NEWS

OSU professor receives award, $250,000 cash

Capi Lynn
Statesman Journal

The Heinz Family Foundation announced Thursday that Dr. Aaron Wolf, a professor of geography at Oregon State University, is a recipient of the 20th Heinz Award and an unrestricted cash award of $250,000.

The awards were established to honor the memory of U.S. Senator John Heinz and recognize those who have made significant contributions in five areas: Arts and Humanities; Environment; Human Condition; Public Policy; and Technology, the Economy and Employment.

Wolf, a global authority on water conflict resolution, is being recognized in the Public Policy category. From international water talks in Southeast Asia and Africa to domestic dialog on the U.S.-Canada Columbia River Treaty and elsewhere in the Western United States, he has played a leading role in brokering agreements over water rights.

"In a world where water is rapidly becoming the most precious of resources and most geopolitical of issues, Aaron Wolf has found practical solutions to protect our water resources and find common ground on water-centered conflicts," said Teresa Heinz, chairman of the Heinz Family Foundation. "Water issues cross state and national boundaries, and his advocacy has driven treaties and agreements that recognize our competing demands on water resources and the vital importance of protecting those resources from a modern-day 'tragedy of the commons.' Brave, innovative and diplomatically adept, he has tackled what may very well become the defining issue of this century and given us a road map for how to navigate it."

Wolf also is working to prepare future generations of scholars and leaders in this field. He joined other leading academics to found a consortium of 10 universities on five continents, including Oregon State, that seeks to build a global water governance culture focused on peace, sustainability and human security and offers a joint Master's degree program on water cooperation and peace.

"One thing I'm struck by over and over is what people of goodwill and creativity can accomplish, even in situations where everybody feels like they're going to lose something," Wolf said. "As I've watched the discourse change from water wars to water cooperation and peace, I've learned firsthand that people will resolve seemingly intractable problems when they're given the space and the opportunity."

Other Heinz Award recipients, who will be honored at a May 13 ceremony in Pittsburgh, are:

• Arts and Humanities: Roz Chast, best-selling illustrator and cartoonist from Ridgefield, Connecticut, for her body of work using humor to soften the anxieties, insecurities and neurosis of modern-day living.

• Environment: Dr. Frederica Perera, environmental health researcher at Columbia University in New York City, for her pioneering research and advocacy efforts on the effects of air pollutants on the health of children in the prenatal and postnatal periods.

• Human Condition: William McNulty and Jacob Wood, founders of Team Rubicon, Los Angeles, California, for their leadership in creating a purposeful way for returning veterans to continue their service by engaging them in lifesaving global disaster relief efforts.

• Technology, the Economy and Employment: Dr. Sangeeta Bhatia, bioengineer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), for her seminal work in tissue engineering, including the first cultivation of liver cells outside the human body.

clynn@StatesmanJournal.com, (503) 399-6710, or follow on Twitter @CapiLynn and Facebook @CapiLynnSJ.