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News Releases from Region 06

Univ. of Texas at Arlington Awarded EPA Grant for Innovative Technology Project

School is among 31 nationwide receiving more than $463,000 in funding

03/22/2018
Contact Information: 
Jennah Durant or Joe Hubbard (R6Press@epa.gov)
214 665-2200

DALLAS – (March 22, 2018) Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a student team from the University of Texas at Arlington is among those receiving over $463,000 in Phase I funding through the People, Prosperity, and the Planet (P3) grants program. Thirty-one teams of college students from across the country are developing sustainable technologies to solve current environmental and public health challenges.

“This year’s P3 teams are applying their classroom learning to create valuable, cutting-edge technologies,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. “This next generation of scientists is designing sustainable solutions that will help protect public health and the environment and ensure America continues to lead the world in innovation and science for decades to come.”

“Finding sustainable approaches to building design and renovation can help businesses protect our environment and our natural resources,” said Regional Administrator Anne Idsal. “EPA is proud to support the team from UT-Arlington in developing innovative market-based solutions to environmental problems.”

The UT-Arlington team’s project involves designing green-building software to help builders and renovators make the best design decisions while considering varied factors such as energy usage, cost efficiency, and environmental impact. The team will receive $15,000 from EPA’s P3 grant program.  

Funding for the P3 competition is divided into two phases. Teams selected for Phase I awards receive grants of up to $15,000 to fund the proof of concept for their projects, which are then showcased at the National Sustainable Design Expo. The 2018 Expo is scheduled to be held at the USA Science and Engineering Festival in Washington, DC, April 7-8. Phase I teams are eligible to compete for Phase II awards of up to $75,000 to further develop and implement their designs. 

Grantees include student teams from the following universities:

  • Case Western Reserve University – Cleveland, Ohio
  • Cornell University – Ithaca, N.Y.
  • Georgia Technology Research Corporation – Atlanta, Ga.
  • Kansas State University – Manhattan, Kan.
  • Kennesaw State University – Kennesaw, Ga.
  • Loyola University of Chicago – Chicago, Ill.
  • Mercer University – Macon, Ga.
  • Michigan Technological University – Houghton, Mich.
  • Montana State University, Bozeman – Bozeman, Mont.
  • North Dakota State University – Fargo, N.D.
  • Oklahoma State University – Stillwater, Okla.
  • Old Dominion University Research Foundation – Norfolk, Va.
  • Purdue University – West Lafayette, Ind.
  • The Sage Colleges – Albany, N.Y.
  • University of Alabama – Tuscaloosa, Ala.
  • University of California, Davis – Davis, Calif.
  • University of California, Riverside – Riverside, Calif.
  • University of Central Florida – Orlando, Fla.
  • University of Delaware – Newark, Del. 
  • University of Kentucky – Lexington, Ky.
  • University of Maryland, Baltimore County – Baltimore, Md.
  • University of Massachusetts, Lowell – Lowell, Mass.
  • University of Miami – Coral Gables, Fla.
  • University of Michigan, Ann Arbor – Ann Arbor, Mich.
  • University of Oklahoma – Norman, Okla.
  • University of Southern California – Los Angeles, Calif.
  • University of Texas at Arlington – Arlington, Texas
  • University of Washington – Seattle, Wash.
  • Utah State University – Logan, Utah
  • Wayne State University – Detroit, Mich.

These students, who represent the future workforce in diverse scientific and engineering fields, are following in the footsteps of previous P3 teams. Some of these teams have gone on to start businesses based on ideas and products developed through their P3 project. For example, Sunn began as a team of students from Cornell University that won a P3 award in 2012 to design and test a Fiber Optic Hybrid Lighting system. Sunn now creates energy-efficient LED light fixtures and apps that mimic outdoor light, inside. In 2007, a P3 team from Drexel University developed a Bubble Column Reactor which used fatty acids gathered from grease-trap waste at wastewater management plants to create biodiesel. This technology formed the foundation for Environmental Fuel Research, LLC.

Projects from this year’s P3 teams include innovative ideas like harnessing solar power to disinfect drinking water and using beetles as a way to degrade Styrofoam waste.

To learn more about the projects of the 2017 Phase I winners, visit: https://www.epa.gov/P3/20172018-p3-grant-recipients

For more information on the P3 Program, visit: http://www.epa.gov/P3

For more about EPA’s work in Texas: https://www.epa.gov/tx

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