Add as a preferred source on Google

EPA Selects Six Universities to Help Find New Uses for Toxics Data

  • 06/24/14

WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced its selection of academic partners for the 2014 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) University Challenge, a project designed to find innovative ways to increase public awareness of industrial releases of toxic chemicals in communities and around the country. 

“For more than 25 years, EPA has gathered critical environmental data to provide communities with information that empowers them to protect their air, water, and land,” says Renee P. Wynn, acting assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Environmental Information. “Through the 2014 TRI University Challenge, we hope to raise student awareness of environmental data and programs while improving research on our environmental challenges to further our work to protect human health and the environment.”

TRI provides communities with information about toxic chemical releases to the air, water and land, as well as what industries are doing to reduce and prevent these releases. TRI helps industry, government, non-governmental organizations and the public make more informed decisions to protect their health and environment.

The TRI University Challenge is open to anyone affiliated with an accredited college or university. The selected projects for 2014 were proposed by faculty and students from Drew University (in Madison, NJ), Southeastern Louisiana University, the State University of New York at Plattsburgh, Tennessee State University, the University of California Los Angeles, and the University of South Carolina. 
Through these partnerships, EPA will work with six diverse academic institutions to develop practical and replicable projects focused on data visualization and analytics for improving the presentation and understanding of TRI data. 

The 2014 TRI University Challenge follows the successful 2013-2014 Challenge, in which eight academic partners collaborated with EPA on projects related to environmental education, pollution prevention, stakeholder engagement, and data mash-ups. 

While there is no financial award for this Challenge, academic partners will receive support from TRI Program staff and national recognition by being featured on the TRI University Challenge website. In addition, partners will be encouraged to pursue opportunities to speak at relevant conferences and events.  

The selected projects will begin in the fall of 2014 and are expected to conclude at the end of the academic year in the summer of 2015. 

More information on the TRI University Challenge: www.epa.gov/tri/university
More information about TRI: www.epa.gov/tri.

Featured

  • Ryan Companies Completes Construction on Three U.S. Charter Schools

    Ryan Companies US, Inc., recently partnered with Red Apple Development (RAD) and Charter Schools USA (CSUSA) to build three new charter schools in South Carolina and Louisiana, according to a news release. Ryan served as general contractor with RAD as the developer of record.

  • How One School Reimagined Learning Spaces—and What Others Can Learn

    When Collegedale Academy, a PreK–8 school outside Chattanooga, Tenn., needed a new elementary building, we faced the choice that many school leaders eventually confront: repair an aging facility or reimagine what learning spaces could be. Our historic elementary school held decades of memories for families, including some who had once walked its halls as children themselves. But years of wear and the need for costly repairs made it clear that investing in the old building would only patch the problems rather than solve them.

  • Kenall Introduces Millenium Flair Series

    In a move aimed at modernizing institutional lighting without compromising on durability or performance, Kenall has launched its new Millenium Flair series, according to the Kenall website.

  • UC Riverside Completes $285M, Multi-School Student Housing Development

    The University of California, Riverside, recently announced the completion of a $285-million student housing complex offering 1,568 beds across 429 units, according to a news release.

Digital Edition