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Stockholm Junior Water Prize Winner

Stockholm Junior Water Prize Winner
A One-on-One About H20

Scientists say that we're all made up of 98 percent water. But in Katherine Holt's case, the percentage is undoubtedly higher.

On August 13, Holt was selected as the winner of the 2002 Stockholm Junior Water Prize. The annual award and competition is sponsored by ITT Industries as a way to encourage young people to take an interest in water environment issues. Holt doesn't need much help in this area. Where other kids dream about being sports stars or singers, she dreams of working with water.

"I always wanted to be a biologist and I've always been intensely interested in water issues," says the 18-year-old, who just began her freshman year at James Madison University. "We grew up near the Chesapeake Bay [in Virginia] and when I was 10 or 11, I remember doing an acid rain run-off project for school."

Holt got an "A" on that assignment and now her latest water project earned her a trip to Stockholm and top honors on an international scale. We asked her about winning the Prize and how it's taken her water ambitions to new levels.

Describe the basics of your winning project.

Oysters are natural water purifiers, so my project looked at ways we could use oysters to clean up the Chesapeake Bay. The oyster population today is only one percent of what it was in the late 1890's. My idea was to introduce Asian oysters to the Bay - locating them in aqua culture centers where they could be harvested for food. That would allow our native oyster population to rebound - and together the Asian and native oysters would augment the cleaning rate of the Bay.

I created a hypothetical reef model, built on a computer model. It's really a management tool, allowing you to calculate how long it would take to clean up the entire bay based on different volumes of Asian oysters.

Did you think your idea was good enough to win the International prize?

No way. I just started it for local science fairs, and then it kept taking me further - to regional competitions, state competitions, national competitions, and then all the way to Sweden.

I thought I had no chance. Other students were dealing with very big issues - like finding ways to clean Israel's only acquifer, or finding ways to bring more clean water to African countries where there is no clean water. I knew my project covered all the bases - science, ethics, economic issues. But still, I was thinking, "I won't win. I just measure oysters."

When they announced my name, my heart stopped for two beats. It was an absolutely exhilarating moment.

How did your involvement in the competition change your life?

It broadened my horizons. Talking with [Senior Water Prize Winner] Ignacio Rodríguez-Iturbe and listening to the Symposium presentations made me realize just how serious the world water crisis is. But at the same time meeting all the young people from around the world - who are all dedicated to the issue - gives me a lot of hope for the future.

It also gave me the satisfaction of knowing there's strong importance to what I'm doing. The competition gave me the energy and drive to do more research to address this global problem. I'm in college now, and it makes my studies easier - because I can see the end use for all my biology and chemistry lessons.

What do you want to do after college?

I would love to work for a company like ITT Industries that is on the front line, dealing with issues like this and trying to make positive changes. Knowing there are companies like yours out there gives me something to look forward to.

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