Minnesota magazine profiled Ulric Gibson in 2008.

UIric Gibson's hunger for education has helped him slake the world's thirst. By the time he retired from a long career in public health, Gibson (M.S. '62, Ph.D. 70) had become the person responsible for helping to bring safe, clean water to much of the developing world. On April 10, Gibson will be recognized for his accomplishments with a University of Minnesota Outstanding Achievement Award at the School of Public Health Alumni Gala. "I am thrilled and so is my family," Gibson says. "I do feel like water chose me and I'm certainly glad it did because I've been able to help so many people."

Gibson grew up in Georgetown, Guyana, a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. A bright, studious child, he graduated from high school early, at age 13. His parents lacked the money to send him to college, but with the help of a caring teacher he won a scholarship to Queen's College, a boy's school in Guyana. "He was the best teacher I ever had," Gibson recalls. "He told me to study science and said if I did it would help position me to win more scholarships in the future."

His teacher was right. Gibson's next scholarship took him to the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, where he studied civil engineering. After graduating with honors, Gibson returned to Guyana to work in the water supply division of public works. He liked the job but knew he needed more education to really make a difference in his country, where clean water was in short supply.

In 1961, Gibson won a fellowship to attend the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. In 1966, the U.S. Agency for International Development commissioned the school to write an instruction manual on water wells. Gibson was selected to lead the project and became the primary author of the Water Well Manual, a plainly written guide that, for the first time, helped families in developing countries create their own sources of clean drinking water.

"The manual was important because it clearly explained through words and illustrations how to dig safe wells and do things like drill in areas that were just sand and clay," Gibson says. The manual continues to be used worldwide.

After finishing his Ph.D., Gibson returned to Guyana and founded the Guyana Water Authority, which brought running water to many Guyanese homes for the first time. He also created a degree program in public health engineering at the University of Guyana that was modeled after the U's curriculum. Later in his career, Gibson worked with nongovernmental health organizations and private US. companies, overseeing environmental safety projects.

Gibson retired in the late 1990s. Now, he and his wife enjoy doting on their four grandchildren while dividing their time between homes in Maryland and Florida. "I like to say I'm in child development now," Gibson jokes. "That's my new job."