On 5 June 2022, the Prize Council, under the chairmanship of the president of King Saud University Dr. Badran Al-Omar, and under the direction of PSIPW President HRH Prince Khalid Bin Sultan Bin Abdulaziz, approved the winners for the 10th Award (2022) of the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water (PSIPW).

The 10th Award winners were formally disclosed on 6 June under the Space and Water Agenda of the 65th Session of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN COPUOS). The official public announcement of the 10th Award winners will take place on 19 June in Granada Spain at the opening session of the 39th World Congress of the International Association for Hydro-environment Engineering and Research (IAHR).

PSIPW is a leading, global scientific award focusing on cutting-edge innovation in water research. It gives recognition to scientists, researchers and inventors around the world for pioneering work that addresses the problem of water scarcity in creative and effective ways.

To this end, PSIPW offer a suite of five prizes every two years, covering the entire water research landscape.

Nominations are currently open for the 10th Award (2022). Nominations can be made online for all five prizes directly through the PSIPW website: www.psipw.org

Winners for the 10th Award

Leading international scientists with a diversity of backgrounds -- including materials science, chemistry, engineering, and environmental science, as well as hydrology -- won the five prizes for a wide variety of relevant, groundbreaking solutions that promise to help provide needed drinking water to the world's people.

 

Photo of Mr. Pradeep

Creativity Prize: The team of Thalappil Pradeep (Indian Institute of Technology, Madras)

His team developed environmentally friendly “water positive” nanoscale materials for the affordable, sustainable and rapid removal of arsenic from drinking water.

Team members include Avula Anil Kumar, Chennu Sudhakar, Sritama Mukherjee, Anshup, and Mohan Udhaya Sankar.

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Creativity Prize: The team of Dionysios Dionysiou (University of Cincinnati, USA)

His team developed advanced oxydation technologies and nanotechnologies for environmental applications, particularly in the removal and monitoring of emerging contaminants.

Team members include Wael H.M. Abdelraheem, Abdulaziz Al-Anazi, Jiong Gao, Ying Huang, and Vasileia Vogiazi.

 

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Surface Water Prize: Dennis Baldocchi (University oof California, Berkeley, USA)

He was awarded for developing effective models to understand, evaluate and predict evapotranspiration and water-use efficiency in various environments under climate change conditions.

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Groundwater Prize: Linda Abriola (Brown University, USA)

She was awarded for her pioneering research on toxic Dense Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids (DNAPLs’) in groundwater, ranging from the simulation of their fate to effective methods for cleaning contaminated sites. 

 

Photo of Mr Elimelech
Photo of Mr Osuji

Alternative Water-Resources Prize: The team of Menachem Elimelech (Yale University) and Chinedum Osuji (University of Pennsylvania)

They made significant advances in nanostructured materials for next-generation membranes and water purification technologies, with a particular focus on implementation, like manufacturing, sustainability, self-assembled materials, and biofouling.

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Water Management & Protection Prize: The team of Matthew McCabe (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia)

The team is awarded for employing CubeSat constellations in the sustainable management and security of linked water-food systems, culminating in the highest resolution estimates of agricultural water with global coverage at unprecedented spatial and temporal resolutions. Team members include Bruno Aragon (KAUST) and Rasmus Houborg (Planet Labs, USA).

Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water

Logo of PSIPW

The Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water (PSIPW) is a scientific prize with a focus on innovation. Established in 2002 by HRH Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz, it rewards the efforts made by scientists, inventors and research organizations around the world which contribute to the sustainable availability of potable water and the alleviation of the escalating global problem of water scarcity.

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Water Resource ManagementCubeSatGroundwaterSurface water