Creativity Prize Now a Part of Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Prize for Water

A special new Creativity Prize, worth more than a quarter of a million dollars, has been added to the awards available to researchers in the Water Resources sector under the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water 2006-2008.

The Creativity Prize, worth 1 million Saudi Riyals (SR) or around US$266,000 will be awarded to any original work (research, invention, technique etc) which is considered as a breakthrough in any water-related field. The work must be practically applicable, economically feasible and environmentally friendly.

In addition to this new Prize, four additional Prizes will be available for the best nominations in four topics in separate sub-sectors of water resources:

1. Surface Water:
   Topic: Sedimentation Control in Surface Water Systems.
2. Ground Water
   Topic: Exploration and Assessment of Ground Water.
3. Alternative (non-traditional) Water Resources.
   Topic: Innovative Methods and Systems in Desalination.
4. Water Resources Management and Protection.
   Topic: Water Demand Management in Urban Areas.

The Prize for each of these sub-sectors will be SR 500,000 (US$133,000). Winners will also receive a gold medallion, a trophy and a certificate, which will be presented at a special award ceremony.

The current round of the Prize, which will be awarded in 2008, is the third in the series initiated with the patronage of HRH Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz as a humanitarian contribution by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the world and as an initiative that deals with the issue of water considered as one of the basic life elements in human existence.

The Prize is intended to reward the efforts undertaken by innovative scholars and scientists as well as related organizations in the realm of water resources worldwide. It has been established to acknowledge the special achievements that have contributed to the development of scientific solutions to solve the problems associated with the provision as well as the preservation of adequate and sustainable water resources, particularly in arid regions.

“Because of the urgent need for water in arid regions like Saudi Arabia across the world,” explains the Prize general secretary, Dr. Abdulmalek A. Al Alshaikh, “there has been a sense of urgency to contrive supportive methods to water researches adopted at world scale.”

All the relevant details for nominations for the 2006-8 Prize can be found on the Prize website at: http://www.psipw.org.

Source: Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water