Overview

The Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water (PSIPW) is an international award focusing on water-related scientific innovation and judged by leading scientists from around the world. Five prizes are bestowed every two years.

Specialized Prizes

Each of the four specialized prizes is worth US$ 133,000. Individual researchers and research teams nominate themselves for these prizes:

The Surface Water Prize coves every aspect of the study and development of surface water resources. The Groundwater Prize awards work related to all aspects of the study and development of groundwater resources. The Alternative Water Resources Prize covers desalination, waste water treatment, and other non-traditional sources of water. The Water Management & Protection Prize addresses the use, management, and protection of water resources.

Creativity Prize

Worth US$ 266,000, the Creativity Prize is awarded exclusively to research teams for cutting-edge interdisciplinary scientific work that can rightly be considered a breakthrough in any water-related field. The work might be a body of research, an invention, or a new patented technology. It is by nomination only. Universities, university departments, research institutes, companies, and agencies can nominate interdisciplinary teams for this Prize.

Each prize is accompanied by a distinctive trophy and certificate.

 

Prize Topics

PSIPW awards five Prizes: a Creativity Prize and four Specialized Prizes.

Each of the four Specialized Prizes is dedicated to the wide range of research topics that fall within its scope. In past awards, specific topics were chosen for each prize. Nominations are open to all innovative and current research that is relevant to one of the four prizes, which together cover the entire water research landscape.

Some of the many topics that are relevant to each Prize are as follows:

Surface Water Prize	Groundwater Prize
Water Harvesting Rain & Runoff Water Modeling Effects of Global Warming on Precipitation Flood Mitigation & Control Evaporation & Transpiration Sedimentation Control in Surface Water Systems And all other topics related to surface water	Groundwater Recharge Groundwater Exploration & Assessment Groundwater Contamination Aquifer CharacteristicsPumping Tests Pumping Tests And all other topics related to groundwater
Alternative Water Resources Prize	Water Management & Protection Prize
Desalination Wastewater Treatment Water Reclamation, Purification & Recycling Innovative Water Production Methods Cloud Seeding Fog & Dew And all other topics related to alternative water resources	Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) Water Conservation Water Demand Management Water Pollution Control Sustainability of Water Resources Irrigation Water Management & Conservation And all other topics related to the management and protection of water resources

 

Creativity Prize

The Creativity Prize is open to pioneering and innovative interdisciplinary team-based research in any water-related field. The work should provide an original solution which is useful to society and contribute to development and social upliftment, while being practical, environmentally friendly , and cost-effective.

 

PSIPW welcomes nominations for all of its prizes that employ GIS, remote sensing, and other current technologies to provide innovative solutions to water-related problems.

Evaluation

Nominations are evaluated to determine their originality, potential impact, and applicability. Special consideration is given to how the nominated work contributes to its field of research and its usefulness to society, particularly with respect to development and solving problems on an international level.

Three committees are dedicated to the evaluation of nominations for each of the five prizes:

1. Preliminary Screening Committee
2. Referee Committee
3. Selection Committee

PSIPW enlists the participation of leading scientists from around the world to act as judges on these committees.

General Conditions

1. All nominations are made online through an electronic application form that is available on the PSIPW website. All required documentation and submitted works will be uploaded by way of the same form. No mail-in applications will be accepted.
2. In the event that a team of individuals are being nominated, all team members must be named at the time of application and one member must be specified as their representative. Groups of people working on the same project may not be nominated separately. They must be nominated as a group with a single nomination form.
3. The nominee must be an individual (Specialized Prizes only) or a research team (Specialized Prizes and Creativity Prize). A university, institution, or government agency is not eligible to be a nominee. 
4. Nominations for the Specialized Prizes are by direct self-nomination. Nominations for the Creativity Prize must be made by a university, institution, or government agency on behalf of the nominated team of researchers. Individuals may not nominate themselves or others for the Creativity Prize. 
5. The work or works being considered for the nomination must have been completed no more than five (5) years prior to the nomination deadline for the current Prize.
6. Published research papers, published books, published software and registered patents may be submitted for consideration. Unpublished works and unregistered patents are ineligible for the Prize.
7. No more than five (5) distinct works may be submitted. Multiple works should not be collected together and submitted as a single work.
8. Works will be reviewed and judged in English. If the work being nominated was originally published in a language other than English, it must be submitted in the original language accompanied by a full translation or by a translation of the parts of the work that are to be considered for the Prize. If a partial English translation is provided for a work submitted in another language, then only that portion of the work which is translated will be considered for assessment.
9. A nominee can only be nominated for one of the five Prizes during the same award.
10. The work being nominated must not have previously been a recipient of any other international prize. (However, it may have been the recipient of local or regional prizes.)
11. Members of the Prize committees and their immediate relatives may not be nominated for the Prize.

Prize Calendar

1. 15 January 2024: Call for nominations to the Prize and opening of the online application form for the 12th award.
2. 31 December 2025: Deadline for receiving nominations.
3. January-August 2026: The evaluation process.
4. October 2026: The Prize Council announces the winners of the 12th Award and calls for nominations to the 13th award.
5. November 2026: The awards ceremony for the 12th Award.