A faculty member at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Madras and Padma Shri awardee Professor Thalappil Pradeep has been conferred with the 25th Nikkei Asia Prizes (2020) in Science and Technology (S&T) category in recognition of his pioneering work in nanotechnology-based water purification.
- Prof T. Pradeep is Institute Professor and Deepak Parekh Institute Chair Professor at the Department of Chemistry, IIT Madras and honoured with Padma Shri award in January 2020.
- The prize includes a cash component of 3 Million Yen and an award certificate and is scheduled to be awarded in Tokyo, Japan later 2020.
It should be noted that Nikkei Asia Prizes are awarded in three categories. The winners of 2020 of each category are as follows:
25th Nikkei Asia Prize Winners 2020 | |
|---|---|
| Category | Winner |
| Economic and Business Innovation
| Mr. Anthony Tan (CEO,Grab,Malaysia) Ms. Tan Hooi Ling (Co-Founder,Grab,Malaysia)
|
| Science and Technology
| Dr. Thalappil Pradeep Institute Professor, Indian Institute of Technology Madras
|
| Culture and Community
| Mr. Ram Prasad Kadel Founder Music Museum of Nepal, Nepal
|
About Prof T. Pradeep
Prof T. Pradeep & his team have developed nanotechnology-enabled water filters which provide clean water at a cost of just 2 paisa per litre in India. His involvement in the development of affordable technologies for drinking water purification has benefitted more than one crore Indians.
- He is also an author of over 470 scientific papers in journals and is an inventor of 110 patents or patent applications.
- He developed pesticide removal technology which is estimated to have reached about 9 million people.
- His arsenic removal technology, approved for national implementation, is delivering arsenic free water to about one million people every day.
- Along with his associates, he has incubated five companies and three of them have production units.
- In 2018, he was awarded with the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) Prize in Chemistry.
About Nikkei Asia Prizes
First Presented in 1996 by Japan, these annual awards recognize individuals who contribute towards sustainable development and to the creation of a better future in Asia.
- Past awardees from India include Dr. Manmohan Singh, Mr. N. R. Narayana Murthy, Prof. C. N. R. Rao, Ms. Kiran Majumdar-Shaw, Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty, Mr. Nandan Nilekani and Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak, among others.
About IIT Madras:
Director– Prof. Bhaskar Ramamurthi
Location– Chennai, Tamil Nadu
