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EPA Awards $1.65 Million in Research Fellowships to Undergraduates/EPA’s GRO Fellowships have supported students for more than 30 years

Release Date: 11/14/2013
Contact Information: Cathy Milbourn milbourn.cathy@epa.gov 202-564-7849 202-564-4355; En español: Lina Younes younes.lina@epa.gov 202-564-9924 202-564-4355

Washington, DC – Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced more than $1.65 million in research fellowships to 33 students pursuing degrees in environmental science and related fields through its Greater Research Opportunities (GRO) Fellowship program. This year marks the 30^th anniversary of EPA’s undergraduate grant program.

“For 30 years, EPA’s GRO program has nurtured and supported new generations of America’s workforce as they prepare to enter the environmental science and public health fields,” Lek Kadeli, acting assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Research and Development. “This year’s GRO recipients truly reflect EPA’s commitment to research that promotes a sustainable and healthy nation.”

The 2013 GRO recipients are eligible to receive a fellowship of up to $50,000 for their studies in natural and life sciences, environmental sciences and interdisciplinary programs, engineering, social sciences, physical and earth sciences, and mathematics and computer sciences. EPA’s GRO program also supplements the students’ education with an EPA internship.

Past GRO winners continue to make a significant impact in their field of study and local communities. A past GRO fellow, Dr. Sacoby Wilson, Director, Community Engagement, Environmental Justice, and Health at the University of Maryland is working to address environmental injustice and environmental health disparities in the Washington, DC region. Dr. Wilson’s work is a great illustration of how science, community organizing, and civic engagement can be used to address environmental health issues at the local level. The GRO Fellowship, created in 1982, has funded more than 395 undergraduates’ education over the past 30 years as they pursue degrees related to the environmental science and public health fields.

The 2013 GRO has awarded fellowships to students at:

· Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, Ala.
· University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Ark
· Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, Calif.
· University of the Pacific, Stockton, Calif.
· Humboldt State University, Arcata, Calif.
· University of New Haven, West Haven, Conn.
· Howard University, Washington, DC
· American University, Washington, DC
· University of Hawaii, Hilo, Hawaii
· Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, Ky
· Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Ky
· Wellesley College, Wellesley, Mass.
· Smith College, Northhampton, Mass.
· St. Mary’s College of Maryland, St. Mary’s City, Md.
· University of Maine, Orono, Maine
· Lake Superior State University, Marie, Mich.
· Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wis.
· Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, Mich.
· Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Mich.
· St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn.
· Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, Mo.
· Salish Kootenai College, Pablo, Mont.
· University of Nevada, Reno, Nev.
· Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pa.
· LaFayette College, Easton, Pa.
· Universidad Metropolitana, San Juan, Puerto Rico
· Virginia Wesleyan College, Norfolk, Va.
· Western Washington University, Bellingham, Wash.
· University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas
· Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas