IIT Madras Prof awarded for making water arsenic free

Chennai: Prof. Thalappil Pradeep of the Indian Institute of Technology Madras has been named the 10th laureate of the coveted 'Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water' (PSIPW). He was chosen for the Award in the category of 'Creativity Prize,' which is presented for a 'breakthrough discovery' in any discipline involving water.

Prof. T. Pradeep's research group created ecologically friendly 'water positive' nanoscale materials for the removal of arsenic from drinking water that is inexpensive, long-lasting, and quick. Prof. Pradeep has received numerous awards, including the Padma Shri and the Nikkei Asia Prize, and his inventions have provided clean water to over 1.2 million people.

Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia founded the bi-annual international scientific prize on October 21, 2002. The prize includes a gold medallion, a trophy, and a certificate, as well as a financial component of US$ 2,66,000 (about Rs. 2 crores).

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

Prof. T. Pradeep, Institute Professor, Department of Chemistry, IIT Madras, commented about the award, “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, chaired by Dr. Badran Al-Omar, President of King Saud University, and directed by HRH Prince Khalid Bin Sultan Bin Abdulaziz, President of the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water (PSIPW), approved the winners for the 10th Award (2022) of the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water (PSIPW) on June 5, 2022.