The 11th Awards Ceremony 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, who said:

Water is life. Yet billions of people struggle without safe drinking water, sanitation services or basic hygiene facilities. Around the world, water scarcity is on the rise. And people and communities are paying the price. Economies are weakened. Food, energy and health systems suffer. And gender equality and social cohesion are undermined.

The recently adopted Pact for the Future calls for solutions rooted in science, technology and innovation. And this Prize responds to that call. It shines a light on bold thinkers and ideas. Congratulations to this year’s inspirational prize winners. Your contributions will help advance a just, equitable and sustainable world for all.

Mr. António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations

 

The Saudi Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, H.E. Eng. Abdulrahman A. Al Fadley, addressed the event representing the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. He stressed the need for scientific research to meet the challenges of water scarcity and the need to adapt solutions to local conditions, saying:

Population growth is taking place in the shadow of limited water resources and the uncertainties of climate change. It has become imperative for the world’s water sectors to embrace these research outcomes and innovations and to adopt the principle of integrated water resources management in a way that is appropriate for each country’s geographical conditions and that ensures economic, fiscal and environmental sustainability.

Also addressing the event was the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the Federal Republic of Austria and Permanent Representative to the United Nations & other International Organizations in Vienna, HRH Prince Abdullah bin Khaled Tawlah. He spoke about the dire situation the world is confronted with:

The world is witnessing a real crisis of freshwater scarcity. There are approximately 4 billion people around the world who face insufficient access to water for at least one month a year, and according to reports from the United Nations, this number may grow to more than 5 billion by 2025.

Ms. Aarta Holli-Mainy, Acting Director of UNOOSA, gave the closing remarks. She described the close relationship between PSIPW and UNOOSA and the value of the work the two organisations have been carrying out over the years to advance the use of space technology for water research, saying:

Our collaboration with the PSIPW on the Space4Water project bridges the space and water sectors, supports capacity building, and helps develop space-based solutions for sustainable water management. Our joint work connects over 110 organizations and 60 individual experts, enabling action-oriented dialogue and innovation from the local to the global level.

PSIPW Council Chairman HE Dr. Badran A. Al Omar and the General Secretary of the Prize, Dr. Abdulmalek A. Al Alshaikh, also spoke at the ceremony. Dr. Al Alshaikh presented the six winning teams. Leading international scientists with a diversity of backgrounds -- including ecohydrology, 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. The winners hail from institutions in China, Czechia, Italy, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The team of Maria Cristina Rulli (Polytechnic of Milan, Italy) and Paolo D’Odorico (University of California, Berkeley, USA) received the Creativity Prize which is dedicated to interdisciplinary work in water research.

They spearheaded novel analyses of the water-energy-food nexus, describing how numerous, complex factors interact, providing managers and policymakers better ways to be stewards of freshwater in a changing, globalised world.

Zhiguo He, along with his team members Pengcheng Jiao and Yang Yang (Zhejiang University, China) also received the interdisciplinary Creativity Prize for developing working, versatile soft robots with unprecedented manoeuvrability that have the capacity for numerous underwater research and monitoring applications.




Qiuhua Liang (Loughborough University, UK) received the Surface Water Prize for his team’s work in developing pioneering, open-source, multi-GPU hydrodynamic models to support real-time flood forecasting at high temporal-spatial resolutions.

Team members include: Huili Chen, Xiaodong Ming, Xilin Xia, Yan Xiong and Jiaheng Zhao.



Chunmiao Zheng (Eastern Institute of Technology, Ningbo, China) received the Groundwater Prize for his team’s work in developing powerful modelling tools to understand groundwater processes and manage groundwater resources under diverse eco-hydrological and climatic conditions, considering environmental and socioeconomic factors at local and national scales.

Team members include: Yingying Yao and Erhu Du.


Chetan Jinadatha (Texas A&M University, USA) and Radek Zbořil (Palacky University Olomouc, Chechia) received the alternative water prize on behalf of their team led by Virender K. Sharma (Texas A&M University, USA) and including Ching-Hua Huang (Georgia Institute of Technology). They are awarded for pioneering techniques using activated ferrate in advanced oxidative processes to effectively remove antibiotics and pharmaceuticals from wastewater. These processes work at high, and even enhanced, efficiency in water containing commonly occurring natural organic matter that often inhibit the effectiveness of oxidative processes in removing micropollutants.

Joseph Hun-wei Lee (Macau University of Science and Technology, China) received the Water Management & Protection Prize for developing unique and highly effective hydro-environmental modelling systems for the sustainable water management of smart cites.

 

 

 

The Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water (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. Nominations are currently open online for the 12th Award (2026) until the 31 December 2025 deadline.