IIT Madras Prof Wins International Award For Innovation That Cleans Groundwater Sustainably & Affordably

For his work on a low-cost groundwater filtration technology, Professor Thalappil Pradeep of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras, has won the VinFuture Prize for "Innovators from Developing Countries." The professor's invention makes groundwater available to hundreds of people across the nation who currently live in places with contaminated water by removing heavy metals like arsenic and others from it.

Pradeep, who currently works as a professor with the institute's Department of Chemistry, was nominated besides 1,000 other innovators from 71 different countries.

About The Winning Innovation

Professor Pradeep discovered affordable, environmentally friendly nanoparticles that can be utilised to produce clean water. These materials have no environmental impact when they remove arsenic and other pollutants. This method employs simple designs and provides a low-cost approach to purify groundwater and deliver it to millions of impacted households. Because it doesn't require energy, this method is more practical in remote areas.

While receiving the award on December 20, 2022, in Hanoi, Vietnam, Pradeep said, "I am aware of the huge gap yet to be bridged to deliver clean water to everyone. I hope that this recognition will help in realizing that dream. I thank my institute, which gave me everything. I thank my country, which made me stand up", reported India Today.

Numerous honours, such as the Padma Shri, the Nikkei Asia Prize, and the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water, have been bestowed upon Professor Pradeep in the past. More than 1.2 crore people now have access to clean water thanks to his innovations.

VinFuture Prize

The VinFuture Grand Prize, worth $3 million, is one of the largest annual prizes ever awarded globally. It also includes three special prizes, each for US$ 500,000, given to innovators from developing countries, innovators who are women, and innovators who have made outstanding contributions to developing industries.

The award was created on International Solidarity Day 2020 to recognise exceptional scientists and inventors from academic institutions, businesses, and research facilities around the globe who have made significant contributions to scientific discovery and technological advancement that have a positive effect on the daily lives of millions of people.

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