UW–Madison limnologist receives international Water Prize

Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf presented Steve Carpenter, UW–Madison Stephen Alfred Forbes Professor of Zoology and director of the Center for Limnology, with the Stockholm Water Prize today (Aug. 25) in a ceremony at the 2011 World Water Week conference in Stockholm.

The award, often called the “Nobel Prize of water,” is the world’s most prestigious for water-related activities.

With an ornate crystal sculpture and $150,000, prize organizers hope to honor individuals or organizations whose work “contributes broadly to the conservation and protection of water resources and to improved health of the planet’s inhabitants and ecosystems.”

During three decades Carpenter has published five books and more than 300 scientific papers that have, according to the prize citation, “formed the basis for concrete solutions on how to manage lakes.”

Carpenter said he sees the honor not as a capstone to a long career, but as a challenge to push forward.

“The prize increases my resolve and sense of obligation to work on emerging issues of fresh water, such as climate change and the connections of food and water security,” Carpenter said when the award was announced in March.

As the 2011 Stockhom Water Prize laureate, Carpenter delivered a lecture — “Algae Blooms, Trophic Cascades and Ongoing Challenges of Nutrient Management” — on Aug. 22, the opening day of World Water Week.