Professor Ignacio RodrÍguez-Iturbe of Princeton University, USA, won the 2002 Stockholm Water Prize for his significant contributions to surface hydrology. According to the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), "he is being honoured for his scientific contributions to the understanding of the interaction between climate, soil and vegetation structures, surface water, floods and droughts."
Professor Rodriguez-Iturbe developed mathematical models that have been used extensively throughout the world to forecast river flows and variations in water levels. In the 1980s and 1990s, he and his collaborators reformulated theories on the formation of river basins with consideration to geomorphology. He established equations that, once solved, yielded the drainage pattern that would occur under different climatic and geologic conditions.
The US$ 150,000 award will be presented by the Stockholm Water Foundation on 15 August 2002.