Texas Student To Represent U.S. In International Stockholm Junior Water Prize Competition

Perry Alagappan from Houston, Texas was named the winner of the 2015 U.S. Stockholm Junior Water Prize (SJWP)—the most prestigious international competition for water-related research—during a ceremony this past weekend at the Hilton Dulles Airport Hotel in Herndon, Va.

Alagappan’s project, “Novel Renewable Filter for Heavy Metal Removal: A Practical Application of Functionalized Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes” was selected from 50 state SJWP winners at the national competition that was held June 19-20. His first-of-its-kind renewable filter is composed of epoxide-functionalized carbon nanotubes and quartz wool and has the potential to efficiently remove more than 99% of mercury, cadmium, lead, cobalt, and nickel from contaminated water.

“This year’s projects included some incredibly complex research which centered around improving water quality in developing countries,” said Jeanette Brown, Chair of the SJWP Review Committee. “It’s a wonderful experience to see what these young people are accomplishing, particularly their intuitive use of science and innovation to help solve some of our most pressing water quality challenges.” 

Alagappan received $10,000 (USD) and an all-expense paid trip to Stockholm, Sweden where he will represent the United States at the international competition during World Water Week, Aug. 23-28, 2015. The international winner will receive $15,000 (USD) presented during a royal ceremony by the prize’s Patron HRH Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden. 

Other competition winners included the two U.S. runners up, Bluyé DeMessie (Mason, Ohio) and Jack Andraka (Crownsville, Md.) who each received $1,000; and Natalie Bush (Shreveport, La.) who received the Bjorn von Euler Innovation in Water Scholarship Award.   

In the United States, WEF and its Member Associations organize the national, state, and regional SJWP competitions with support from Xylem Inc., who also sponsors the international competition and the $1,000 Bjorn von Euler Innovation in Water Scholarship Award. 

Click here(http://www.wef.org/sjwp/) for more information about the SJWP and to download the winning abstracts as well as high-resolution images of the winner and finalists.

About Water Environment Federation (WEF)
The Water Environment Federation (WEF) is a not-for-profit technical and educational organization of 36,000 individual members and 75 affiliated Member Associations representing water quality professionals around the world. Since 1928, WEF and its members have protected public health and the environment. As a global water sector leader, our mission is to connect water professionals; enrich the expertise of water professionals; increase the awareness of the impact and value of water; and provide a platform for water sector innovation. For more information, visit www.wef.org.