Science & Tech · Science & Environment · 5 hrs ago
Forest ecologist Zuzana Burivalova wins 2026 environmental award
Zuzana Burivalova, a tropical forest ecologist and associate professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, has won the 2026 Pritzker Emerging Environmental Genius Award.
Her team uses remote audio recorders to capture the sounds of animals and insects in forests around the world.
These recordings help establish what life in a forest sounds like now and track how it changes over time.
The work can give scientists and conservation groups information about biodiversity and the effects of conservation efforts.
The award includes $100,000 in prize money.
Burivalova hopes to use it to expand her Soundscape Baselines Project by working with more local scientists and communities in intact forests.
She also plans to build a collection of examples showing how sound data can support conservation projects.
Zuzana Burivalova, a tropical forest ecologist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, won the 2026 Pritzker Emerging Environmental Genius Award.
The award is an initiative of the University of California, Los Angeles Institute of the Environment and Sustainability and includes $100,000 in prize money.
Burivalova uses remote audio recorders to study forest wildlife and track changes in biodiversity.
She hopes to use the prize money to expand the Soundscape Baselines Project with more local scientists and communities.
Finalists Doris Njagi and Suzanne Pierre each received $15,000.
- Who
- Zuzana Burivalova, an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and principal investigator of the Sound Forest Lab.
- What
- She won the 2026 Pritzker Emerging Environmental Genius Award, which includes $100,000.
- When
- 2026. The exact award date is not stated.
- Where
- The award is an initiative of the University of California, Los Angeles Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. Burivalova has worked in forests across the world.
- Why
- The award recognizes environmental work. The sources do not state specific selection reasons.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Receiving this award feels really humbling, and also special, maybe particularly so during times that are challenging for work in environmental issues and conservation
I see getting an award like this to also mean taking the responsibility for doing as much as I can for biodiversity conservation in the years to come.
It’s a huge encouragement to know that work on biodiversity conservation in tropical forests and beyond is seen as important
This story does not have a timeline yet.
- Award
- 2026 Pritzker Emerging Environmental Genius Award
- Prize money
- $100,000
- Finalist awards
- Doris Njagi and Suzanne Pierre received $15,000 each
- Research method
- Remote audio recorders capture sounds of mammals, birds, amphibians and insects
- Project
- Soundscape Baselines Project
Sources
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