EPA's Patrick H. Hurd Sustainability Award
The International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) is the world's largest international pre-college science competition.
Since 2009, EPA participated as a Special Award Organization (SAO) and shared information about environmental protection with the ISEF participants and visitors. In 2011, the EPA Sustainability Award was renamed in honor of Patrick Hurd, who managed the effort behind EPA's first Sustainability Award. EPA last participated as a SAO at the Regeneron® ISEF 2024, where in addition to judging for our award, EPA experts participated in the 2024 ISEF Finalists Career Fair.
2024 Press Release: New York State High School Student Wins EPA’s 2024 Patrick H. Hurd Award for Eco-Friendly Textile Dyes
| Name | School | Topic | Project Title |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Lucia Lammers |
Harrison High School in Harrison, New York | Eco-friendly textile dyes, invasive plant species, municipal wastes |
EPA’s 2024 Honorable Mention went to Sarah Gao, a junior at Canyon Crest Academy in San Diego, California, for her project, “From Trash to Treasure: Fighting Desertification with Sustainable Soil Amending Hydrogels Synthesized from Food Waste.”
EPA's award provides funding for the winning student and chaperone to participate in and display the students' project at EPA's People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) Student Design Competition for Sustainability. P3 is an annual event that brings together young environmental innovators and scientists to showcase their designs for a sustainable future.
- International Science and Engineering Fair
- People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) Student Design Competition
| Year | Name | Topic | News Release and Related Resources |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Naomi Park | styrofoam waste, water quality, and soluble oil remediation. |
Naomi's project: Concurrent Removal of Rising, Soluble Ocean Carbon Dioxide and Oil-in-Water Contaminants via Multi-Functional Remediation Framework |
| 2022 |
Jacqueline Prawira Olivia “Liv” Pollock |
reclaiming polluted water alternative to standard plastic bags |
Jacqueline's Project: Cyclo.Cloud: Development of Fish Scale Waste-Derived Materials for Adsorbance of Aquatic Pollutants Liv's Project: Developing and Assessing Fucose-Based Water-Soluble Bioplastics |
| 2021 | Sohi Patel | Sustainable building materials | |
| 2019 | Harshal Agrawal | water quality | Innovative Water Quality Project by New Jersey High School Student Wins EPA Award |
| 2018 | Melanie Quan | water quality |
U.S. EPA Awards Patrick H. Hurd Sustainability Award to Walnut Creek, Calif., Student. Video of Melanie Quan explaining her project: California High School Student Wins EPA Sustainability Award at ISEF 2018 |
EPA did not select a Patrick H. Hurd Sustainability Award winner in 2020 as no Special Awards were given at the 2020 Virtual Regeneron ISEF.