NEWS
NORMAN, OKLA. – Himanshu Kulkarni, Ph.D., was named the 2025 recipient of the International Water Prize at the University of Oklahoma WaTER Symposium on Wednesday, Sept. 4. The prize is a biennial award sponsored by the OU Water Technologies for Emerging Regions (WaTER) Center and presented to an individual who has made notable contributions to the field of water supply and sanitation for developing regions.
Kulkarni is currently a scientist emeritus, honorary secretary and co-founder and former director of the Advanced Center for Water Resources Development and Management (ACWADAM), a not-for-profit organization focusing on groundwater research and management. His work has spanned academia, the corporate sector and the non-profit realm. Through ACWADAM, he has collaborated with institutions like Shiv Nadar University and Tata Institute for Social Sciences in India. He is currently also Professor of Practice in Rural Management at Shiv Nadar Institute of Eminence Deemed to be University and also Visiting Professor at the Ashank Desai Centre for Policy Studies at the Indian Institute for Technology Bombay.
Kulkarni’s country of research is India, a country suffering from significant groundwater depletion rates and other water-related issues. A hydrogeologist by education, Kulkarni has worked on bridging the gap between communities and aquifers in India to support these communities in management of their groundwater as a common pool resource for more than 35 years. His expertise has helped steer the concept of springshed management, a method of addressing water insecurity by managing springs, which has become increasingly important in India and its neighboring regions.
Kulkarni earned his doctoral degree in geology from Pune University in the state of Maharashtra, India, in 1987. He has been a Council of Scientific and Industrial Research scholar, a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization scholar, and a Fulbright Fellow. He has taught many courses, supervised numerous students and served on doctoral examination committees worldwide, mentoring students on groundwater research. His expertise has led him to serve on multiple state and national government committees related to water policy, mapping and strategy development, where his participation in drafting various reports helped shape governmental policies and increased public awareness around water issues.
Five jurors determined the prize winner during the symposium held at the University of Oklahoma. As part of the award, Kulkarni will receive a monetary prize for his cause and he will attend the 2025 OU International WaTER Colloquium to deliver a plenary address.
Learn more about the Gallogly College of Engineering WaTER Center.
About the University of Oklahoma
Founded in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. As the state’s flagship university, OU serves the educational, cultural, economic and health care needs of the state, region and nation. OU was named the state’s highest-ranking university in U.S. News & World Report’s most recent Best Colleges list. For more information about the university, visit ou.edu.
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