The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the winners of its People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) awards this week that included a project by students from Lafayette College.

This national competition, sponsored by EPA's Office of Research and Development, enables college students to research, develop and design scientific, technical, and policy solutions to sustainability challenges. Sustainable solutions are environmentally friendly, efficiently use natural resources and are economically competitive.

The P3 award includes funding up to $75,000 that gives the students an opportunity to further develop their designs and move them to the marketplace.

Winners of this year's awards included Lafayette College in Easton, Pa. for its Sustainable Water Systems in Honduras - a simple method to remove inorganic arsenic from groundwater sources;

The P3 Award competition was held at EPA's first National Sustainable Design Expo on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The students exhibited their design projects while companies, non-profit organizations and government agencies exhibited their commercially successful sustainable technologies. Support for the competition includes more than 45 partners in the federal government, industry and scientific and professional societies.

A list and description of all winners is available online.

5/12/2006