RANCHO SANTA FE — Dr. Andrew Benedek is in Singapore to receive the Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize, an international award bestowed upon an individual or organization for outstanding contributions to the world for water management.

Benedek, a resident of Rancho Santa Fe, is a researcher who pioneered the development of low-pressure membranes that enable drinking water to be produced from highly polluted water. In 1980, he founded and became the CEO of ZENON Environmental Inc. Under his leadership, ZENON invented many of the key membrane technologies used for water and wastewater treatment and became the global leader in this field. Today the U.S., Europe, China, India, the Middle East, South America, Japan, Australia and Singapore have incorporated Benedek’s membranes into their water treatment processes.

“Dr. Andrew Benedek is held in high esteem by the global water industry community for his pioneering work … for his outstanding contribution, he deserves to be the recipient of the inaugural Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize,” Professor Anthony Gordan Fane, from the UNESCO Centre for Membrane Science and Technology, said.

Benedek’s revolutionary water treatment stood out in a field of 39 international nominations. The nominating committee, comprised of chief executives of multi-national companies and water utilities; leading academics in water research, policy and management; and government officers, evaluated the nominations based on criteria such as merits of technology, policy, its scale of delivery, application and implementation and, most of all, its impact and benefits to humanity.

“Through Dr. Benedek’s significant contribution and commercialization efforts, a superior low-cost technology for water treatment is now available for large-scale use,” Tan Gee Paw, said chairman of the nominating committee for the Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize.

According to the UN Population Fund, more than 3.3 billion people currently live in an urban environment. By 2030, that number is expected to rise to 5 billion. The urban population in Asia alone will double to 2.6 billion between 2000 and 2030. This trend will put great pressure on the need for drinking water and Benedek’s technology is a big leap that will benefit many generations to come.

In addition, the low-pressure membranes that Benedek developed are also used in the pre-treatment stage in seawater desalination. This makes the process more cost-effective and therefore more viable in many countries.

The affordability of low-pressure membranes is a boon to small towns and villages that are in dire need of clean potable water. Potable water treatment units can be assembled to treat water for small communities affordably.

In June 2006, ZENON was sold to General Electric, becoming a subsidiary of GE Water & Process Technologies. Benedek is now a research associate for the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego and managing director of UTS Biogastechnik GmbH, a German pioneer in biogas generation from waste. Benedek received a degree in chemical engineering from McGill University and a Ph.D. from the University of Washington.

Benedek and his wife Diana were both in Singapore to receive the inaugural award, which included a gold medallion, an award certificate and a cash prize of approximately $250,000. He was presented the award by Singapore’s Minister Mentor, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew. On June 24, Benedek delivered the inaugural Singapore Water Lecture.

At home in Rancho Santa Fe, Benedek is also receiving praise. “On behalf of the Chabad Jewish Center of Rancho Santa Fe, we are very proud of Dr. Benedek and the contributions he has made to help solve the world’s water problems,” Rabbi Levi Raskin said.