CORVALLIS, Ore. - Oregon State University's Aaron Wolf, an internationally recognized expert on water conflict resolution, has been named a 2015 recipient of the Heinz Award in the category of public policy.

Established to honor the memory of U.S. Sen. John Heinz, the awards recognize significant contributions in arts and humanities, environment, human condition, public policy, and technology, the economy and employment. Wolf's award, given by the Heinz Family Foundation, includes an unrestricted cash award of $250,000.

Wolf was cited for "applying 21st-century insights and ingenuity, as well as ancient wisdoms, to problems that few are paying attention to for the security of the planet."

"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.'"

A professor of geography in Oregon State's College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Wolf decided early in his career to find ways to ease the tension over water rights, developing a negotiation approach that emphasizes listening and finding shared values among competing users.

Wolf also was cited for working to prepare future generations of scholars and leaders in water conflict resolution. He and other leading academics founded a consortium of 10 universities on five continents that seeks to build a global water governance culture focused on peace, sustainability and human security.

He also helped develop a new partnership between Oregon State, the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education in The Netherlands and the University for Peace in Costa Rica that will offer 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 winners include:

  • Roz Chast of Ridgefield, Connecticut, best-selling illustrator and cartoonist, the arts and humanities category;
  • Frederica Perera of New York, and environmental health researcher at Columbia University, the environment category;
  • William McNulty and Jacob Wood, founders of Team Rubicon in Los Angeles - which engages returning veterans to help in global relief efforts - the human conditions category;
  • Sangeeta Bhatia, a bioengineer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in the technology, economy and employment category for pioneering efforts to cultivate liver cells outside the human body.

Wolf and the other winners will be honored at a ceremony on May 13 in Pittsburgh.

Source: 

Aaron Wolf, 541-737-2722; [email protected]

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