. There is an urgent need for spirituality. The sentence “The XXI century will be religious or will not be”, attributed, probably wrongly, to the French writer Malraux, suggests one way, but a dangerous one that can lead to different forms of blindness. There is another way to open horizons: to search for truth or for beauty. Generally, scientists are looking for truth and artists for beauty, but this may be combined: lots of scientists are unconsciously looking for a beautiful truth and artists are looking for true beauty. Both are giving ideals and values to mankind. And that is why we have to celebrate them."

This year’s “Albert Einstein” World Award of Science goes to Sir John Houghton.

This award was created as a means of recognition to those men and women who have accomplished scientific and technological achievements which have brought progress to science and ensuing benefit to mankind. The distinctive characteristic of the “Albert Einstein” Award is that each year’s laureate is selected by the Interdisciplinary Committee of the Council, made up of highly acknowledged scientists from across the globe.

Prof. Houghton was born in Dyserth, Wales, in the United Kingdom. He graduated from Rhyl Grammar School and Jesus College, Oxford. He has devoted his life to environmental research, especially on climate change, and is particular known for developing a system for the remote sensing of the Earth's atmosphere, nowadays considered one of the most important tools in climate research.

Sir John is acknowledged worldwide for his leadership in climate research and monitoring. His concern for climate change is not merely theoretical but is reflected in his work to assess the impact of such change on energy, transport and public well-being. This mammoth spectrum of work earned him the chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

In 1991, Professor Houghton received his Knight Bachelor. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of London; Member of Academia Europea; Honorary Member of the Royal Meteorological Society; Honorary Member of the American Meteorological Society; Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects; Fellow of the Optical Society of America, and Fellow of the Institute of Physics.

Furthermore, he holds the positions of: Honorary Scientist of the Met Office Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research; Honorary Scientist at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory; Trustee of the Shell Foundation; and Chairman of the John Ray Initiative.

Sir John’s outstanding scientific accomplishments have been recognized in numerous top awards and honours in meteorology and astronomy from across the globe. His accolades include the Japan Prize; the International Meteorological Organization Prize; the Royal Astronomical Society Gold Medal, and the Global 500 Award of the United Nations Environmental Programme.