RWU Students Present Award-Winning Research at 7th Annual EPA Earth Day Celebration

BRISTOL, RI (05/04/2011)(readMedia)-- A team of engineering students from Roger Williams University presented at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Earth Day event held April 16-17 in Washington, D.C. The four senior students presented as part of the EPA's 7th Annual National Sustainable Design Expo, a technologies exhibition that showcases innovative projects that advance economic growth while reducing environmental impact.

Their presentation titled "Development of an Environmental Monitoring System for a S.P.A.S. (Sustainable Partitioned Aquaculture System) is a portion of the second phase of an RWU project completed in the 2009-2010 school year. The project is a collaboration between the Center for Economic and Environmental Development and the School of Engineering, Computing and Construction Management at RWU. During the first phase, a S.P.A.S. was designed to replace a fossil-fuel-powered partitioned aquaculture system located at the Double M Cranberry Company in Rochester, Mass. Double M owner Brad Morse established the original partitioned aquaculture system to counter a decline in cranberry sales. Once installed, the monitoring system will allow the fish facility to operate with limited human interaction to help maximize profit from fish sales. Construction of the new S.P.A.S. has begun and will be completed this summer.

The second-phase work was funded by a $74,785 EPA People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) Student Design Competition grant. The P3 Award Program recognizes innovative efforts in sustainability by providing grants to student and faculty teams to research, design and develop solutions to current environmental problems.

This year's RWU competition team included Christopher Farrington of Watertown, Mass.; John Paul Garlasco of Granby, Conn.; Brianna Sylvester of West Bridgewater, Mass.; and Nathan Szczepanek of South Carver, Mass. Associate Professor of Marine Science Dale Leavitt, Assistant Professor of Engineering Charles Thomas and Professor of Engineering Linda Riley coached the team. Roger Williams University was among 12 college teams to present their work in the nation's capital this year.

About RWU: Roger Williams University is a leading independent, coeducational liberal arts university at which students live and learn to be global citizens. With 41 academic programs and an array of co-curricular activities on its Bristol, R.I., campus, RWU is committed to its mantra of learning to bridge the world. In the last decade, the University has achieved unprecedented academic and financial successes and continues to be recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of the top ten educational institutions in its class.

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