U.S. Stockholm Junior Water Prize
The U.S. Stockholm Junior Water Prize (SJWP) was founded in 1997 by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) to complement the Stockholm Water Prize. The SJWP is the world's most prestigious award presented to a high school student for a water-research project.
Since the prize's inception, WEF has conducted the U.S. SJWP to send a national winner to the international competition. The 2025 USA National competition will be held June 19-22 at Washington University in St. Louis. State winners will be announced, here, the first week of May 2025.
The competition is open to all high school students in grades 9-12 who have reached the age of 15 by August 1 of the competition year, and have conducted a water-science research project.
Justin Bernstein - 2024 National Winner Naomi Park - 2023 U.S. & International Winner 2024 State Winners Donate to the U.S. SJWP Get Alerts and Updates 2025 National Judges
Learn More About SJWP
Regional competitions are held each winter in advance of state competitions in the spring. State winners are sent to the in-person national competition in June. The U.S. SJWP winner receives a cash prize of $10,000, a crystal trophy, and represents the U.S. at the international competition each August at held at World Water Week in Sweden.
Learn MoreThis competition is open to all high school students in grades 9 through 12 who have conducted water-related research science projects and have reached the age of 15 by August of the competition year. Teams of two may submit research and any student may self-nominate for their state competition.
See all Eligibility CriteriaUS SJWP is supported by:
Canadian SJWP is supported by:
Watch the 2020 International SJWP Ceremony
HRH Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden presented the team from Japan with the award. The 2020 international winners are Hiroki Matsuhashi and Takuma Miyaki.
Meet the 2019 SJWP Finalists
Year by year the number of country competitons and contestants increases. Young global citizens determined to be global changemakers.
See Highlights from the 2017 SJWP Competiton
H.R.H. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, the Patron of the Prize, awarded Ryan Thorpe and Rachel Chang from the U.S. They emerged top out of 33 competing countries.
2025 National Judges
Austin Alexander
Austin has been with Xylem for 11 years in a variety of roles. Currently, she leads the company’s Sustainability, Diversity & Inclusion and Social Impact work. She has a Bachelor’s of Science in Engineering Management from Gonzaga University and a Master’s Business Administration from Wake Forest University. Austin lives in Big Timber, Montana.
Anselmo Cassiano
Originally from Brazil, Anselmo is a Research Affiliate at MIT in Water Diplomacy, Vice-President and Co-Chairman of the MIT Water Lecture Series a member of Harvard Law School Negotiators. Water is major part of their life: Anselmo is the captain of MIT Triathlon Team, and is a volunteer sailing and karate Instructor at MIT.
Ray Erhard
Ray Ehrhard is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering at the McKelvey Schillo of Engineering at Washington University. Ehrhard has conducted collaborative research with government agencies, electric utilities, water and wastewater facilities, and technology developers to pilot proof of concept pollution control and energy management technologies and solutions. This work focuses on novel pollution control technologies while understanding the energy impact. Ehrhard also serves as the student mentor for Washington University’s Engineers Without Borders (EWB) student chapter. Classes taught include Sustainability Exchange: Community and University Practicums, Special Topics: Introduction into Zymurgy, International Experience in EECE, and Independent Study.
Felicia Glapion
Felicia Glapion, P.E., ENV SP, is a water professional with over twenty years of experience in the field. She is a civil/environmental engineer by trade and a graduate of WEF’s Water Leadership Institute. She currently serves as the Chief Engineering Officer for a wastewater utility in Virginia and is a member of the Virginia Water Environment Association’s Board.
Rasha Maal-Bared
Dr. Maal-Bared is the principal environmental microbiologist at the CDM Smith Bellevue Research and Testing Laboratories. Before that, she was the wastewater treatment specialist and senior microbiologist at EPCOR Water for ten years, where she supported plant monitoring, operations and process optimization in 15 communities across western Canada. She completed her PhD in Environmental Microbiology at the University of British Columbia and her MSc degrees at the Harvard School of Public Health and Dalhousie University.
Carol Martinson
Ms. Martinson graduated from the University of Wyoming with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and M.S. in Water Resources. Her project experience includes design and commissioning of water and wastewater treatment facilities for municipal and industrial clients in Australia, the United States, and Central America. She lends her expertise on emerging contaminants such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), 1,2,3-trichloropropane (1,2,3-TCP), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and 1,4-dioxane to various remediation and water treatment projects.
Ian McBride
Ian McBride is a Senior Chemist at the Water Quality Laboratory for the City of Kansas City Missouri, where he has worked for 3 years. He has always been interested and involved in water conservation, volunteer with the Missouri Stream team since childhood. Water is the most important resource to protect given its direct link to public health and its indirect links to so many other sociopolitical issues. He is honored to help develop and grow the future of conservation minded STEM students as a Stockholm Junior Water Prize judge this year.
Swarna Muthukrishnan
Swarna Muthukrishnan received her Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, India, and a Master of Science Certificate in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the University of Florida. As the Water Quality Research Director at Clean Ocean Action, she leads and provides direction to COA’s scientific efforts on coastal watershed and marine pollution issues, establish and manage COA’s scientific research projects and programs focusing on water quality, marine debris including single use plastics, and driving community science. She also serves as the staff scientist and supports policy and education programs at COA.
Ana Peña-Tijerina
Ana serves as the Wastewater Practice Leader at Plummer Associates. She has over 23 years of experience in wastewater engineering roles in academic, public, and private sectors. Her area of expertise and passion is wastewater treatment. She is an active member of WEF and participates in several committees including MRRDC, MEGA, LEOS, Industrial Committee, WEAT Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee, and of course, as a national judge of the Stockholm Junior Water Prize in 2021 and 2022.
Matt Thompson
Matt works at the Hach company which ensures water quality for people around the world by making water analysis better- faster, simpler, greener, and more informative. He is in the internal training department, Hach University, where he creates and delivers training to sales and service associates.
Timothy Ware
Timothy Ware currently works as an operations and maintenance engineer for Arcadis. He has a bachelors degree in civil engineering and a masters degree in environmental engineering from the University of South Florida. He is a licensed professional engineer and a licensed wastewater operator in Florida. Mr. Ware spent a large portion of his career managing large water and wastewater treatment plants and currently uses that background consulting with municipalities all over the country helping to optimize operations and maintenance practices.
Dr. Jianpeng (Jim) Zhou
Dr. Jianpeng (Jim) Zhou is Professor of environmental engineering in the Civil Engineering Department at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE). He is a licensed Professional Engineer and a Board-Certified Environmental Engineer (BCEE) with American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists, a fellow of the Environmental and Water Resources Institute of ASCE. Dr. Zhou teaches water, wastewater, and sustainable engineering; conducts research on wastewater treatment, green infrastructure for stormwater management, and life cycle assessment. Dr. Zhou is a 2017 US Fulbright Scholar. He worked as a consulting engineer in Canada before joining SIUE and continues to serve as a consultant for internationally funded environmental projects. Dr. Zhou earned his Ph.D. in environmental engineering from the University of British Columbia, Canada
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