Indian-origin professor awarded 'Dutch Nobel Prize'

New Delhi, June 7

Indian-origin professor Joyeeta Gupta has been awarded the Spinoza Prize, the highest distinction in Dutch science, for her scientific work focusing on a "just and sustainable world".

Gupta, Professor of Environment and Development in the Global South at the University of Amsterdam since 2013, was chosen by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) selection committee for her "incredibly broad and interdisciplinary" research.

Also referred sometimes as the 'Dutch Nobel Prize', the award will give Gupta 1.5 million euros to spend on scientific research and activities related to knowledge utilisation.

Gupta's research involves solution to issues arising from climate change through good governance. At the core of her research is an attempt to unravel the connections between the climate crisis, global water challenges, possible solutions and justice, a University of Amsterdam statement read.

"Justice for both people and the planet is the common thread in Joyeeta's work. She is relentlessly committed to climate justice, always looking beyond the boundaries of disciplines, realising that this is the only way to approach the climate issue," said Peter-Paul Verbeek, Rector Magnificus of the University of Amsterdam.

Gupta, who is the twelfth researcher from the University of Amsterdam to receive the award, will be officially honoured on October 4 at a presentation ceremony.

She studied at Delhi University, Gujarat University and Harvard Law School, and obtained her PhD from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. She is also a professor at the IHE Delft Institute for Water Education. In addition to her professorship, Gupta is co-chair of the Earth Commission, founded by Future Earth and supported by the Global Challenges Foundation, the University statement said.

She was also lead author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) between 1988 and 2014, which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former US Vice President Al Gore.