Indian-origin professor awarded 'Dutch Nobel Prize'
Darpan News Desk IANS, 07 Jun, 2023 02:16 PM
New Delhi, June 7 (IANS) Indian-origin professor Joyeeta Gupta has been awarded the Spinoza Prize, the highest distinction in Dutch science, for her scientific work focusing on a "just and sustainable world".
Gupta, Professor of Environment and Development in the Global South at the University of Amsterdam since 2013, was chosen by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) selection committee for her "incredibly broad and interdisciplinary" research.
Also referred sometimes as the 'Dutch Nobel Prize', the award will give Gupta 1.5 million euros to spend on scientific research and activities related to knowledge utilisation.
Gupta's research involves solution to issues arising from climate change through good governance. At the core of her research is an attempt to unravel the connections between the climate crisis, global water challenges, possible solutions and justice, a University of Amsterdam statement read.
"Justice for both people and the planet is the common thread in Joyeeta's work. She is relentlessly committed to climate justice, always looking beyond the boundaries of disciplines, realising that this is the only way to approach the climate issue," said Peter-Paul Verbeek, Rector Magnificus of the University of Amsterdam.
Gupta, who is the twelfth researcher from the University of Amsterdam to receive the award, will be officially honoured on October 4 at a presentation ceremony.
She studied at Delhi University, Gujarat University and Harvard Law School, and obtained her PhD from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. She is also a professor at the IHE Delft Institute for Water Education. In addition to her professorship, Gupta is co-chair of the Earth Commission, founded by Future Earth and supported by the Global Challenges Foundation, the University statement said.
She was also lead author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) between 1988 and 2014, which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former US Vice President Al Gore.
Sirihaasa Nallamothu of University High School in Normal, Illinois, will receive a $10,000 cash prize for her project that was selected by a panel of judges based on ingenuity, complexity, relevancy and originality.
Makhija worked at the White House, Senate, and earned his JD at Harvard Law School on the Horace Lentz Scholarship. As the son of Indian immigrants, the Pennsylvania native is passionate about enfranchising underrepresented communities and engaging new citizens in state and local politics.
Maldonado runs the 102nd Police Precinct in South Richmond Hill -- home to one of the largest Sikh communities in the US -- and is now the NYPD's first female South Asian captain. The mother of four lived in Punjab until she was nine before moving to Queens.
At the time she got admitted to the bar, Singh became the first Sikh to practice law in Houston. When first practicing in 2001, most of the faces she’d see among her colleagues were predominantly that of white men.
Prior to her confirmation, Gupta worked closely with many UN agencies and programs. She was the former Executive Director of the 3D Program for Girls and Women at the UN Foundation.
A Ph.D. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, Gaur is an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, and a B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering from IIT-Delhi.
