Award for engineer behind ‘3 Idiots’

New Delhi, November 17

Viewers would remember having been left awe-struck by Aamir Khan’s many science experiments in the 2009 blockbuster ‘3 Idiots’. Now, Sonam Wangchuk, the inspiration behind Aamir’s “Phunsukh Wangdu” character in the film, has gained further global recognition by bagging prestigious Rolex Awards for Enterprise 2016.

The awards were presented in Los Angeles to those “who have reshaped the world with their innovative thinking and dynamism”. Sonam’s “ice stupas” project is among the five winners this year at the awards.

Sonam Wangchuk, a 50-year-old engineer from Ladakh, has been attempting to solve the problem of lack of water for agriculture in the desert landscapes of the western Himalayas by building “ice stupas”.

The Ladakh region faces an acute water shortage during the April-May early crop-growing period. Wangchuk was certain that access to water in the desert landscapes around many high-altitude towns and villages of Ladakh could be improved if the huge seasonal outflow of glacial water could be frozen.

Inspired by the experimental work of a fellow Ladakhi engineer, Chewang Norphel, he developed a simple and effective system, creating what he calls “ice stupas” — conical ice mounds that behave like mini-glaciers, slowly releasing water for the growing season. — IANS