Photo Caption: Professor Xia Huang (left), the Immediate Past Chair of IWA MTSG, and Professor How Yong Ng (right), Chair of IWA MTSG, presenting the award to Professor Menachem Elimelech. 

The International Water Association (IWA) is pleased to announce that its Membrane Technology Specialist Group (MTSG) has awarded Professor Menachem Elimelech of Yale University the 2023 IWA MTSG Membrane Technology Award

The prestigious prize was presented by the group during the Gala Dinner of the 10th IWA Membrane Technology Conference held in St. Louis, Missouri, USA on 25 July 2023.

The IWA MTSG Membrane Technology Award is given to a member of the IWA Specialist Group in recognition of their exceptional contribution to research, education and dissemination of membrane technology worldwide. This award was initiated by the IWA MTSG in 2009 and previous awardees include Professor Kazuo Yamamoto (2009), Professor Roger Ben Aim (2011), Professor Anthony G Fane (2013), Professor Chung-Hak Lee (2017) and Professor Miriam Balaban (2019).

The 2023 IWA MTSG Membrane Technology Award was awarded to Professor Elimelech in recognition of “his unprecedented and pioneering contributions to novel membrane processes for water reuse and desalination”.

Menachem Elimelech is the Sterling Professor of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at Yale University. His academic journey began with BS and MS degrees from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, followed by a PhD in Environmental Engineering from Johns Hopkins University. He started his career at UCLA, where he was a professor and vice chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, before joining Yale University in 1998. At Yale, he founded the Environmental Engineering Program, which has grown to become one of the most respected of such programmes in the United States.

Professor Elimelech’s research focuses on vital areas in environmental engineering, with a special interest in membrane technologies at the intersection of water-energy nexus. His contributions include energy-efficient desalination and wastewater reuse through membrane-based processes, advanced materials for membrane separations and water decontamination, and environmental applications of nanomaterials. He has authored over 500 refereed journal publications, including invited review articles in Science and Nature, and is a co-author of the book ‘Particle Deposition and Aggregation’ (1995). He is a Clarivate (Web of Science) Highly Cited Researcher.

Professor Elimelech has received numerous major awards in recognition of his research. These include the Eni Award for Protection of the Environment in 2015, the Clarke Prize for excellence in water research in 2005, and election to the National Academy of Engineering in 2006, the Chinese Academy of Engineering in 2017, the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering in 2021, the Canadian Academy of Engineering in 2022, and the National Academy of Engineering of Korea in 2022.

Beyond his research accomplishments, Professor Elimelech has demonstrated outstanding commitment to teaching and mentoring. Over the years, Professor Elimelech has advised 49 PhD students and 45 postdoctoral researchers, many of whom now hold leading positions in academia and industry. In recognition of his excellence and dedication in teaching and mentoring, he received the W.M. Keck Foundation Engineering Teaching Excellence Award in 1994, the Yale University Graduate Mentoring Award in 2004, and the Yale University Postdoctoral Mentoring Prize in 2012.

Further information about Professor Menachem Elimelech can be found at https://elimelechlab.yale.edu/menachem-elimelech