Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water
Last updated
Saudi Arabian scientific prize
Award
The Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water (PSIPW)
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.
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]
Prizes Awarded
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]
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
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]
Specialized Prizes
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]
1st Branch (Surface Water) topic: Innovative Methods for Rain and Runoff Water Modeling
2nd Branch (Ground Water) topic: Assessment and Control of Radioactive Contamination in Groundwater
3rd Branch (Alternative -non-traditional- Water Resources) topic: Innovative Methods for Water Production from Non-Traditional Water Resources
4th Branch (Water Resources Management and Protection) topic: Remote Sensing and GIS Applications for Water Resources Management
Starting with the 5th award (2012), specific topics were no longer announced. All of the Specialized Prizes became open to all relevant topics.[14]
Organization, nomination and selection
PSIPW logo
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]
The Governor of the Saline Water Conversion Corporation
The General Secretary of the Prize, who is also the Director of Prince Sultan Research Center for Environment, Water and Desert:- King Saud University
3 Saudi experts
3 international experts
Conditions for nomination – Creativity Prize
All nominations for the 4th Award of the Prize will be made online through an electronic application form that will be available on the PSIPW website. All required documentation and submitted works will be uploaded by way of the same form. No mail-in applications will be accepted.[10]
Nominations may be made for individuals and groups whose work conforms to the criteria of the Creativity Prize (see above).[10]
An individual or group of individuals (a team working on the same project or research) may be nominated for the prize. In the event that a group of individuals are being nominated, all group members must be named at the time of application and one member must be specified as their representative. Groups of people working on the same project may not be nominated separately. They must be nominated as a group with a single nomination form.[10]
A university, institution, or government agency is not eligible to be nominated for the Creativity Prize. The nominee must be an individual or group of individuals.[10]
Nominations for the Creativity Prize must be made by a university, institution, or government agency. Individuals may not nominate themselves or others for the Creativity Prize.[10]
The work or works being considered for the nomination must have been completed no more than five (5) years prior to the nomination deadline for the current Prize.[11]
Published research papers, published books, and registered patents may be submitted for consideration. No more than five (5) distinct works may be submitted. Multiple works should not be collected together and submitted as a single work.[11]
Works will be reviewed and judged in English. If the work being nominated was originally published in a language other than English, it must be submitted in the original language accompanied by a full translation or by a translation of the parts of the work that are to be considered for the Prize. If a partial English translation is provided for a work submitted in another language, then only that portion of the work which is translated will be considered for assessment.[11]
An individual or group nominated for the Creativity Prize may not be nominated in the same round for a Specialized Branch Prize.[11]
The work being nominated must not have previously been a recipient of any other international prize.[11]
Members of the Prize committees and their immediate relatives may not be nominated for the Prize.[11]
Conditions for nomination – specialized branch prizes
All nominations for the 4th Award of the Prize will be made online through an electronic application form that will be available on the PSIPW website. All required documentation and submitted works will be uploaded by way of the same form. No mail-in applications will be accepted.[12]
Nominations may be made for individuals, groups, and organizations who have made a pioneering contribution in of the branches of the Prize (see above).[12]
An individual, group of individuals (a team working on the same project or research), or organization may nominate themselves for the prize. In the event that a group of individuals are being nominated, all group members must be named at the time of application and one member must be specified as their representative. Groups of people working on the same project may not be nominated separately. They must be nominated as a group with a single nomination form.[12]
The work or works being considered for the nomination must have been completed no more than five (5) years prior to the nomination deadline for the current Prize.[12]
Published research papers, published books, and registered patents may be submitted for consideration. No more than five (5) distinct works may be submitted. Multiple works should not be collected together and submitted as a single work. All works submitted for consideration must be related to the particular specialized branch chosen for the nomination.[12]
Works will be reviewed and judged in English. If the work being nominated was originally published in a language other than English, it must be submitted in the original language accompanied by a full translation or by a translation of the parts of the work that are to be considered for the Prize. If a partial English translation is provided for a work submitted in another language, then only that portion of the work which is translated will be considered for assessment.[12]
An individual, group, or organization nominated for a particular branch of the Prize may not be nominated in the same round for another Specialized Branch Prize or for the Creativity Prize.[16]
The work being nominated must not have previously been a recipient of any other international prize.[16]
Members of the Prize committees and their immediate relatives may not be nominated for the Prize.[16]
Evaluation of nominated works
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]
Preliminary Evaluation Committees
Referee Committees
Selection Committees
Award ceremonies
Professor Abdul Latif Ahmad receiving the Prize from Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz at the 2006 awards ceremony
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 11th Awards Ceremony[21] of the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water (PSIPW) was held under the Patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on 8 November at the United Nations Office in Vienna (UNOV), Vienna International Centre. The Ceremony was supported by the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations in Vienna, the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations in New York and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), with the virtual participation of H.E. Mr. António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Medals, trophies and certificates
PSIPW trophy, medallion & certificate
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.[22]
Prize winners
First Award (2002–2004)
The Prize Council announced the names of the winners on 31 October 2004 as follows:[23][24]
1st Branch – Surface Water – Topic: Effective Flood Control Methods
Dr. Jery R. Stedinger, USA
2nd Branch – Ground Water – Topic: Artificial Ground Water Recharge
Dr. Herman Bouwer, USA
3rd Branch – Alternative (Non-traditional) Water Resources – Topic: Economical Technologies in Sea Water Desalination
Dr. Hisham Taha Abdulla El Dossouky, Egypt
Dr. Hisham Ettouney, Egypt
4th Branch – Water Resources Management – Topic: Effective New Techniques for Irrigation Water Conservation
5th Branch – Protection of Water Resources – Topic: Protecting Ground Water From Agricultural Pollutants – No award given due to the lack of nominations which met the required standards and conditions.
