Background
Richard Albert Vollenweider was born on June 27, 1922 in Zurich, Switzerland.
Rämistrasse 71, 8006 Zürich, Switzerland
The University of Zurich where Richard Vollenweider received a diploma in biology in 1946 and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1951.
(The volume is written in collaboration with J. F. Tailing...)
The volume is written in collaboration with J. F. Tailing and D. F. Westlake for the International Biological Programme by Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford.
https://www.amazon.com/Methods-Measuring-Production-Environments-Handbook/dp/B000QDVNZW/?tag=2022091-20
1974
Richard Albert Vollenweider was born on June 27, 1922 in Zurich, Switzerland.
Richard Vollenweider grew up in Lucerne where he finished high school and obtained a teacher's diploma in 1942. He attended the University of Zurich where he earned a diploma in biology in 1946, and completed a Ph.D. in biology in 1951, with a thesis on "Experimental Studies on Phytoplankton Ecology."
Vollenweider was awarded an honorary doctorate of science from McGill University, Montreal in 1986. It was followed by two honorary Doctor of Science degrees from Uppsala University three years later and from the University of Ferrara five years later.
Richard Vollenweider devoted much of his career to teaching. He taught in undergraduate schools in Lucerne, Switzerland from 1949 to 1954, followed by two fellowships to study limnology. The first fellowship took him to the Italian Hydrobiological Institute in Palanza, Italy, from 1954 to 1955, and the second to the Swedish Research Council in Uppsala, Switzerland, from 1955 to 1956.
From 1957 to 1959, Vollenweider worked as a field expert in limnology and fisheries for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Department of Agriculture in Egypt. He then returned to the Italian Hydrobiological Institute to work as a research associate from 1959 to 1966, followed by a position as a water pollution consultant for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris from 1966 to 1968.
He served as a chief limnologist and head of the Fisheries Research Board for the Canadian Centre for Inland Waters (CCIW), Burlington, Ontario, from 1968 to 1970, followed by a position as chief of the National Water Research Institute Lakes Research Division from 1970 to 1973. Vollenweider's final professional position was as a senior scientist with the Canadian Centre of Inland Waters from 1973 to 1988, which he held concurrently with a position as professor of biology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, from 1978 to 1988.
While head of the Fisheries Research Board laboratories at CCIW, Vollenweider administered a research staff of 140 scientists and technicians. In this capacity, he was responsible for organizing and developing the early research activities on the Laurentian Great Lakes and other limnological studies in Canada. CCIW created the position of senior scientist for Vollenweider to allow him to continue his own research as well as to serve as the chairperson of the Centre's Scientific Committee for Research Coordination.
Vollenweider studied the primary production of Swiss, Italian, Swedish and Egyptian lakes using oxygen techniques and radioactive carbon, and developed mathematical models for calculating integral photosynthesis. He also explored the relationship between primary production and absorption characteristics and the spectral correlation of underwater light over a broad range of lakes. This early line of research became the frame for later efforts to resolve the question about eutrophication. Further, he discovered the acidification process of lakes due to industrial ammonia pollution.
In addition to his research work in Canada, Vollenweider served as a consultant to many United Nations organizations and the governments of Italy, Argentina, Venezuela, Japan, and Ecuador. He was instrumental in helping these countries develop programs to deal with major water management issues and in supporting purification projects. Vollenweider also served as a consultant to the Pan American Health Organization for Venezuela from 1977 to 1980, Italy in 1977, Argentina in 1980, Ecuador in 1982, and Brazil and Mexico in 1983. He worked for the International Lake Environment Commission and the World Health Organization in 1985.
(The volume is written in collaboration with J. F. Tailing...)
1974Richard Vollenweider was a member of the Italian Association of Ecology, the Italian Association of Theoretical and Applied Limnology, the International Society of Limnology, and the Royal Society of Canada.
Richard Albert Vollenweider married a woman named Roberta in 1965.