Petra Waström
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Petra Wadström was born Stockholm, Sweden in 1952; She is a microbiologist, inventor and CEO of Solvatten, company that creates a portable device that serves to purify and heat water with the usage of UV lights.
Life
editPersonal Life
editWadström grew outside of Sweden in a family that loved art. Like her mother and sisters, she enjoyed studying art as well, not just sciences. This artistic background is what inspired her to create with recycled materials.[1]
"Being an artist helps me to think outside the box, to look for practical solutions that can change things".[2]
Today, Wadström is married and has four children.[3]
Education
editWadström attended the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm from 1970 to 1972. Here, she was a biotechnical chemical laboratory research assistant. She also attended the School of Design (Kunst und Gewerbe Schule) in Basel, Switzerland.[4]
Job History
editWaström was a Biochemical Medical Research Technician from 1972-1975 at the University of Basel. She then became a teacher at the Swedish outdoor association from 1983 to 1986. She was an Education Advisor in Art at Österåkers kommun from 1991 to 2004. In 2003, she became CEO of PetrArt Invent until 2020. Today, she is the CEO and founder of Solvatten since 2006.[4]
Solvatten
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The idea for Solvatten came to Wadström when she moved to Australia with her husband and children. While her husband worked in a hospital, she taught many Aboriginal women printmaking.
“I met quite a lot of [Aboriginal women] who were really struggling with life – with an unhealthy family and unhealthy children."[3]
Wodström was inspired by the amount of solar energy not being used. Seeing the struggle of the Aboriginal women as well as Indonesian women inspired Wodström to take matters into her own hands.
When she returned to Sweden, Wadström began to work on a prototype for a portable device that utilized sunshine to clean and heat dirty water. This device would provide clean drinking water and cooking water. The ultraviolet (UV) rays produced by sunlight destroys the formation of DNA linkages in microorganisms, preventing them from reproducing and rendering them harmless.
Wadström started her company in 2006 after the finalization of the product. Since then, Solvatten has helped around 350,000 across 20 countries.[3]
Awards and Recognitions
editAwards
edit- Sweden's 100 most influential environmentalists [5]
- The Swedish Woman of 2015, Awarded by SWEA International for her "outstanding creativity and philanthropic ingenuity".[6]
- 2017 EU Women Innovation Prize[7]
- Aftonbladet’s “Svenska Hjältar” Award, Environmental Hero Category[8]
Recognitions
editFormer United States President Barack Obama visited the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. He personally congratulated Wadström on her achievement.[9]
- ^ "Sweden - Nordstjernan". www.nordstjernan.com. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
- ^ "Petra Wadström". Vogue Italia (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-02-21.
- ^ a b c "How Petra Wadström is solving the world's dirty water problem". Retrieved 2021-02-21.
- ^ a b "Petra Wadström". LinkedIn. Retrieved 2/21/2021.
{{cite web}}:|archive-date=requires|archive-url=(help); Check date values in:|access-date=and|archive-date=(help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Petra Wadstrom | DSummit | Techfluencing & Disruptology". Retrieved 2021-02-21.
- ^ "Sweden - Nordstjernan". www.nordstjernan.com. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
- ^ "Nobel Week Dialogue". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
- ^ "Solvatten's Founder Petra Wadström Wins Aftonbladet's "Svenska Hjältar" Award, Environmental Hero Category – Sunshine Stories". Retrieved 2021-02-21.
- ^ "President Obama introduced to a life changing clean tech solution – Sunshine Stories". Retrieved 2021-02-21.
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