(AGENPARL) – ven 02 giugno 2023 Issued: Jun 2, 2023 (2:11pm EDT)
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Greenwich, Connecticut High School Student Wins EPA’s Patrick H. Hurd
Sustainability Award at International Science and Engineering Fair for
Research Project that Tackles Environmental Issues
WASHINGTON (June 2, 2023)  – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
announced Naomi Park, an eleventh grader at Greenwich High School in
Greenwich, Connecticut, as the winner of EPA’s 2023 Patrick H. Hurd Award at
the 2023 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair in Dallas,
Texas. Naomi’s project, “Concurrent Removal of Rising, Soluble Ocean
Carbon Dioxide and Oil-in-Water Contaminants via Multi-Functional Remediation
Framework,” tackles three environmental issues: styrofoam waste, water
quality, and soluble oil remediation.
"Congratulations to Naomi and to the over 1,600 finalists at the International
Science and Engineering Fair,” said Chris Frey, Assistant Administrator for
the Office of Research and Development. “The creativity, innovation,
intelligence, and drive that the students display is truly inspiring. I hope
these students will keep using their STEM talents to tackle environmental
issues and unlock scientific and engineering solutions that benefit all.”
Naomi recognized that current methods for oil spill remediation are typically
chemical processes with adverse effects or mechanical solutions that primarily
tackle oil on the waters’ surface. Naomi read about a class of nanoporous
materials—hyper cross-linked polymers (HCPs)—that have the properties to
bind with nonpolar pollutants like oil and carbon dioxide and can be
synthesized using styrofoam. She sought to identify a process in which the
properties of cross-linked polymers could be used to remediate soluble oil and
carbon dioxide from oil spill events or in ocean acidification hotspots that
have been the most negatively affected by an increase in CO2 emissions. After
synthesizing the HCPs using styrofoam, Naomi constructed a multi-functional
remediation framework that has a melamine foam base onto which her synthesized
hyper cross-linked polymers were applied for pollutant capture and removal.
Honorable mention went to Abhinav (Abhi) Avvaru, an eleventh grader at Nashua
High School South in Nashua, NH for his project, “An Economical and
High-Precision Approach for Nitrate Detection and Filtration to Ensure Quality
Drinking Water”. After learning about the prevalence of nitrates in drinking
water and the cost for individuals to test their well water, Abhi sought to
identify an affordable solution. He designed and constructed an inexpensive
sensor that demonstrated high accuracy and a working model of a drinking water
filter using Activated Carbon and treated with polyaniline and multi-walled
carbon nanotubes.
Naomi and Abhi were finalists in at Regeneron ISEF, the world’s largest
international pre-college STEM research competition. Owned and produced by the
Society for Science, Regeneron ISEF provides a platform for the best and
brightest young scientists to showcase their science, technology, engineering,
or math research.
Since 2009, EPA has participated in ISEF, recognizing projects that
demonstrate a commitment to environmental sustainability and stewardship. The
EPA Patrick H. Hurd Sustainability Award provides for the student to travel to
attend and participate in the EPA’s National Sustainability Design Expo
which is held in the following year. The Expo features the university and
college student teams of our P3: People, Prosperity and the Planet program
which also encourages innovative designs applying Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) to address an environmental challenge.
Visit Patrick H. Hurd Sustainability Award for more information about EPA’s
participation in the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair and
to see past winners.
Visit International Science and Engineering Fair for more information about
the event.
Check out EPA’s People, Prosperity, and the Planet Student Design
Competition for more details about the program.
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