Summary
The Department of Chemistry institute professor has been selected as the laureate of the 10th edition of the ‘Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water’
He was selected under the 'Creativity Prize' category given for 'breakthrough discovery' in any water-related field
Thalappil Pradeep, institute professor, Department of Chemistry at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM), has been selected as the laureate of the 10th edition of the ‘Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water’ (PSIPW). He was selected for the award under 'Creativity Prize' category given for 'breakthrough discovery' in any water-related field.
Pradeep developed environmentally-friendly 'water positive' nano scale materials for the affordable, sustainable, and rapid removal of arsenic from drinking water. He was recognized earlier with the Padma Shri, and Nikkei Asia Prize, among many others and his technologies are delivering clean water to over 1.2 crore people.
The bi-annual international scientific award was established on October 21, 2002 by Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia. The prize carries a cash component of $ 2,66,000 (Rs 2 crore approximately) besides a gold medallion, a trophy, and a certificate.
The awards ceremony will take place on September 12, 2022 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The award also mentions Pradeep's team members - Avula Anil Kumar, Chennu Sudhakar, Sritama Mukherjee, Anshup, and Mohan Udhaya Sankar.
Speaking about this award, Pradeep said, “Clean water is truly a problem of advanced materials. We could contribute to the area in a small way, thanks to our great nation.”
Commenting on the future projects, he added, “There is much to do in every area of water such as desalination, humidity harvesting, sensing and recycling. Our wonderful team is working on each one of them. The area is wide open for all to contribute.”
The Prize Council, under the chairmanship of the president of King Saud University Badran Al-Omar, and under the direction of PSIPW president 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) on June 5, 2022.
The 10th award winners were formally disclosed during the Space and Water Agenda of the 65th session of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN COPUOS).
The 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.
Last updated on 13 Jun 2022