Second Award (2004–2006)
The Prize Council announced the names of the winners on 31 October 2007 as follows:[25]
1st Branch – Surface Water – Topic: Water Harvesting – No award given due to the lack of nominations which met the required standards and conditions.
2nd Branch – Ground Water – Topic: Management of Coastal Aquifers
The Prize Council announced the names of the winners as follows:[20]
1st Branch – Surface Water – Topic: Sedimentation Control in Surface Water Systems
Dr. Chih Ted Yang, Borland Professor of Water Resources and Director of the Hydroscience and Training Center, Department of Civil Engineering, Colorado State University
2nd Branch – Ground Water – Topic: Exploration and Assessment of Ground Water
Dr. Wolfgang Kinzelbach, Professor of Hydromechanics, ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology)
3rd Branch – Alternative (Non-traditional) Water Resources – Topic: Innovative Methods and Systems in Desalination
Dr. Abdul Wahab Mohammad, Deputy Dean and Professor (Membrane and Separations Technology), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Saline Water Conversion Corporation, Saudi Arabia
4th Branch – Water Resources Management & Protection – Topic: Water Demand Management in Urban Areas
Dr. Zainuddin Abd Manan, Professor of Chemical Engineering and the founder of Process Systems Engineering Centre (PROSPECT), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
Dr. Ignacio Rodriguez-Iturbe (Princeton University, USA) and Dr. Andrea Rinaldo (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausan, Switzerland); Dr. Marek Zreda (University of Arizona, USA) and Dr. Darin Desilets (Sandia National Laboratory, USA).
Fifth Award (2010–2012)
The Prize Council announced the names of the winners as follows:[27]
1st Branch – Surface Water
Dr. Kevin E. Trenberth and Dr. Aiguo Dai, National Center for Atmospheric Research, USA
2nd Branch – Groundwater
Dr. Charles Franklin Harvey (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA) and Dr. Abu Borhan Mohammad Badruzzaman (Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka)
3rd Branch – Alternative Water Resources
Dr. Mohamed Khayet Souhaimi, University Complutense of Madrid, Spain
4th Branch – Water Management and Protection
Dr. Damià Barceló, Catalan Institute for Water Research, Spain
Creativity Prize
Dr. Ashok Gadgil, Dr. Susan Addy, and Case van Genuchten, (University of California, USA), Dr. Robert Kostecki (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. USA), and Dr. Joyashree Roy (Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India).
