IIT Madras Prof. T. Pradeep Chosen as laureate of prestigious Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water

CHENNAI : Indian Institute of Technology Madras Prof. Thalappil Pradeep has been selected as the laureate of the 10th edition of the prestigious ‘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.

Prof. T. Pradeep’s Research Group developed environmentally friendly ‘water positive’ nanoscale materials for the affordable, sustainable, and rapid removal of arsenic from drinking water. Prof. Pradeep has been 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 21 October 2002 by Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia. The prize carries a cash component of US$ 2,66,000 (Rs. 2 Crore Approx) besides a gold medallion, a trophy, and a certificate.

The Awards Ceremony will take place on 12th September 2022 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The award mentions Prof. T. Pradeep’s team members – Mr. Avula Anil Kumar, Mr. Chennu Sudhakar, Ms. Sritama Mukherjee, Mr. Anshup, and Mr. Mohan Udhaya Sankar.

Speaking about this award, Prof. T. Pradeep, Institute Professor, Department of Chemistry, IIT Madras, 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 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) on 5th June 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.