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Bruce Rittmann and Mark van Loosdrecht receive 2018 Stockholm Water Prize in Sweden


August 30, 2018

Professors Bruce Rittmann and Mark van Loosdrecht received the 2018 Stockholm Water Prize on Wednesday for microbiological research and innovations that have revolutionized water and wastewater treatment. The prize was presented to them by Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden at a ceremony in Stockholm City Hall during World Water Week.

The research of Rittmann from the Biodesign Institute and Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University and van Loosdrecht from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands has contributed to the understanding of how microorganisms can transform organic pollutants to something of value to humans and the environment. Bruce Rittmann, H.R.H. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Mark van Loosdrecht Professors Bruce Rittmann and Mark van Loosdrecht receive the 2018 Stockholm Water Prize. The prize was presented to them by Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden at a ceremony in Stockholm City Hall during World Water Week. Photo by Stockholm International Water Institute Download Full Image

This remarkable scientific achievement has led to the implementation across the globe of technologies that make it possible to remove harmful contaminants from water, cut wastewater treatment costs, reduce energy consumption and even recover chemicals and nutrients for recycling.

When congratulating the laureates, Crown Princess Victoria said: “There is nothing more hope-inspiring than to learn about new and innovative ways to conquer our most fundamental challenges. Like fresh water, the creativity of the human mind is a most valuable natural resource, holding the keys to a just and healthy future for us all.”

On receiving the prize, the laureates thanked their universities and the nominating committee, with van Loosdrecht adding: “I would also like to thank all the PhD students who I have worked together with developing this technology — without them, not much would have come out of my hands.”

Rittmann remarked: “I view honors like the Stockholm Water Prize not as a 'happy ending,' but as a foundation to contribute in more and better ways. More than Mark and me, the true winner today should be environmental biotechnology, our powerful partnership with microorganisms.  Human society needs the power of the human-microbe partnership.  It can make our environment cleaner, generate truly renewable resources and improve our health.”

Professor Kartik Chandran, member of the Stockholm Water Prize nominating committee, said: “Professors Rittmann and van Loosdrecht have an exceptional and repeated record of converting pressing societal and environmental challenges all the way from basic research to proven and commercially viable opportunities for municipalities, agriculture and industry around the world.”

In addition to their research efforts, both laureates have trained numerous engineers, scientists and academics who carry on and expand their legacy. Environmental biotechnology is now a rapidly growing field, of relevance to energy, materials, food and human health.

“Professors Rittmann and van Loosdrecht are at the forefront of the environmental biotechnology revolution. I am deeply impressed by how they have converted trailblazing theories into current practice, making water treatment more affordable by borrowing solutions from nature,” said Stockholm International Water Institute Executive Director Torgny Holmgren.

The Stockholm Water Prize is a global award founded in 1991 and presented annually by Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI)to an individual, organization or institution for outstanding water-related achievements. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden is patron of the prize. The Stockholm Water Prize founders are united in their strong conviction to drive sustainability in the water sector: Bacardi, Europeiska ERV, Poul Due Jensen Foundation, Ragn-Sells, Water Environment Federation, Xylem Inc., and Ålandsbanken. SIWI organizes World Water Week — the leading annual event on global water issues — and the Stockholm Water Prize and Stockholm Junior Water Prize, which are awarded during World Water Week. 

The 2018 Stockholm Water Prize was presented by Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden at a ceremony in Stockholm City Hall during World Water Week. 

Photo by Stockholm International Water Institute
Bruce Rittmann, H.R.H. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Mark van Loosdrecht

Professor Bruce Rittmann receives the 2018 Stockholm Water Prize. The prize was presented to them by Crown Princess Victoria. 

Photo by Stockholm International Water Institute
ASU News Tempe campus Biodesign Institute School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering Grants / Awards Sustainability Environment International Faculty

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ASU assistant professor named U.S.-Korea NextGen Scholar

YoungJu Shin, assistant professor at the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication and affiliated faculty at the Center for Asian Research, was recently named as a 2018-19 U.S.-Korea NextGen Scholar.The U.S.-Korea NextGen Scholars Program is a unique two-year program that provides opportunities for mid-career Korea specialists to discuss issues of importance to U.S.-Korea relations with policyma...

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ASU assistant professor named U.S.-Korea NextGen Scholar


August 30, 2018

YoungJu Shin, assistant professor at the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication and affiliated faculty at the Center for Asian Research, was recently named as a 2018-19 U.S.-Korea NextGen Scholar.

The U.S.-Korea NextGen Scholars Program is a unique two-year program that provides opportunities for mid-career Korea specialists to discuss issues of importance to U.S.-Korea relations with policymakers, government officials and opinion leaders in Korea and the United States; learn how to effectively engage with the media; participate in the policymaking process; gain experience as public intellectuals helping to bridge the scholarly and policy communities; and address issues of importance to the U.S.-Korea relationship. YoungJu Shin. Download Full Image

“As a communication scholar focusing on intercultural communication, I hope to help facilitate discussions on ways to engage in meaningful intercultural dialogue,” Shin said. “The NextGen Scholar program will provide me with the opportunity to collaborate with other scholars and key policymakers in Washington and Seoul in an effort to address important social issues in innovative ways.”

NextGen Scholars are selected by the Center for Strategic and International Studies Korea Chair and the University of Southern California’s Korean Studies Institute. Shin was one of only 11 scholars chosen.

The scholars will participate as a group in three sets of programs: 1) In Washington, D.C., for briefings with policymakers in the U.S. government; 2) in Los Angeles for academic mentoring and media training; 3) in Seoul, South Korea, for briefings with policymakers and exposure to media and opinion leaders.

Since 2016, Shin’s teaching has included several courses at ASU on intercultural communication. She has served as a panelist on several on-campus events, exploring topics that include procedures used in communication research. She is also a faculty member of the ASU Intercultural Communication Interest Group (ICGlobal).  

Shin hopes to expand her current research on immigrant communities to include those in Korea.

“There are two particular groups I am interested in researching,” said Shin. “Refugees from the North, who are now referred to as ‘new settlers,’ and laborers from Southeast Asia who come to Korea and form interracial families. Korea currently lacks civil dialogue on these immigrant populations, and as a result, they often face discrimination.”

Following her participation in the NextGen program, Shin hopes to apply her learnings and experiences to the classroom. 

“I am very excited to be a part of this program, especially now, not only because of what is transpiring between the U.S. and South Korea but also between the North and South. The study of intercultural communication reveals that dialogue is one of the keys to bridging differences and divisions to work collectively toward a shared future.”

ASU News Tempe campus Hugh Downs School of Human Communication The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Academics Grants / Awards International Politics Staff Faculty
Catherine Sebold

Manager, Marketing and Communication, Hugh Downs School of Human Communication

480-965-5676 Catherine.Sebold@asu.edu

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