At the height of the pandemic last year, NEWRI also pioneered ways to monitor and detect RNA fragments of COVID-19 in sewage systems. This enabled for the tracking and monitoring of the prevalence of infections in the population, without the use of invasive procedures involving human interactions, in a very cost-effective manner.
In recognition of his contribution towards solving real-world water problems, NWRI Executive Director Kevin Hardy, said: “Dr. Shane Snyder personifies the qualities that the Athalie Richardson Irvine Clarke Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Water Science and Technology was designed to recognize.”
While Snyder’s scientific, technical, and leadership accomplishments are remarkable, the Clarke Prize Executive Committee noted that, “Dr. Snyder is known as a compassionate and personable character that always enjoys sharing his knowledge.”
Snyder said, “I am tremendously honored to have been selected as the 2021 Clarke Prize Laureate, and to join this league of the world’s most influential water researchers. Over the past decades, I have been most inspired by the rapid proliferation of water recycling projects across the world. My hope for the near future is to enable and empower underserved communities to also embrace water recycling, along with the appropriate technologies and skills to improve access to reliable and safe water for those who currently suffer the most from inadequate water quantity and quality.”
Snyder has briefed the US Congress several times on emerging water quality issues such as pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and endocrine disruptors. He has served on numerous US Environmental Protection Agency panels and was a member of the National Academy of Science’s National Research Council expert panel for the development of Water Reuse: Potential for Expanding the Nation's Water Supply Through Reuse of Municipal Wastewater (2012). He was also an author for the World Health Organization’s Potable Reuse: Guidance for Producing Safe Drinking-Water (2017).
As a globally recognized scientist, Snyder is a Fellow of the International Water Association and served on the World Health Organization’s Drinking Water Advisory Panel. He has served on numerous expert panels regarding potable water reuse programs throughout the United States and other countries. He is a passionate advocate for sustainable water technologies that protect people and the environment. He has published over 300 manuscripts and chapters on emerging contaminant analysis, treatment, and toxicology. He is currently Editor in Chief of the American Chemical Society journal, Environmental Science & Technology Water and he was Editor in Chief of the Elsevier journal, Chemosphere.
At NEWRI, Snyder is leading a large team of faculty, staff, research fellows, and students to advance water and environmental research, including wastewater and solid waste management, recycling, and upcycling. The institute also aims to advance safe water and sanitation in underserved communities in South and Southeast Asia, through its community development program, that manages the Lien Foundation-NTU Environment Endeavour, enabled by a generous endowment provided by the Lien Foundation and the Singapore government. Its work has benefitted more than 2 million people through the practical application of water technologies.
Snyder will be delivering the 2021 Clarke Prize Lecture during the award ceremony held by NWRI on October 28, 2021, via web broadcast and will be awarded the Clarke Prize medallion and a US$50,000 prize.
The Clarke Prize was established in 1993 in honour of NWRI’s co-founder, the late Athalie Richardson Irvine Clarke. The Clarke Prize is awarded annually to thought leaders in water research, science, technology, or policy and is recognized by the International Congress of Distinguished Awards as one of the most prestigious water awards in the world.
The National Water Research Institute was founded as a non-profit organisation in 1991 by a group of Southern California water agencies in partnership with the Joan Irvine Smith and Athalie R. Clarke Foundation, and it collaborates with water utilities, regulators, and researchers in innovative ways to help develop new, healthy sources of drinking water.
SOURCE: National Water Research Institute
