Under Patronage of Custodian of Two Holy Mosques, PSIPW Winners are Honored in Vienna.

Vienna: Under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and on his behalf, Minister of Environment, Water, and Agriculture Eng. Abdulrahman Abdulmohsen Alfadley attended the 11th awards ceremony of the Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water (PSIPW) at the United Nations headquarters in Vienna, Austria. According to Saudi Press Agency, Minister Alfadley delivered a speech congratulating the PSIPW winners on their efforts and achievements, which will contribute to the development and sustainability of water resources. He highlighted the Kingdom's contributions to research and innovation aimed at enhancing global competitiveness and leadership in line with Saudi Vision 2030, noting that annual spending on research and innovation is expected to reach 2.5% of GDP by 2040. Alfadley emphasized that local and global water challenges necessitate increased innovation and coordination among governmental institutions worldwide to translate innovations into practical applications. He called upon scientists, researchers, and prize winners, along with their colleagues in research centers, to explore water sector challenges in the Kingdom and contribute to solutions in light of population growth, limited water resources, and climate change. He concluded by expressing gratitude to the PSIPW committee, its secretary-general, and all organizing entities for their efforts, affirming the Kingdom's commitment to supporting the sustainability of the water sector at local, regional, and international levels. The 11th PSIPW recognized leading international scientists with awards in several categories: Creativity Prize (Team 1): Maria Cristina Rulli (Polytechnic of Milan, Italy) and Paolo D'Odorico (University of California, Berkeley, USA) for their innovative analyses of water, energy, and food relationships to improve freshwater resource management. Creativity Prize (Team 2): Zhiguo He (Zhejiang University, China) for developing versatile, multifunctional robots w ith advanced maneuverability for underwater research and water resource monitoring. Specialized Innovation Prizes: 1. Surface Water Prize: Qiuhua Liang (Loughborough University, UK) and his team for pioneering multi-GPU hydrodynamics models that support real-time flood forecasting. 2. Groundwater Prize: Chunmiao Zheng (Eastern Institute of Technology, Ningbo, China) and his team for advanced tools that analyze groundwater processes in various eco-hydrological conditions. 3. Alternative Water Resources Prize: Virender K. Sharma (Texas A and M University, USA) and his team for developing technologies that use activated iron to remove antibiotics and pharmaceuticals from wastewater. 4. Water Management and Protection Prize: Joseph Hun-wei Lee (Macau University of Science and Technology, China) for creating hydro-environmental modeling systems for sustainable water management in smart cities. The ceremony concluded with remarks from Aarti Holla-Maini, Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Af fairs (UNOOSA), who emphasized the global commitment of the PSIPW to supporting innovation and research. She described UNOOSA's collaboration with the PSIPW on the Space for Water project, which connects over 110 organizations and 60 experts to foster dialogue and innovation in sustainable water management.