The King's Medal to Gia Destouni

Award to Gia for her "outstanding contributions in water and climate".

On Friday 10 June Gia will reseive the King's Medal of the 8th size with the ribbon of the Order of the Seraphim for her "outstanding contributions in water and climate".

Gia Destouni at the medal ceremony at the Royal Palace on Friday 10 June. Photo: Vladimir Cvetkovic.
Gia Destouni at the medal ceremony at the Royal Palace June 10. Photo: Vladimir Cvetkovic.

Read more about Gia´s reserach

Gia Destouni receives the gold medal at the Royal Palace. Photo: Yanan Li.
Gia Destouni receives the gold medal at the Royal Palace. Photo: Yanan Li.

Colleagues about Gia's reserach and collaboration with the society

Professor Gia Destouni is without any doubt an extremely innovative and productive world-class scientist and a leader in her field.

She has made substantial contributions through her outstanding, internationally leading research on the evolution and shifts of freshwater quantity and quality under various climate and human pressures. Furthermore, she has been extremely active throughout her career in promoting the importance of water resources to the general public.

Zahra Kalantari, Associate Professor and Docent at KTH royal institute of technology and Stockholm University

A strong focus on the results to be of direct benefit

Given the growing and increasingly system-wide challenges linked to the earth's water resources, not least as a result of climate change, it is crucial that research results are communicated effectively and thus form the basis for knowledge-based policy and decision-making processes. Gia's research is characterized by precisely these perspectives; solid scientific basis, strong collaboration with key players as an integral part of the research process and a strong focus on the results to be of direct benefit for strengthened water management, from local to global level.

Johan Kuylenstierna, Guest Professor and Senior Advisor on Sustainability, Stockholm University and Chair, Swedish Climate Policy Council

Gia Destouni is one of the few hydrologists worldwide with expertise across groundwater, surface water, water change and sustainability, and well-recognized worldwide.

I know her since the beginning of my academic career, and find her passion for hydrological research highly contagious. I should also highlight the importance that she gives to her group and hydrologists, and her scientific curiosity, which pushes her group and collaborators into new frontiers of research.

Fernando Jaramillo, Assistant Professor

Solutions to complex pressing environmental problems at all scales

Gia Destouni is working on a broad range of topics at the intersection of hydrology, biogeochemistry, epidemiology, and sustainability science. Perhaps even more impressive is how she and her group seamlessly blend process-based modelling and data-driven analyses to provide both theoretical insights and pragmatic solutions to complex pressing environmental problems at all scales—from local to global.

Stefano Manzoni, Associated Professor