Engineering Graduate Students Receive Prestigious EPA Fellowship

EPA SealNorman Sammons Jr., a doctoral student in chemical engineering and Sarah Sanders, a graduate student in civil engineering are the recipients of Environmental Protection Agency Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Fellowships.

Sammons is currently pursuing a master's degree in business administration along with his doctorate in chemical engineering at Auburn University and received his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. His individual fellowship will award approximately $111,000 over three years to perform research under the direction of Mario Eden in the chemical engineering department. Sammons is developing a decision-making framework that enables identification of the products and processing routes corresponding to optimum economical and environmental performance for integrated biorefineries.

"Norm is certainly very deserving of this award," said Chris Roberts, department chair and Uthlaut professor in chemical engineering. "He is an excellent student, and we look forward to seeing where his research on biorefineries and alternative energy solutions leads."

Sanders received her bachelor's degree in biosystems engineering from Auburn, and her current graduate research project is conducted in the Department of Biosystems Engineering under assistant professor Puneet Srivastava, examining the fate and movement of antimicrobial compounds in the environment. Sanders' individual award will provide $37,000 per year for two years.

"Sarah is an outstanding student who has accomplished many things during her time at Auburn," said Steve Taylor, department head in biosystems engineering. "Through the support of the STAR program, I am confident that she will achieve her goals and continue to pass along her fundamental values of caring for our environment and natural resources."

The highly competitive STAR program offers approximately 100 fellowships each year nationwide for students in environmental fields of study - awarding more than $9.5 million overall.