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Environment

Rita Colwell Wins Stockholm Water Prize

June 26, 2010 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 88, Issue 26

Rita R. Colwell, Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, is the winner of the 2010 Stockholm Water Prize. The prize is awarded by Stockholm International Water Institute to an individual, organization, or institution for outstanding water-related activities and consists of $150,000 and a crystal sculpture.

Colwell has shown how changes in climate, adverse weather events, shifts in ocean circulation, and other ecological processes can create conditions that allow infectious diseases to spread. Her research in the Bay of Bengal, in Bangladesh, for example, demonstrated that warmer ocean surface temperatures have stimulated the growth of cholera-hosting zooplankton and have directly led to an increase in the number of cholera cases. In the U.S., Colwell was the first to lead research experiments on the impact of El Niño on human health and the aquatic environment.

In addition to her academic roles, Colwell is senior adviser and honorary chairperson of Canon U.S. Life Sciences, which is exploring the potential applications of molecular diagnostic technologies to the field of life sciences. Colwell became the first woman to serve as director of the National Science Foundation, a role she held from 1998 to 2004. Her interests include K–12 science and mathematics education, graduate science and engineering education, and the increased participation of women and minorities in science and engineering.

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