Water Research Foundation Honors 2014 Research Innovation Awards at ACE14

The Water Research Foundation (WRF) announced the renaming of its Research Innovation Award in honor of Dr. Pankaj Parekh, a tireless advocate for ensuring safe drinking water to protect public health. The winners of the newly named Dr. Pankaj Parekh Research Innovation Award as well as two Outstanding Subscriber Awards for Applied Research were honored during WRF’s annual subscriber breakfast at the American Water Works Association’s annual conference, ACE14.

Dr. Parekh dedicated 28 years to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), serving in various roles including Manager of Water Quality Regulatory Affairs for 10 years and Director of Water Quality for 14 years. Prior to his service with the LADWP, Dr. Parekh spent 13 years working to improve public health by addressing a variety of environmental and drinking water challenges in Africa. In 2011, Dr. Parekh was badly injured in a motorcycle accident on his way to work. He fought with incredible determination to overcome his injuries and was eventually able to return to work at LADWP; however in January of 2014, he succumbed to injuries sustained in the motorcycle accident and passed away. He is survived by his wife, Anne and her two children.