MIT ​Disobedience ​Award Goes to Flint Water Professor

Virginia Tech’s Marc Edwards will win half of a $250,000 award Friday for standing up to government authorities during the Flint, Mich., water crisis. Then, he plans to give his money away.

Edwards, a Tech engineering professor pivotal in blowing the whistle on the infamous water crisis, will win the Disobedience Award from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab. 

Image: Virginia Tech environmental engineering professor Marc Edwards testifies before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, in Washington, Tuesday, March 15, 2016, to examine the ongoing lead water crisis in Flint, Michigan. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

He will share the award with Michigan pediatrician Mona Hanna-Attisha, who conducted medical research that aided in exposing the water crisis. 

Image: Flint Water Plant 
Image source: npr

The pair will accept the award at MIT on Friday evening in an event that will be streamed live online at media.mit.edu.

Edwards said he is currently “in negotiations to give the money to my fellow disobedient ones in Flint” who helped expose the crisis. That includes the residents who reached out to Edwards and helped him conduct the water testing.

“They’re deserving of the financial benefits. ... They’ll use it well, I’m sure,” Edwards said.

The award’s prize functions like a MacArthur genius grant, an accolade given to Edwards in 2007, giving no-strings-attached money to its winners. It’s designed to reward people for standing up in the face of authority to challenge norms for the potential benefit of society.

The prize is a one-time experiment, but could be repeated in the future, MIT Media Lab director Joi Ito wrote in a Medium post announcing the award.

Edwards said the award is special because it promotes standing up in difficult situations.

Source: Fredericksburg

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