Joan Rose, Water Quality Champion, Wins 2016 Stockholm Water Prize

News provided by

Stockholm International Water Institute

22 Mar, 2016, 10:00 GMT

STOCKHOLM, March 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Professor Joan Rose, USA, is named the 2016 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate for her tireless contributions to global public health; by assessing risks to human health in water and creating guidelines and tools for decision-makers and communities to improve global wellbeing. 

Professor Joan Rose holds the Homer Nowlin Chair in Water Research at Michigan State University. She has dedicated her professional life to water quality and public health, and is a leading world authority on water microbiology.

On receiving the news, she said: "I am very honoured to be part of a list of such distinguished past winners. The Prize calls attention to the most important issues around water in the 21st century, and for me, that is water quality."

In its citation, The Stockholm Water Prize Committee says: "The nexus of water-related microbiology, water quality and public health is rife with theoretical and practical uncertainty. There are few individuals who can tackle the increasing and changing challenges to clean water and health; from state-of-the-art science and original research, through professional dissemination, effective legislative lobbying, guiding practitioners, and raising general awareness. Joan Rose is the leading example of this extraordinary blend of talents."

"I have always been motivated by the principles of public health, how to prevent disease. A key barrier, our water infrastructure, is crumbling or non-existing in many parts of the world. The global population unserved by sewage treatment is counted in the billions," says Professor Rose.

"Professor Rose is on a quest to secure the health of all human beings and aquatic ecosystems. She has continuously shown great leadership in making the world a better place," says SIWI's Executive Director Torgny Holmgren.

Joan Rose is the world's foremost authority on Cryptosporidium, presenting its widespread occurrence in water supplies in 1988. In 1993, the microorganism affected over 400,000 people, killing 69, in Milwaukee, US.

H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, Patron of The Stockholm Water Prize, will present the prize to Joan Rose at a Royal Award Ceremony on 31 August, during the 2016 World Water Week in Stockholm.

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