On Saturday 2 October, Palaeontologica Belgica presented Belgium’s very first Citizen Science and professional awards. The research organisation is thus the first Belgian institution that, together with the support of professional researchers, is committed to valorising the achievements of citizen scientists in scientific research. Together with Scivil, the governmental platform for citizen science in Flanders and the VUB, they hope that this initiative will be followed by other scientific branches where citizen scientists selflessly contribute to fundamental scientific research.
Louis De Pauw
The citizen science award is named after Louis François De Pauw (1844-1918) and aims to honour the efforts and contributions of people without an academic background who selflessly dedicate themselves to palaeontological research in Belgium.
Everyone has, in one way or another, come across the world-famous Iguanodons of Bernissart or the Mammoth of Lier. These iconic fossils, which are on display at the Museum of Natural Sciences in Brussels, were reconstructed by Louis François De Pauw at the end of the 19th century. Although Louis De Pauw had no academic training, he was extremely adept at studying, preparing, conserving and assembling fossil skeletons. His work attracted great international interest at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. Unfortunately, De Pauw's scientific and cultural legacy was lost in the course of history. A renewed interest in his intellectual legacy is more than ever welcome. The award in his name is a tribute to the pioneering work he did more than 100 years ago.
