ABE Home

Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Illinois

ABE Senior Receives Lincoln Academy Student Laureate Award

Published Oct 21, 2008

Elizabeth Brooks, a senior in the College of Engineering at the University of Illinois, was selected as the University’s recipient of the Lincoln Academy of Illinois Student Laureate Award. Brooks is majoring in agricultural engineering with an emphasis in soil and water resources.

The prestigious Student Laureate Award is presented annually, and recognizes outstanding seniors from each of the four-year degree-granting institutions of higher learning in Illinois, to honor them for overall academic excellence and extracurricular activities.

Brooks received the Lincoln Academy Student Laureate Medallion, along with a $150 honorarium and a certificate of achievement in recognition of her outstanding achievement. The award was presented at the Student Laureate Award Ceremony on Saturday, October 18 in the Hall of Representatives Chamber at the Old State Capitol in Springfield (see award photo at left). A luncheon was held at the Executive Mansion immediately following the ceremony.

Prasanta Kalita, a professor of agricultural engineering in the College of ACES, nominated Brooks for her exceptional academic achievement, her work in research with the department and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and her leadership within U of I campus organizations.

Brooks was a recipient of the James Newton Matthews Scholars Scholarship as a top incoming freshman, and she has been a Chancellor’s Scholar in the Campus Honors Program since 2004. In 2007, Brooks was awarded the John L. and Sarah G. Merriam Scholarship by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE).

Brooks was a member of a team that competed for and received a grant for the EPA P3: People, Prosperity and the Planet Student Design Competition for Sustainability. The team was awarded $75,000 to design a system for the bioremediation of agricultural chemicals. In 2007, they traveled to Pantnagar, India, and worked with a team from G.P. Pant University to implement the technology.

In 2008, Brooks traveled with another team of students to the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. There she worked with South African students to investigate conditions for optimizing growth of algae for biodiesel production.

Brooks has also been an active member of the U of I’s Student Chapter of the ASABE, serving as fundraising co-chair, treasurer, first vice president (both locally and regionally) and president.

The 2003 valedictorian of Lincoln Community High School is the daughter of Jeff and Geri Brooks of Lincoln, IL. Brooks has been an active member of Christian Campus Fellowship at the U of I. As a cancer survivor, Brooks also volunteers as an ambassador for First Descents, a kayak camp for young adults with cancer.

Writer: Leanne Lucas

View More News Items