3 Rhode Island Graduate Students Awarded E.P.A. Grants for Environmental Research Plans

BOSTON -Three graduate research students in Rhode Island will gain fellowship grants to assist with their research projects, under EPA's "Science to Achieve Results" (STAR) program. The students include 2 from Brown University and one from the University of Rhode Island.

The funded plans announced by E.P.A. are among approximately $8.6 million being awarded nationally to 105 graduate students. The 105 STAR fellows will gain a maximum backing of $42,000 for one year (for master's students) or $84,000 for up to 2 years (for doctoral students). In addition to the students selected from R.I. schools, 9 students were also selected from other New England universities for STAR fellowships, including from Boston University, Harvard University, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Yale University.

"EPA is very pleased to provide modest investments in the future of our next generation of scientists and engineers who will help us find cost-effective, sustainable solutions to environmental problems," said Curt Spalding, regional administrator of EPA's New England office. "New England has always been a leader in developing and employing forward-thinking responses to environmental concerns. These students are the next generation of that proud tradition."

The research plans supported by the E.P.A. STAR fellows backing at Brown University include:

- Carbon Nanomaterials as Environmental Sorbents: Friend or Foe? ($84,000 grant)
- Spartina alterniflora in a changing climate: implications of rising temperatures for salt marsh persistence ($84,000 grant)

The research plan supported by the E.P.A. STAR fellows backing at University of Rhode Island is to study "Impacts of Elevated CO2 and Nutrients on Marine Communities and Trophic Interactions" ($84,000 grant).

Federal agencies have placed a high priority on supporting Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines through education initiatives unique to their agency's mission, vision and resources. E.P.A. acknowledges the need for a commitment to STEM disciplines, especially in environmental areas of study, and has supported this effort through the STAR and Greater Research Opportunities Fellowship Programs.

The graduate students from the STAR fellowship plan have been involved in critical and cutting edge environmental science and research opportunities for almost 2 decades. Since the inception of the STAR fellowship plan in 1995, the STAR fellowship plan has awarded fellowships to 1,884 students, totaling approximately $65 million in funding, demonstrating EPA's commitment to supporting students interested in the environmental science fields.

More information:

- Full listing of the 2013 STAR Fellows: http://www.epa.gov/ncer/13fellows
- EPA's STAR Fellowship Program: http://epa.gov/ncer/fellow/

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