image: Pedro J.J. Alvarez, the George R. Brown Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and director of the Rice WaTER Institute.
Credit: Alex Becker/Rice University.
Rice University’s Pedro J.J. Alvarez, a world leader in environmental nanotechnology and water sustainability, has been awarded the 2026 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Civil Engineering, one of the oldest and most prestigious science and engineering honors in the United States.
Alvarez, the George R. Brown Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and director of the Rice WaTER Institute, joins a legacy of honorees from The Franklin Institute that includes Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Marie Curie, Max Planck, Gordon Moore, Jane Goodall and Katalin Karikó. The award recognizes his pioneering research that has reshaped how scientists understand and engineer solutions for water treatment, bioremediation and environmental protection.
“It’s so important to align your passion with your vocation, and water quality engineering has done that for me since I was a very young boy,” Alvarez said.
A lifelong fascination with water
Alvarez traces his passion for water engineering back to his childhood in Masaya, Nicaragua. When he was 5, he remembers watching a group of older children playing with water balloons, and he decided to make one himself using his grandfather’s white handkerchief. When the water filtered through, however, he noticed a dark stain — a moment that sparked a lifetime of curiosity.
“I showed it to my grandfather, who was the town doctor, and he was surprised by how much dirt was in the water,” Alvarez recalled. “He even called the mayor. From that day, I wanted to understand why.”
That early curiosity eventually led him from McGill University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, to the University of Michigan, where he earned his master’s and doctorate in environmental engineering. There, his focus shifted from building hydraulic structures to understanding and improving the quality of the water flowing through them.
“I got really good at water-quality engineering,” Alvarez said. “Sometimes you don’t pick the field where you will excel — the field picks you. That’s what happened to me.”
Transforming environmental engineering
Over the past three decades, Alvarez’s research has spanned nanotechnology, microbiology, chemistry and hydrogeology — all with the goal of making water cleaner, safer and more sustainable. As founding director of the National Science Foundation’s Engineering Research Center for Nanotechnology-Enabled Water Treatment (NEWT), he built a research ecosystem that trained more than 185 graduate students, produced over 900 journal publications and launched eight startups.
Among his most influential innovations are “trap-and-zap” nanotechnologies that selectively capture and destroy contaminants, methods to control antibiotic-resistant bacteria and bioremediation strategies for polluted aquifers. His work has shaped policy, from understanding the water footprint of biofuels to guiding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on ethanol-blend remediation.
“Pedro embodies the very best of Rice — a visionary scholar whose work transcends disciplines to solve some of the world’s most urgent challenges,” Rice President Reginald DesRoches said. “His research has not only advanced the frontiers of environmental engineering but has also transformed lives by making clean water more accessible and sustainable. This recognition affirms what we at Rice have long known: Pedro’s contributions will continue to shape our planet’s future for generations to come.”
A legacy of impact and mentorship
Alvarez has authored more than 450 peer-reviewed papers and is one of the most cited environmental engineers in the world. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Engineering, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and he serves on the board of directors of the Houston Endowment Inc.
“This is a huge recognition, not only for a lifetime of work but also for the tremendous help I’ve received from students and colleagues and everyone in this field before me,” Alvarez said. “To paraphrase Isaac Newton, I’ve been able to see farther and work harder because I’m standing on the shoulders of giants.”
He credits Rice’s collaborative spirit as central to his success.
“I would never have accomplished what I did if I weren’t at a place like Rice,” Alvarez said. “It’s easy to collaborate across disciplines here. People are kind, hungry for knowledge and driven to improve prosperity and local health, which is directly tied to what we do in environmental engineering.”
Other Rice recipients of the Franklin Medal are Richard Smalley (1996, chemistry), who went on to win the Nobel Prize for the discovery of the buckminsterfullerene, Peter Vail (2005, Earth sciences) and Naomi Halas (2025, chemistry). Rice chemist K.C. Nicolau was awarded the Benjamin Franklin Medal (2011, chemistry) while at the University of California San Diego.
Alvarez will receive the honor at a black-tie ceremony April 30, 2026, at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. The event will also honor laureates across multiple scientific fields, celebrating innovations that reflect Franklin’s enduring legacy of curiosity and service to humanity.