XYLEM
Christopher Whitfield and Wenqi (Jonathan) Zhao from the United Kingdom receive the prestigious Stockholm Junior Water Prize 2024 for their work on PFAS pollution in the Thames Basin. HRH Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden presented the winners with their award during a ceremony at World Water Week in Stockholm.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) pollution is a growing concern worldwide. Focusing on the Thames Basin in the United Kingdom, where there are with no equitable solutions to the problem, Whitfield and Zhao developed a geospatial neural network, predicting PFAS values to within 10 percent of experimentally validated values.
For this, they were announced the winners of the Stockholm Junior Water Prize, an international competition where students between the ages of 15 and 20 present solutions to major water challenges.
Speaking on winning the prize, Zhao said, “We are very proud to have won this prize. It has been an amazing stay here in Sweden with so many new friends”.
The Jury noted that Whitfield and Zhao “find a way to take data and turn it into actionable knowledge. [They have] identified PFAS hotspots using machine learning, field tested their results, developed a cost-effective filtration system, and reached out to local governments and environmental organizations to raise awareness.”
The winners were presented with their prize during an award ceremony at World Water Week by HRH Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, the Prize’s Official Patron.
The Diploma of Excellence was awarded to Shanni Valeria Mora Fajardo and Rosa Mendoza Sosa from Mexico for their work on how to reuse inked water with homemade filtration to produce veggie gardens.
The People’s Choice Award went to Manoel José Nunes Neto from Brazil, completing the line-up of winners.
The Stockholm Junior Water Prize has been organized every year since 1997. It is hosted by the Stockholm Water Foundation, with Xylem as Founding Partner.
“Innovation is paving the way to a more water-secure world, and the next generation are accelerating progress. The Stockholm Junior Water Prize competitors are an inspiring example of the ingenuity and passion young innovators bring to the table. On behalf of Xylem, I’d like to congratulate all those who took part in this year’s competition,” said Austin Alexander, Vice President of Sustainability and Social Impact at Xylem.
Read more about the winning projects:
- Stockholm Junior Water Prize: United Kingdom
- Diploma of Excellence: Mexico
- People’s Choice Award: Brazil
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240827691002/en/
About Business Wire
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
ThetaRay Report Warns Europe’s AML System at ‘Breaking Point’ as New Regulations Make AI Adoption Inevitable2.12.2025 11:00:00 CET | Press release
Study by EU regulatory expert Prof. Andrea Minto and ThetaRay VP Regulatory Affairs Yaron Hazan finds legacy AML tools unfit for Europe’s new regulatory era ThetaRay, a global leader in Cognitive AI financial crime compliance, today released a landmark study on the future of anti-money laundering in Europe. The study warns that Europe’s anti-money laundering (AML) system is approaching structural failure, and that financial institutions will be unable to meet upcoming supervisory expectations without advanced AI-driven monitoring and customer screening systems. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251202058684/en/ Next Generation AML Solutions The report, “Next-Generation AML Solutions: An Analysis of AI-Based Tools vis-à-vis the Reform of the European AML Institutional and Substantive Architecture,” offers some of the most comprehensive examinations to date of how the EU’s sweeping AML reform package and the Artif
Siren Secures Investment to Advance AI-Driven Investigations for National Security2.12.2025 10:30:00 CET | Press release
Decade-Long Partnership Expands Unified Platform For Agencies To Combat Complex Threats Siren, the all-in-one investigation company, today announced a strategic investment from Elastic (NYSE: ESTC), the company behind Elasticsearch. The investment deepens a decade-long partnership between the two companies and accelerates development of Siren’s AI-driven platform, including Siren’s newly launched K9 AI Companion, used by national security, law enforcement, and financial crime agencies worldwide. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251202354147/en/ Siren, the all-in-one investigation company, today announced a strategic investment from Elastic (NYSE: ESTC), the company behind Elasticsearch. The partnership combines the Elasticsearch Platform, which delivers real-time search, retrieval and anomaly detection across structured, unstructured, and streaming data, with Siren’s patented investigative intelligence technolo
P.I. Works Drives Stronger Network Results for Beeline Uzbekistan2.12.2025 10:00:00 CET | Press release
P.I. Works celebrates the success of its long-time client Beeline Uzbekistan, recognized by independent global analytics firms Opensignal and Ookla for excellence in mobile network performance. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251202914682/en/ P.I. Works Drives Stronger Network Results for Beeline Uzbekistan Opensignal named Beeline Uzbekistan the country’s Fastest Mobile Internet provider and Most Consistent Mobile Network for the first half of 2025, while Ookla recognized the operator with the Best Mobile Video Experience award. These honors reflect the measurable impact of P.I. Works’ AI-driven automation, analytics, and optimization capabilities, combined with Beeline Uzbekistan’s strong commitments to investment and innovation. Partnership Powering Network Excellence A joint strategy to bring intelligence and efficiency into operations fuels this success. With automation, self-organizing capabilities, and
GMA with MOVIVA®: setting new standards in endoscopic bariatric treatment2.12.2025 09:59:00 CET | Press release
The innovative approach works from the inside of the stomach to help reduce hunger and to support weight loss Just a few months after the world’s first Gastric Mucosal Ablation (GMA) case using MOVIVA® at the Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli in Rome, clinical experience is rapidly expanding across Europe. With around 80 procedures performed within a short timeframe in eight countries, MOVIVA® is helping to establish a new era of endoscopic bariatric treatment – offering a less invasive option as obesity rates continue to rise worldwide. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251202355726/en/ GMA with MOVIVA® A promising alternative for bariatric patients: GMA with MOVIVA® GMA is an incisionless, minimally invasive endoscopic procedure. It targets the gastric fundus, the main site of ghrelin production – the so-called hunger hormone. By reducing ghrelin levels, patients experience less hunger. At the same ti
Hanshow Achieves SOC 2 Type II and SOC 3 Certifications, Elevating Data Security Standards for Global Retailers2.12.2025 09:53:00 CET | Press release
Hanshow, a global leader in digital retail solutions, announced that its All-Star digital solution has earned SOC 2 Type II and SOC 3 certifications following an independent audit by Deloitte. These internationally recognized certifications underscore Hanshow’s commitment to robust data security, privacy protection, and operational reliability for retailers worldwide. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251201803690/en/ All-Star of Hanshow has earned SOC 2 Type II certification. The SOC 2 and SOC 3 certifications, established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), are trusted global standards for evaluating information security, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy across technology service organizations. SOC 2 Type II certification assesses the operational effectiveness of security controls over an extended period, while SOC 3, as its public summary, offers customers clea
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom