The Athalie Richardson Irvine Clarke Prize
"Nothing is more important than the careful stewardship and development of our water resources," said Athalie Richardson Irvine Clarke, co-founder of NWRI.
Mrs. Clarke recognized the vital importance of water and strongly promoted better water science and technology.
In honor of Mrs. Clarke's vision, NWRI established the Clarke Prize in 1993 to honor
outstanding individuals who have implemented better water science research and technology. The Clarke Prize - a medallion and $50,000 award - is presented annually in the summer. As part of the award ceremony, the Clarke Prize recipient delivers the annual Clarke Lecture.
The Clarke Prize is:
- Distinguished by the International Congress of Distinguished Awards as one of the most prestigious awards in the world.
- One of only a dozen prizes that awards scholarly and practical achievements in water research.
- Awarded annually to an outstanding individual who is significantly contributing toward any of the following areas: the discovery, development, improvement, and/or understanding of the issues associated with water quality, quantity, technology, or public policy.
- Granted on the recommendation of the Clarke Prize Executive Committee.
- Not granted posthumously.
The 2010 recipient of the Clarke Prize is environmental engineer Jerald L. Schnoor, Ph.D., of the University of Iowa. Schnoor was selected because of his leadership and impact on promoting the sustainable use of water.
To ensure water use sustainability, Schnoor has focused much of his career on improving human management decisions to reduce negative impacts on water. For instance, early in his career, he developed models of the complex chemistry of acid rain and its impacts on aquatic systems and watersheds.
Schnoor recently chaired a National Research Council committee on the “Water Implications of Biofuels Production in the United States,” which noted water quality and availability problems associated with increasing ethanol production from corn. He was also selected as Co-Director for the National Science Foundation Project Office on the WATERS Network, a $300 million proposal to construct a national environmental observatory network for sensing, modeling, and forecasting water and contaminants.
Schnoor also serves as Editor-in-Chief of Environmental Science & Technology, the leading journal in the world on environmental engineering and science.
Click here for details about the next Clarke Prize Award Ceremony and Lecture.