ORAU Grants $5,000 to Universities Participating in 18th Annual Environmental Design Contest
A team from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, received $2,500 from ORAU for winning the 2008 Environmental Improvement Realization Award for Achievement and Technical Communication at the 18th annual Environmental Design Contest. Pictured L to R are Dr. Gregg Thoma, faculty advisor to the University of Arkansas team; team members Danier Robinson Smith, Anh Tuan Vu, Samuel Patrick Selig, Cristina L. Satterfield, Jesse Haney III and Nestor Augusto Camargo; faculty advisor Dr. Roy Penney, also of the University of Arkansas; and ORAU Vice President Dr. John Nemeth. High-resolution version of photo
Six universities recently received a total of $5,000 as part of ORAU’s sponsorship of the 18th annual WERC (formerly known as Waste-management, Education and Research Consortium) Environmental Design Contest. The contest was held at the New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, N.M., and was hosted by the Institute for Energy and the Environment of the university’s College of Engineering and by the Consortium for Environmental Education.
Thirty-three teams, including three international ones, participated in this year’s competition and presented their projects in one of five different tasks: Innovative Technologies for an Existing Commercial Building, Photovoltaic System Performance Indicator, Inland Desalination Operation and Disposal in Rural Isolated Communities, Sampling Strategy for Spinach, and Separation of Water from Emulsified Oil.
One of the two University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, teams received $2,500 from ORAU for winning the third-annual Environmental Improvement Realization Award for Achievement and Technical Communication. The team addressed the contest’s Task 5, which entailed developing a cost-efficient process to increase the recovery of water and oil from an emulsion consisting of 2-percent oil and 98-percent water.
ORAU Vice President Dr. John Nemeth served as a judge and presented the $2,500 award and plaque to the University of Arkansas team.
"Amidst all the concern over the dulling of America's competitive edge, walking among these wonderful young students and seeing their work replenished my confidence in our ability to remain number one in technological creativity and innovation," Nemeth said.
ORAU also awarded $500 travel grants to each of the following universities: Mississippi State University; Duke University; University of Arkansas, Fayetteville; Washington University in St. Louis; Tennessee Technological University; and New Mexico State University.
"This contest offers an excellent opportunity for ORAU member university teams to focus their knowledge, creative talents and collaborative skills on developing innovative solutions to the world’s environmental challenges, and we invite even more schools to be a part of next year’s event," Nemeth said. The registration deadline is mid-December.
For more information, check the web page http://www.werc.net/contest/University/index.htm or contact Barbara Valdez (bcvaldez@nmsu.edu).
Finalists
Task 1:
1st place (tie)
Roger Williams University, $1,250
University of New Hampshire, $1,250
Best paper and innovation of technology and ecologically friendly design - University of Waterloo, $500
Tasks 2 and 4:
1st place - Oregon State, $2,500
Outstanding bench craftsmanship - University of Rhode Island, $500
Task 3:
1st place - Universidad de las Americas, $2,500
2nd place - University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, $1,000
Notable presentation for both oral and bench scale - Clarkson, $500
Task 5:
1st place - University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, $2,500
2nd place - University of Idaho, $1,00
Judges' faculty award:
Mark Bricka, Mississippi State University, $1,000
Mike Berger outstanding faculty award - David Drown, $1,250
Life-long achievement award:
Goran Jovanovic, Oregon State University, $1,250
Terry McManus memorial award (tie):
Joyann Pafumi, Roger Williams University, $750
Scott Cloutier, University of New Hampshire, $750
ORAU Environmental Improvement Realization Award for Achievement and Technical Communication
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Task 3, $2,500
EPA science forum travel award, $1,000 each team:
Roger Williams University, Task 1
University of New Hampshire, Task 1
University of Waterloo, Task 3
Montana Tech, Task 3
Intel award for innovation:
Roger Williams University, Task 1, $2,500
National Science Foundation recipients:
1st oral presentation - New Mexico Tech
1st poster presentation - New Mexico State University
ORAU Member University Teams and Tasks
Duke University (Task 2)
David Shaad, advisor
Lee Pearson
Steven Worrell
Jeff Schwane
Adam Dixon
Eric Fails
Cyrus Amoozegar
Chris Lin
Samatha Beardsley
Mississippi State University (Task 3)
Mark Bricka, advisor
Jack Carmica
Miranda Smith
Alexander Taylor
Mississippi State University (Task 5-a)
Mark Bricka, advisor
Roberto Velasquez
Laci Kemp
Chad Anderman
Mississippi State University (Task 5-b)
Mark Bricka, advisor
Cody Pace
Michael Rutherford
Eyad Algaishawi
New Mexico State University (Task 3)
Charlie Johnson, advisor
Martha Mitchell, advisor
Michael Farruggia
Justin Lansdale
Trevor Jones
Cory Mizell
Chris St. John
Allison Galey
Omar Leon
Tennessee Technological University (Task 1)
Lenly Weathers, advisor
Candace Vannasdale
Bethany Smith
Bryan Harvey
Chancellor English
Gavin Casson
Spencer Whittier
University of Arkansas (Task 5)
Greg Thoma, advisor
Matthew Clay
Christopher Cox
Jessica Nichols
Summer Scott
Aaron Russell
Sirikam Surawanvijit
University of Arkansas (Task 3)
Roy Penney, advisor
Nestor Camargo
Jesse Haney III
Christina Satterfield
Samuel Selig
Danier Smith
Anh Vu
Washington University in St. Louis (Task 3)
Daniel Giammer, advisor
Matthew Agler
Kate Nelson
Alexandrea Palensky
Alyssa Smith
Megan Wright
David Shaad