Two University of Missouri-Rolla students, Amy Schneider of St. Peters, Mo., and Corry Hailey of Aldrich, Mo., and Dr. Stuart Baur, UMR assistant professor of architectural engineering, are spending the summer studying sustainable design and pollution prevention as part of a 10-week summer research program at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, Wash.

The UMR team was one of the few college and university teams across the nation chosen by the U.S. Department of Energy to participate in this summer program, known as FaST (Faculty and Student Teams). The program gives students hands-on research opportunities.

"It is great to work in the environment of a national lab, to have the opportunity to work with such great minds in this field," Hailey says. "This research will impact everything I do in the future, from the classroom, to the workplace, to my own home."

Baur’s proposed research topic, "Sustainable Design Toolkit for Communities," is the focus of the team’s project. Working with Kim Fowler, a senior research engineer at PNNL, the team plans to examine a broad range of sustainability issues, such as energy-efficient building design and wastewater treatment systems, and study the latest technologies and innovations in sustainable design.

"I chose this field so that I could be a part of the solution to the environmental issues that we face, rather than part of the problem," Schneider says. "This experience is allowing me to do that."

The trip is funded through a $21,500 grant from the National Science Foundation and funding for living and office support from the U.S. Department of Energy. Baur and the two students departed Rolla on May 18 and plan to return on July 26.