Turkish Student Wins Stockholm Junior Water Prize with Innovative Method of Generating Energy from Rain

18-year-old Ceren Burçak Dag competed with a record breaking field of more than 8600 projects from around the world

Stockholm, Sweden, August 18, 2009 - The Stockholm Water Foundation and the Stockholm International Water Institute tonight announced that 18-year-old Ceren Burçak Dag of Nisantasi, Turkey has won the 2009 Stockholm Junior Water Prize.  The young woman won the coveted honour by developing an innovative method for generating energy through piezoelectric pulses from falling rain drops.

The announcement came tonight during an award ceremony at the 2009 World Water Week in Stockholm, where high-school age students from 29 countries have gathered after winning their national competitions, providing them with the opportunity to compete for the international prize.

After the award ceremony, Ceren Bucak Dag explained her hopes for her award-wining project. "We have a new energy source from rain with a piezoelectric effect with this project," she said. "I hope that my work will contribute to the development of the next generation of energy panels where rain, sun, and wind are combined."

"Many young people are concerned about climate change, but few will take action to identify a solution," noted the Stockholm Junior Water Prize Jury in its citation. "Reducing CO2 emissions by developing alternative environment-friendly, renewable energy sources is a specific response to this global problem. This year's winner had a spark of genius in developing a high tech solution that used PVDF, a smart material with piezoelectric properties, to transfer the kinetic energy of raindrops into electrical energy."

The jury also awarded to Diplomas of Excellence to Emily Elhacham of Israel for her project, Detecting water contamination chemical sensors using metal nanoparticle networks, and Mary Zhao of Canada, for her project, Grasping water: A novel method of inducing precipitation using the Ice Nucleating Protein.

"I am so proud of Ceren Burçak Dag and the thousands of students from across the world who participated in this competition," said Gretchen McClain, president of the commercial business unit of ITT Corporation, the global sponsor of the Stockholm Junior Water Prize. "These projects underscore the importance of involving the next generation in researching and taking action towards finding solutions to today's water and energy challenges.  At ITT, water is more than just our business, it is our passion.  We are proud to be a continued global supporter of such an important competition."

High-resolution photos of the prize ceremony will be available August 18 at 22:00 CET at www.worldwaterweek.org/media

About The Stockholm Junior Water Prize
The international Stockholm Junior Water Prize competition brings together young scientists to encourage their continued interest in water and the environment. Each year, thousands of participants in over 30 countries join national competitions for the chance to represent their nation at the international final held during the World Water Week in Stockholm.

The national and international competitions are open to young people between the age of 15 and 20 who have conducted water-related projects focusing on local, regional, national or global topics of environmental, scientific, social or technological importance.

The international winner receives a USD 5,000 award and a crystal sculpture. H.R.H. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden is the Patron of the Stockholm Junior Water Prize. The Stockholm International Water Institute administers (SIWI) the prize. ITT Corporation is the programme's global sponsor.

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Find all press releases from the 2009 World Water Week in Stockholm at www.worldwaterweek.org/media