Sixth Award (2012–2014)
The Prize Council announced the names of the winners as follows:
1st Branch – Surface Water
Dr. Larry Mays, Arizona State University, USA
2nd Branch – Groundwater
Dr. Jesús Carrera Ramirez, IDAEA, Barcelona, Spain
3rd Branch – Alternative Water Resources
Dr. Polycarpos Falaras, National Center for Scientific Research, Athens, Greece
4th Branch – Water Management and Protection
Dr. William W-G. Yeh, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
Creativity Prize
Dr. Eric Wood and Justin Sheffield (Princeton University); Kristine M. Larson and Eric Small (University of Colorado), Valery Zavorotny (NOAA) and John Braun (UCAR), USA
Seventh Award (2014–2016)
The Prize Council announced the names of the winners as follows:[28]
1st Branch – Surface Water
Dr. Gary Parker, University of Illinois, USA
2nd Branch – Groundwater
Dr. Tissa H. Illangasekare, Colorado School of Mines, USA
3rd Branch – Alternative Water Resources
Dr. Rong Wang and Dr. Anthony G. Fane Athens, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Dr. Jim W. Hall and Dr. Edoardo Borgomeo, University of Oxford, UK
Creativity Prize
Dr. Günter Blöschl, Vienna University of Technology and Dr. Murugesu Sivapalan, University of Illinois and Dr. Andre Geim and Dr. Rahul Nair, National Graphene Institute, University of Manchester, UK
Ninth Award (2018–2020)
The Prize Council announced the names of the winners as follows:[30]
Dr. Peng Wang, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
4th Branch – Water Management and Protection
Dr. Jay R. Lund, University of California, Davis, USA
Creativity Prize
Dr. Benjamin S. Hsiao and Dr. Priyanka Sharma, Stony Brook University, New York, USA; Dr. Sherif El-Safty, National Institute for Materials Science, Japan
Dr. Matthew McCabe, Dr Rasmus Houborg, Dr Bruno Aragon, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
Creativity Prize
Dr. Thalappil Pradeep, Dr Avula Anil Kumar, Dr Chennu Sudhakar, Dr Sritama Mukherjee, Anshup, Dr Mohan Udhaya Sankar, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India
Eleventh Award (2022–2024)
The Prize Council announced the names of the winners as follows [21]:
1st Branch – Surface Water
Dr. Qiuhua Liang, Dr Huili Chen, Dr Xiaodong Ming, Loughborough University, UK
Dr. Xilin Xia, University of Birmingham, UK
Dr. Yan Xiong, Jiangsu Open University, China
Dr. Jiaheng Zhao, FM Global, Singapore
2nd Branch – Groundwater
Dr. Chunmiao Zheng, Eastern Institute of Technology, Ningbo, China
Dr. Yingying Yao, Xi'an Jiaotong University, China
Dr. Erhu Du, Hohai University, Nanjing, China
3rd Branch – Alternative Water Resources
Dr. Virender K. Sharma, Dr Chetan Jinadatha, Texas A&M University, USA
Dr. Ching-Hua Huang, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA
Dr. Radek Zbořil, Palacký University Olomouc, Czech Republic
4th Branch – Water Management and Protection
Dr. Joseph Hun-wei Lee, Macau University of Science and Technology, China
Creativity Prize
Dr. Paolo D’Odorico, University of California Berkeley, USA
Dr. Maria Cristina Rulli, Polytechnic University of Milan, Italy
Dr. Zhiguo He, Dr. Pengcheng Jiao, Dr. Yang Yang, Zhejiang University, China
Other activities of the prize
The Prize is a nonprofit organization that, along with bestowing a biannual award, is involved in various water-related activities. These include the following:
The Prize, in conjunction with the United Nations and UNESCO, is undertaking to establish online an extensive international portal for water research, which will provide information about experts and organizations working in the field.[32]
The General Secretariat of the Prize possesses an extensive library which includes, alongside books and journals in water-related fields, all of the research nominated to the Prize throughout its history. This research is made available for the benefit of specialist bodies engaged in research and applied water technologies in coordination with the original researchers.[32]
The Prize sponsors the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize's Chair for Water Research located at the Prince Sultan Research Center for Environment, Water, and Desert. The chair, in turn, supports research into rain and floodwater harvesting.[33]
In conjunction with King Saud University and the Saudi Ministry of Water and Electricity, the Prize organizes a bi-annual international conference that is held concurrently with the Prize's awards ceremony. The 3rd Conference hosted workshops and seminars on the ministerial level.[34]
The Prize is one of the intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations having permanent observer status on the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), and as such, the Prize is part of the delegation representing Saudi Arabia at the COPUOS meetings of held annually in Vienna.[36]
The Prize is a gold-level sponsor of a number of international conferences and exhibitions around the world, sponsoring at least 10 to 15 different conferences and exhibitions during each round of the Prize.[37]
The Prize is a member of the Arab Water Council's Board of Governors, and as such actively participates in all of the council's meetings and conferences. It also provides support for some of the Arab Water Council's activities.[32]
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 until his death in October 2011.
Sultan bin Salman Al Saud is a Saudi prince and former Royal Saudi Air Force pilot who flew aboard the American STS-51-G Space Shuttle mission as a payload specialist. He is the first member of a royal family to fly in space, the first Arab to fly in space, and the first Muslim to fly in space, as well as the youngest person ever to fly on a space shuttle. On 27 December 2018, he was appointed as chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Space Commission with the rank of minister. He is the eldest surviving son of King Salman.
King Saud University is a public university in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Established in 1957 by King Saud bin Abdulalziz to address the country's skilled worker shortage, it is the first university in Saudi Arabia. It was known as Riyadh University from 1964 until it was reverted to its inceptive name in 1982. It was converted into an independent non-profit academic institution in 2023.
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) is a nonprofit research university in Dhahran, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. Established in 1963 by King Saud bin Abdulalziz as the College of Petroleum and Minerals, it is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in Saudi Arabia.
