EPA Press Office:

EPA Awards grants to Student Teams for Innovative Solutions to Environmental and Public Health Challenges in New York and New Jersey

NEW YORK (March 15, 2024) - Today, March 14, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced nearly $1.2 million, in funding to 16 college student teams to research and develop innovative solutions that address environmental and public health challenges as part of the Agency’s People, Prosperity, and the Planet (P3) Program.

 EPA is pleased to mark the 20^th anniversary of our P3 program by announcing this impressive round of projects that are tackling critical issues such as removing PFAS from water, combating harmful algal blooms, and materials recovery and reuse,” said Chris Frey, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Research and Development. “I commend these hardworking and creative students and look forward to seeing the results of their innovative projects that are addressing some of our thorniest sustainability and environmental challenges.” 

EPA's P3 program features a unique competition that offers teams of college students hands-on experience to turn their creative design and engineering ideas into reality, while also helping solve real-world environmental challenges. The 16 recipients announced today will receive grants of up to $75,000 to fund a two-year project. Students will propose innovative and sustainable ideas and concepts and carry them through the research, design and demonstration stages. During the second year of the award, student teams will have the opportunity to showcase their designs at EPA’s National Student Design Expo. 

Teams from the following NJ and NY institutions are receiving funding via EPA’s 20^th Annual P3 awards: 

• Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, New York, for Developing Reusable and Antiviral Face Masks from Plastic Waste 
• The State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, New York, for Sensor on Wheels (SOW): A Field-Deployable Environmental Pathogen Detection Tool
• New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, New Jersey, for Two-dimensional Molybdenum Disulfide (MoS2)-Based Field Effect Transistor Sensors for Airborne PFAS Detection 
• New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, New Jersey, for Zirconium-modified Mica Coupled with Nanobubbles for Enhanced Phosphorus Removal, Recovery, and Reuse 

Learn more about this year’s recipients. 

Learn more about EPA’s P3 Program. 

Learn more about EPA’s National Student Design Expo Experience. 

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For further information: Contact: Carlos Vega, (646) 988-2996, vega.carlos@epa.gov