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

  • University of Southern Mississippi Starts Construction on Oyster Hatchery

    The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) recently announced that construction has begun on a new oyster hatchery at its Gulf Coast Research Laboratory (GCRL) Thad Cochran Marine Aquaculture Center (TCMAC) Cedar Point campus in Ocean Springs, Miss., according to a news release.

  • Tennessee Tech Starts Construction on New ACME Building

    Tennessee Tech University recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Advanced Construction and Manufacturing Engineering (ACME) Building on its campus in Cookeville, Tenn., according to university news. The $89.6-million facility is the second in a recent expansion of the College of Engineering’s buildings on campus. It’s currently scheduled to open at the end of 2028.

  • Kraus-Anderson Completes Improvements at Minnesota Middle, High Schools

    Construction management, real estate, and risk management firm Kraus-Anderson recently announced that it has finished two K–12 renovation projects in Minnesota, according to a news release.

  • Three U.S. Universities Install Acre Security Access Control Platform

    Cloud-native physical and digital security solutions company Acre Security recently announced that it has deployed its access control platform at three major universities in the U.S., according to a news release. Acre partnered with Atrium Campus to provide coverage for more than 69,000 students at the University of Virginia (UVA), George Mason University, and Rockhurst University.