$60,000 in EPA Grants Awarded to Calif. University Groups

EPA Press Release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 5, 2012

MEDIA CONTACT: David Yogi, yogi.david@epa.gov, (415) 972-3350 

$60,000 in EPA Grants Awarded to Calif. University Groups

Funding for Sustainable Technology Design, Development Projects

SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today awarded $60,000 in grants to four California university student teams as part of phase 1 of EPA’s annual People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) annual student competition for the design and development of sustainable technologies.

In total, EPA awarded $675,000 for 45 grants nationally, valued at $15,000 each, as part of phase 1 of the competition, and student groups will now begin the implementation of the design of their proposed technology.  

“EPA is proud to support some of California’s best student innovators working to improve the environmental conditions and the standard of living of individuals in the U.S. and around the world,” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “The ideas and projects spurred by these grants will help achieve lasting positive change for future generations.”

This year’s California award winners:

- University of California, Riverside, “Pasteurization Using a Lens and Solar Energy (PULSE) Method”: Project will create a solar disinfection technology device for use developing countries that will speed up the rate of water pasteurization.

- San Jose State University, “3D Printing Sustainable Building Components for Facades and as Window Elements”: Project entails researching sustainable, inexpensive, and recyclable building components for facades and windows using design methods appropriate for 3D printing technology.

- Stanford University, “Community-Level Water Disinfection Technology for Dhaka, Bangladesh Treatment”: Students will develop a low-cost chlorination device that will disinfect drinking water without relying on electricity or moving parts. Each chlorinator will provide safe drinking water to approximately 10-50 Bangladeshi households.

- California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, “Capturing CO2 with MgO Aerogels”: Students will determine whether it is practical and economically feasible to use Magnesium Oxide (MgO) aerogels to capture carbon dioxide in chemical and power plants.

                                                                                                      

After eight months of work on their projects, the phase 1 grant recipients will bring their designs to Washington, D.C. to participate in EPA’s National Sustainable Design Expo. During the event, a panel of scientific experts judges the projects. Winners receive a P3 award and recommendation for a second phase grant of up to $90,000 to further develop their designs and prepare them for the marketplace.
The 9^th Annual National Sustainable Design Expo featuring EPA’s P3 competition is scheduled for April 20-21, 2013, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The expo is open to the public and will display the 2012 P3 teams’ designs.

EPA is currently accepting applications for P3 awards for the 2013-2014 academic year through Dec. 11, 2012.

More information on the P3 2012 recipients: http://www.epa.gov/p3/2012recipients

More information on past P3 winners: http://www.epa.gov/p3/multimedia/index.html

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