The California Stockholm Junior Water Prize is sponsored by ARUP
The Water Environment Federation (WEF) has announced the state winners of the prestigious Stockholm Junior Water Prize (SJWP), and CWEA is proud to recognize California’s top young water scientists for 2025.
Aditya and Trisha Shivakumar – 2025 California Stockholm Junior Water Prize winners
First Place – California
Aditya and Trisha Shivakumar
The Harker School, San Jose
Project Title: HgMAP: Mapping Global Aqueous Mercury Contamination with Ultra-Low-Cost Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance Sensors and Physics-Informed Deep Learning
Aditya and Trisha are committed to developing low-cost, scalable solutions to combat global water pollution. The project has earned numerous accolades, including:
1st place from Santa Clara Valley Water
2nd place at the 2025 California Science and Engineering Fair
2nd place at the Synopsys Santa Clara Science Fair
In addition to their research, both students are active with the Santa Clara Valley Water Youth Commission, where they’ve led efforts for National River Cleanup Day and Coastal Cleanup Day. For their service, they received the Presidential Volunteer Service Award: Gold. They also co-founded MagicEscape, a creative initiative designing escape rooms for local youth groups.
Aditya and Trisha will represent California at the U.S. Stockholm Junior Water Prize competition, held June 19–22 at the Washington University in St. Louis. The national winner will advance to the international competition during World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden, August 24–28.
Second Place – California
Steven Chen
Project Title: Nature-Inspired Living Device to Degrade Organic Pollutants in Water
Steven developed a hydrogel-based device with algae cells that form radicals which are capable of degrading organic substances.
Third Place – California
Jack Zhong
Project Title: Trace Diclofenac Detection in Water Samples Using Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS)
Jack’s project focuses on detecting pharmaceutical pollutants in water, leveraging advanced spectroscopy techniques to identify trace amounts of diclofenac, a common contaminant.
About the Stockholm Junior Water Prize
The SJWP is one of the world’s most respected youth competitions dedicated to water research. It fosters students’ passion for solving water-related issues, from water quality improvement and environmental protection to advancements in drinking water and wastewater treatment technologies.
CWEA congratulates all four of these outstanding students for their achievements, and we look forward to following Aditya and Trisha’s journey at the national competition!
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