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2010 Award Recipient

The 2010 Praxis Award recipient is Dr. Marc Edwards, the Charles Lunsford Professor of Civil Engineering at Virginia Tech University (press release).

In 2004, Edwards was shocked to discover that fellow engineers and governmental agencies had knowingly conspired to hide the fact that drinking water in the District of Columbia contained unsafe levels of lead. With the help of his students, Edwards conducted extensive research, determining that water testing in schools and other research had been conducted improperly by those entrusted by the public to monitor water safety.

Despite many obstacles, including the risk of speaking out against friends and colleagues, Edwards demonstrated great moral courage in alerting the public to the extent of the deception and dangers at hand. Edwards’ subsequent investigation uncovered a variety of unprofessional and unethical practices by the Centers for Disease Control, independent research groups and the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority.

Time Magazine in 2004 dubbed Edwards “The Plumbing Professor” and featured him as one of the nation’s leading scientific innovators. In 2007, Edwards was named a MacArthur Fellow by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, receiving a five-year grant of $500,000 to expand his water safety research to other cities. He currently teaches civil and environmental engineering in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech University.

The Ethics Program of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences inaugurated the Praxis Award in Professional Ethics on March 28, 2007. The first recipient of this award was Joel J. Nobel, M.D., co-founder and President Emeritus of ECRI. Formerly the Emergency Care Research Institute, ECRI is a nonprofit health services research agency and a Collaborating Center of the World Health Organization (WHO). It is designated as an Evidence-based Practice Center (EPC) by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The 2008 award winner was John Hansen-Flaschen, M.D. Dr. Hansen-Flaschen is currently the Chief of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine in the University of Pennsylvania Health System. In 2009, the award was given to Amy Domini, the founder and CEO of Domini Social Investments, an investment management company committed to social responsibility.

The award reception will be on April 12, 2010, starting at 5:00 p.m. in the Villanova Room of the Connelly Center (the award presentation will begin at 5:30 p.m.).

What is the Praxis Award?

The Ethics Program of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences inaugurated the Praxis Award in Professional Ethics on March 28, 2007. This award highlights and celebrates the contributions of a professional or an academic in the field of professional ethics. To be considered, a nominee need not fulfill all of the criteria listed below. Recognizing excellence in one or more of these areas, however, is the objective of the award.

A nominee should demonstrate evidence of excellence by:

  • Embodying the ethical ideals of a particular profession
  • Connecting work in a profession to a broader understanding of the common good
  • Promoting ethical integrity in a professional field
  • Conducting research in the field of professional ethics
  • Influencing the field of professional ethics in a positive manner through writing, teaching, consulting, and/or professional leadership