Four students from Missouri University of Science and Technology were recently awarded prestigious national awards as a result of their environmental engineering research.

Brandi Clark, a senior in chemistry from Westervelt, Ill., received a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research fellowship to pursue a master’s degree in environmental engineering. She is researching ways to reduce the arsenic content of rice, a consequence of arsenic-based pesticide usage in the past, by creating a soil treatment that reduces the substance to acceptable levels in the rice grain. Her fellowship will provide three years of support, including all fees and tuition, a monthly stipend, and an international trip related to her research. Clark’s advisor at S&T is Dr. Jianmin Wang, associate professor of civil, architectural and environmental engineering.

Matt Limmer, a graduate student in environmental engineering from Oregon, Ohio, received a NSF Graduate Research fellowship to pursue master’s and Ph.D. degrees in environmental engineering. He is researching ways to use tree samples to quickly and cheaply detect groundwater contamination, resulting in far less environmental impact than current methods. His fellowship will provide three years of support, including all fees and tuition, a monthly stipend, and an international trip related to his research. His advisor at S&T is Dr. Joel Burken, professor of civil, architectural and environmental engineering.

Jon McKinney, a senior in environmental engineering from Kansas City, Mo., received an Environmental Protection Agency STAR fellowship and a Tau Beta Phi scholarship to pursue his master’s degree in chemical engineering. He is researching ways to identify types and amounts of chemicals that have left a “fingerprint” in buildings to help health scientists more precisely identify historical exposure episodes of building occupants to hazardous indoor air pollutants. His STAR fellowship will provide up to two years of support, including all fees and tuition and a monthly stipend. He is taking the Tau Beta Pi fellowship without stipend. His advisor at S&T is Dr. Glenn Morrison, associate professor of civil, architectural and environmental engineering.

Cailie Carlile, a junior in environmental engineering from Sedalia, Mo., received a Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) from the U.S. Department of Energy. She will spend the summer at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, N.Y., continuing her research of the effects different strains of bacteria have on poplar trees’ removal of pollutants from the environment. Her advisor at S&T is also Burken.