ATLANTA- Today, the E.P.A. (EPA) announced a student team from the University of Kentucky-Paducah will gain one of 38 People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) grants to fund suggested plans to develop new, sustainable products and strategies. Each team will gain up to $15,000 for their proposals.
"This year's P3 teams have created innovative research plans that tackle some of our most pressing environmental and public health challenges," said Dr. Thomas A. Burke, EPA's Science Advisor and Deputy Assistant Administrator of EPA's Office of Research and Development. "These students have the opportunity to bring their exciting new ideas for innovation in sustainability to life, by expanding their learning experience beyond the classroom."
Backing for the P3 competition is divided into 2 phases. Teams selected for Phase I awards gain grants of up to $15,000 to fund the development of their projects, which are then showcased at the National Sustainable Design Expo in the spring. Following the Expo, P3 teams compete for Phase II awards of up to $75,000 to further develop their designs and potentially bring them to the marketplace.
The University of Kentucky - Paducah research team will gain $14,994 to develop a sustainable, low-cost method for producing a non-synthetic pest repellent, known as wood vinegar, from already existing biochar production techniques present in rural regions of Cameroon, and Tamil Nadu, India. The benefit of this approach is a reduction in atmospheric pollution by collecting and condensing the released chemicals into a useful and inexpensive, non-synthetic pesticide, herbicide, and fungicide known as wood vinegar.
Other plans that will be funded this year's teams, include testing innovative ideas such as repurposing chemical byproducts from the mining industry into new concrete that helps inhibit the corrosion of steel and developing a food waste collection kiosk that will spur food waste to energy production in the local community.
Previous P3 teams have used their sustainable ideas and gone on to start businesses. Lucid Design traces its beginnings back to EPA's 1st P3 award to the founders' Oberlin College team in 2004. Lucid Design specializes in tracking and analyzing energy consumption and resource use data for clients that include Google and Sony.
In 2011, a P3 team from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University developed a portable, solar powered, water purification system in the form of a backpack. The team went on to launch AquaSolve Ventures to produce backpacks that are capable of purifying an impressive 4,300 gallons of water a day. Yet another P3 success is the startup OneEarth Designs, which specializes in solar powered technology, formed from a 2010 Harvard University P3 team. One Earth Designs' signature product, the SolSource 3-in-1, is a 100 percent solar powered grill that can harness the power of the sun to provide home heating and electricity.
View the P3 winners:
http://www.epa.gov/P3/20152016-p3-grant-recipients
For more information on the P3 Program, visit:
http://www.epa.gov/P3
View highlights from the 2015 P3 event:
https://youtu.be/URGEUcDtaMA
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