Khalid bin Sultan Al Saud is the former deputy minister of defense and a member of the House of Saud.
Ashok Gadgil Is the Andrew and Virginia Rudd Family Foundation Distinguished Chair and Professor of Safe Water and Sanitation at the University of California, Berkeley. He is a Faculty Senior Scientist and has served as director of the Energy and Environmental Technologies Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Presented annually since 1991, the Stockholm Water Prize is an award that recognizes outstanding achievements in water related activities. Over the past three decades, Stockholm Water Prize Laureates have come from across the world and represented a wide range of professions, disciplines and activities in the field of water.
Water supply and sanitation in Saudi Arabia is characterized by challenges and achievements. One of the main challenges is water scarcity. In order to overcome water scarcity, substantial investments have been undertaken in seawater desalination, water distribution, sewerage and wastewater treatment. Today about 50% of drinking water comes from desalination, 40% from the mining of non-renewable groundwater and only 10% from surface water in the mountainous southwest of the country. The capital Riyadh, located in the heart of the country, is supplied with desalinated water pumped from the Persian Gulf over a distance of 467 km. Water is provided almost for free to residential users. Despite improvements, service quality remains poor, for example in terms of continuity of supply. Another challenge is weak institutional capacity and governance, reflecting general characteristics of the public sector in Saudi Arabia. Among the achievements is a significant increases in desalination, and in access to water, the expansion of wastewater treatment, as well as the use of treated effluent for the irrigation of urban green spaces, and for agriculture.
Ignacio Rodríguez Iturbe was a Venezuelan hydrologist who was a professor at Texas A&M University.
The Prince Sultan Institute for Environmental, Water and Desert Research is a Saudi Institute was established in 1986 under the name "Center for Desert Studies". It is as an independently administered research organization directly linked to the rector's office of King Saud University. The Institute's purpose is to design and conduct scientific research which is related to desert development and to combating desertification in the Arabian Peninsula.
The King Salman Center for Disability Research is a non-profit organization based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It conducts and funds laboratory and field research on all aspects and ages of disability. Its aim is to improve the quality of life of all persons living with disabilities by promoting research that results in real-life changes and activities that help reduce the impact of disability.
Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University was formerly known as Prince Salman Bin Abdulaziz University or the University of Al-Kharj. It is a Saudi University located in the city of Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia. It is under the supervision of the Ministry of Higher Education Saudi Arabia and managed by the Rector of the University, Dr. Abdulaziz Abdullah Alhamid.
Linda Marie Abriola is an American environmental and civil engineer who specializes in the study of organic chemical liquid contaminants in porous media. She is currently the Joan Wernig and E. Paul Sorensen Professor of Engineering at the Brown University School of Engineering.
The Najran Valley Dam is an arch dam on Wadi Najran about 15 km (9.3 mi) southwest of Najran, in the Najran Province of southwest Saudi Arabia. It has several purpose to include water supply, flood control and groundwater recharge. Its collects run-off and sediment in the wadi and helps release it downstream slowly throughout the year. The dam was completed in 1981, and inaugurated by the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in 1982. It is owned by the Ministry of Water and Electricity.
Murugesu Sivapalan is an Australian-American engineer and hydrologist of Sri Lankan Tamil origin and a world leader in the area of catchment hydrology. He is currently the Chester and Helen Siess Endowed Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and professor of Geography & Geographic Information Science, at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Sivapalan is widely recognized for his fundamental research on scale issues in hydrological modeling, his leadership of global initiatives aimed at hydrologic predictions in ungauged basins, and for his role in launching the new sub-field of socio-hydrology.
Professor Günter Blöschl is an Austrian hydrologist, engineer and academic.
J. Jaime Gómez-Hernández is a Spanish civil engineer specialized in geostatistics and hydrogeology. He is a full professor of hydraulic engineering at the School of Civil Engineering of the Technical University of Valencia. He was conferred the William Christian Krumbein Medal in 2020 from the International Association for Mathematical Geosciences. He also received the 2020 Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water in the field of groundwater.
Shafiqul Islam is a Bangladeshi American researcher, academic and author. He is a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Professor of Water Diplomacy at Tufts University. He serves as the Director of Water Diplomacy. He is also the Founding Editor of the Water Diplomacy Series.
James Hall, is Professor of Climate and Environmental Risks and former director of the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford. He is director of research at the School of Geography and the Environment, Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Engineering Science and Fellow of Linacre College. Hall is a member of the UK Prime Minister's Council for Science and Technology, commissioner of the National Infrastructure Commission, and is chair of the Science and Advisory Committee of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. He was appointed as a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2010. He was a member of the Adaptation Sub-Committee of the UK Climate Change Committee from 2009 to 2019. He was appointed as vice-president of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 2021 with a view to become president in 2024.
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