Andrea Rinaldo wins the 2023 Stockholm Water Prize for research on rivers

World-renowned hydrologist Andrea Rinaldo has been awarded the Stockholm Water Prize 2023 for his groundbreaking research on river networks. His research provided a new understanding of how rivers spread water pollution, invasive species, and waterborne diseases.

A professor of hydrology and water resources at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne and at the University of Padova, Rinaldo is a leading authority in hydrologic sciences. His pioneering research has led to new insights into the complex ways in which water shapes the Earth’s surface and ecosystems, including how substances in water move at varying speeds.

Professor Rinaldo’s quantitative analyses provide a fundamental understanding of rivers as ecological corridors. With the development and maintenance of such corridors being largely responsible for the spread of aquatic species and their populations, this research is key for helping policies and practices improve the preservation of species.

Rinaldo’s models for water’s role in disease transmission have been applied to real-world hotspots of diseases, such as cholera and schistosomiasis in Haiti, South Sudan, and Burkina Faso, linking fundamental research to real-life application.

“To address water pollution and water contamination, it is essential to understand how solutes and pathogens move through the landscape. To protect biodiversity, it is crucial to stem invasive species, which requires knowledge about how they travel and settle”, said Rinaldo.

Rinaldo’s research has been key in developing policies and practices that improve the preservation of species.

In its citation, the Stockholm Water Prize Nominating Committee said: “Professor Rinaldo is a thought leader in hydrologic sciences whose conceptual and quantitative models have provided in-depth understanding to the fields of hydrogeomorphology and ecohydrology. In his research, he has uncovered the key connections between river networks and the spread of solutes, aquatic species, and diseases.”

The Stockholm Water Prize, often described as the Nobel Prize of water, is awarded by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) in cooperation with the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

“Andrea Rinaldo has significantly advanced our understanding of the complex interactions between the hydrologic cycle, ecological processes, and landscape evolution,” said SIWI Executive Director Torgny Holmgren.

“​His models have provided us with invaluable tools to preserve and protect life through informed policies and practices.”

During his career, Rinaldo has co-authored more than 320 peer-reviewed articles for the most prestigious academic journals in hydrology, ecology, and physics, as well as interdisciplinary journals such as Science and Nature.

In the 1970s, he played for Italy’s national rugby team, and he is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the European Professional Club Rugby in Lausanne.