OU International Water Prize

Purpose: The purpose of the OU International Water Prize is to recognize and honor an individual who has made significant international contributions, either through research or teaching or service activities, in the field of water supply and sanitation, with a focus on the world’s poorest living in small villages/communities in rural or remote regions.

Details: The Prize is a biennial award sponsored by the WaTER Center at the University of Oklahoma and made possible by generous gifts from alumni and friends. The inaugural prize winner was selected in 2008 and awarded at the 2009 OU WaTER Conference in late October 2009. The winner received a $25,000 cash reward with half of the reward going directly to Dr. Luby, the recipient, and half going to the WaTER-related non-profit organization of his choice. This is one of the first and largest prizes dedicated to the field of water supply and sanitation in remote areas of emerging regions.

Ben Fawcett - 2011 OU International Water Prize Winner

Ben Fawcett has focused on providing access to water and sanitation for the billions of people without these basic necessities. Through his book, The Last Taboo: Opening the Door on the Global Sanitation Crisis, and his work with Engineers without Borders, Fawcett draws attention to details the developed world usually overlooks. One of the main issues with water sanitation in developing countries is a lack of established restrooms. While not pleasant to think about it, this serious problem affects 2.4 billion people in emerging nations, according to the World Health Organization. Fawcett campaigns for toilets for these nations to help solve sanitation problems and create a cleaner water supply. In addition to his work with Engineers without Borders, Fawcett, an environmental health engineer and professor at the University of Queensland in Australia, has helped numerous nongovernmental organizations, such as Oxfam, the Red Cross, Water Aid and Save the Children, and governments around the globe in development, humanitarian and emergency relief programs relating to water and sanitation. His focus on issues of gender and sanitation spotlight often overlooked issues in the drive to complete the U.N. Millennium Development Goals. Fawcett will give the plenary lecture at the 2011 Oklahoma WaTER Conference, to be held Oct. 24 and 25. The two-day conference will include keynote speakers and poster and paper sessions devoted to water and sanitation in remote regions of developing countries and much more.

Jurors for the 2011 WaTER Prize Winner included:

• Robert Adamski - V.P. for Municipal Infrastructure Programs, Gannett Fleming
• Diana Betancourt - Regional Manager for Central America, Water for People
• Jean McCluskey - former Global WASH Cluster Manager for UNICEF
• James Mihelcic - Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of South Florida
• Feleke Zewge - Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia

Dr. Stephen P. Luby - 2009 OU International Water Prize Winner

To view a PDF version of Dr. Luby's Plenary Lecture at the 2009 International WaTER Conference here. Please do not redistribute or quote from this presentation without attribution to Dr. Luby.

Dr. Luby has worked for the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh since 2004. He is head of the Program on Infectious Diseases and Vaccine Sciences and also functions as the head of Agency for the Centers for Disease Control in Bangladesh. He earned a bachelor of arts in philosophy from Creighton University in 1981 and a medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School at Dallas in 1986. He completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at the University of Rochester-Strong Memorial Hospital. Dr. Luby studied epidemiology and public health in the Epidemic Intelligence Service and the Preventive Medicine Residency of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Luby has authored over 120 scientific articles, the majority concerning communicable disease epidemiology in low-income countries.

Jurors for the 2009 Prize included:

• Greg Allgood, Director of Proctor & Gamble Pur Program
• Michael Campana, Director of the Institute for Water and Watersheds, Oregon State University
• Henock Gezahegn, PSI-Ethiopia
• Daniele Lantagne, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, GA
• Malcolm Morris, Chairman of Stewart Title Company in Houston, TX and co-founder of Living Water International and the Millennium Water Alliance