Release date: 04/23/2008
Contact Information: Suzanne Ackerman, (202) 564-4355 / ackerman.suzanne@epa.gov
(Washington, D.C. - April 23, 2008) EPA's annual People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) competition plants the seeds for future technologies that are both environmentally-friendly and profitable. The competition winners announced last night show the agency harvested a plentiful crop this year. Students from University of California-Davis will develop technology to produce plastic from wastewater. Loyola University of Chicago students will construct a laboratory to produce biodiesel from their cafeteria's vegetable oil waste. The University of Iowa team will develop a hand-held water sanitizer useful for disinfecting drinking water in households of poor communities around the world.
This national competition, sponsored by EPA's Office of Research and Development, encourages college students to create sustainable solutions to environmental problems through technological innovation. These sustainable solutions must be environmentally friendly, efficiently use natural resources and be economically competitive. Each P3 award winner receives funding up to $75,000 to further develop their designs and implement them in the field or move them to the marketplace.
"EPA's National Sustainable Design Expo and People, Prosperity and the Planet competition provide a window into tomorrow," said Dr. George Gray, assistant administrator for the Office of Research and Development. "These innovative student teams not only show technologies for a greener future, but demonstrate the passion and innovative thinking that will lead us there."
Winners of this year's awards and their projects are:
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