The Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water (PSIPW) | |
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Awarded for | Outstanding scientific contributions related to surface water, ground water, alternative (non-traditional) water resources, and water conservation. The Prize also awards a Creativity Prize to an innovative work in any water-related field. |
Country | Saudi Arabia |
Presented by | The PSIPW Prize Council |
First awarded | 2004 |
Website | Official website |
The Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water (PSIPW) is a Saudi Arabian scientific prize, established on 21 October 2002 by Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. [1] [2] The Prize has its headquarters at the Prince Sultan Research Center for Environment, Water and Desert (PSRCEWD) at King Saud University. [3]
It is a bi-annual international scientific award that accepts nominations from all over the world. For its third round (2006–2008), the Prize received 198 nominations from 53 countries, with the Creativity Prize, worth more than a quarter of a million dollars, receiving 73 of those nominations. [4]
PSIPW offers five distinct prizes. [1] One million Saudi Riyals (about $266,000) is allocated for the Creativity Prize, while half a million Saudi Riyals (about $133,000) is allocated for each of the other four Specialized Prizes. [5] The Prize is accompanied by a gold medallion, a trophy and a certificate. [5]
The five prizes are as follows: [5]
Specialized Prizes:
During the first two awards of the Prize (2002–2004) [6] and (2004–2006) [7] there were five specialized prizes, since "Water Resources Management" and "Water Resources Protection" were awarded separately. These two prizes were combined after the Second Award and the "Water Management and Protection Prize" was awarded for the first time with the Third Award (2006–2008). [8] The Creativity Prize was inaugurated for the Third Award (2006–2008). [9]
The Creativity Prize is not restricted to specific topics. Instead, its criteria are defined by general guidelines. [8] This allows the Creativity Prize to cover a broad range of interdisciplinary water-related subjects.
The Creativity Prize is awarded to work that the Prize Committee deems to be a "breakthrough" in any water-related field. The work might be an invention, a research paper, a new technology, or a development project. It can relate to any branch of any water-related discipline. It might contribute to increasing available water resources, or to alleviating scarcity, or to minimizing pollution. It might make a material contribution to water conservation or to effective water management. The work should provide a solution which is useful to society, contribute to development and social upliftment, be practical, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective. [10]
The topic for each of the four specialized prizes used to vary with each award. [11] For example, in one round of the Prize, the Surface Water topic might be "Flood Control". In other rounds, the topic might be "Rainwater Harvesting", "Sedimentation Control", "Space Technology Applications" or some other topic related to surface water issues. [11] The same applied to the other three specialized prizes. However, the topic for the third specialized branch – alternative (non-traditional) water resources – will most frequently be related to desalination. [12]
The topics for the (4th) award were as follows: [13]
Starting with the 5th award (2012), specific topics were no longer announced. All of the Specialized Prizes became open to all relevant topics. [14]
The Prize Council consists of the Prize Council Chairman who is presently HRH Prince Khalid Bin Sultan Bin Abdulaziz and the following council members: [15]
Works are evaluated to determine their scientific value and originality, how they contribute to the field, and their usefulness to society, especially with reference to development and to solving problems on an international level. [16]
The nominated works are evaluated by an international panel of scientists who serve on various specialized committees on one or more of the following three levels: [17]
The secretariat of the Prize typically announces the names of the winners in October, with the Prizes being awarded at a formal ceremony held in November in conjunction with an academic conference.
The ceremony for the First Award was held on Sunday, 5 December 2004 at King Saud University along with the 1st International Conference on Water Resources and Arid Environments. [18] The ceremony for the Second Award took place on 26 November 2006 concurrently with the 2nd International Conference on Water Resources and Arid Environments. [19]
The ceremony for the Third Award took place on Sunday, 16 November 2008 in conjunction with the 3rd International Conference on Water Resources and Arid Environments 2008 and 1st Arab Water Forum, which ran from 16 to 19 November. [20] The ceremony was attended by Prince Willem-Alexander, Crown Prince of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange and Chairman of the Advisory Commission of United Nations Secretary General for Water and Sanitation Affairs. [20]
The monetary award of the Prize is accompanied by a gold medallion, a trophy and a certificate. [5]
The base of the trophy is engraved in both English and Arabic with the name of the Prize and the winner, while the top of the trophy is made of crystal in the pattern of the PSIPW logo - concentric, tear-shaped semicircles surrounding a central image of the Earth. [21]
The Prize Council announced the names of the winners on 31 October 2004 as follows: [22] [23]
The Prize Council announced the names of the winners on 31 October 2007 as follows: [24]
The Prize Council announced the names of the winners as follows: [20]
The Prize Council announced the names of the winners as follows:
The Prize Council announced the names of the winners as follows: [26]
The Prize Council announced the names of the winners as follows:
The Prize Council announced the names of the winners as follows: [27]
The Prize Council announced the names of the winners as follows: [28]
The Prize Council announced the names of the winners as follows: [29]
The Prize is a nonprofit organization that, along with bestowing a biannual award, is involved in various water-related activities. These include the following:
Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, called Sultan the Good in Saudi Arabia, was the Saudi defense minister from 1963 to 2011 and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia from 2005 to 2011.
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