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High School Sophomore from Davenport, Iowa, to Receive EPA Region 7's 2009 President's Environmental Youth Award

Release Date: 05/17/2010
Contact Information: LaTonya Sanders, (913) 551-7555, sanders.latonya@epa.gov


Environmental News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Kansas City, Kan., May 17, 2010) - Pavane Gorrepati, a sophomore at Rivermont Collegiate High School in Bettendorf, Iowa, has been selected to receive EPA Region 7's 2009 President's Environmental Youth Award for her work on a project involving fuel cells.

Gorrepati’s award-winning project experimented with different types of fuel cells to understand potential environmental benefits and drawbacks. She distinguished the capabilities of the different fuel cells and arrived at ways to increase efficiency by balancing costs and benefits.

Primary goals of the project were to expand environmental awareness locally and nationally, inspire conservation efforts among youth, and promote sustainability and further environmental education. Gorrepati expanded the project even further with an outreach campaign. She designed, printed and distributed hundreds of copies of a booklet outlining the basic functions of a fuel cell to give Iowans a better understanding of the technology and its issues. She distributed the booklets to members of the public who attended the State Science and Technology Fair of Iowa, and to local community members in the Quad Cities area. Gorrepati also presented her work at the Intel International Science Fair and the International Sustainable World Energy, Engineering & Environment Project Olympiad.

"Pavane has demonstrated great initiative and stewardship skills in this innovative project that will increase the public's knowledge about alternative energy," said Karl Brooks, regional administrator. "This project is informing and raising community awareness about energy efficiency which helps to preserve and protect our environment."

Every year, each of EPA's 10 regional offices selects a youth award winner to represent the region at a national awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. Gorrepati will travel there to receive her award on May 20, 2010.

Gorrepati is the daughter of Krishnarao and Pramilarani Gorrepati of Davenport, Iowa.

The President's Environmental Youth Awards have been presented annually since 1971 to honor students in kindergarten through 12th grade who develop projects that help protect their environment and promote environmental awareness in their communities. To learn more about the President's Environmental Youth Awards, go to www.epa.gov/peya/.

To be considered for the 2010 PEYA competition in Region 7, applications must be submitted no later than December 31, 2010. For applications, contact Denise Morrison, Office of Public Affairs, EPA Region 7, 901 N. Fifth St., Kansas City, KS 66101. Morrison can also be reached at
913-551-7402, or toll-free, 1-800-223-0425, or by e-mail at morrison.denise@epa.gov.