Illinois team is a winner in 2007 EPA competition

Published Oct 17, 2007

In late April 2007, a team of University of Illinois students was one of the top winners of the "People, Prosperity, and the Planet (P3)" competition sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In the award ceremony on April 25, held at the National Academy of Sciences Building in Washington D.C., the Illinois team was awarded $75,000 as one of six overall winners of the national competition. This is the first time any group of students from UIUC has won this award.

Phase II of this award provided funding for field implementation and also encouraged us to develop an international element in our research. We installed two biofilters in central Illinois, allowing us to make new connections with faculty and stakeholders and further test our laboratory research finds.

For the international component of our project, we visted the GB Pant University of Agricultural and Technology in Pantnagar, India. This project has given team members the opportunities of a complete reserach experience including writing reports, giving presentations, networking with industry and academic professionals, traveling domestically and internationally, and having a real impact in something about which we, as water quality researchers, are passionate. What started out as a class assigment, devloped into a life-changing experience!

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