The Water Environment Federation (WEF) announced that Michelle Xing, a student at Great Neck South High School in Lake Success, is a runner-up in the 2018 U.S. Stockholm Junior Water Prize (SJWP), a prestigious youth competition for water-related research.
Xing was one of two runners-up and received $1,000 for her project, which evaluated the use of algal biomass as an ecologically friendly and cost-effective means to adsorb lead 2 ions from water.
Xing and students from 47 states and Puerto Rico competed in the national finals June 16-17 at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The Stockholm Junior Water Prize aims to increase students’ interest in water issues, research, and careers, as well as to raise awareness about global water challenges. The competition is open to projects focused on improving water quality, water resource management, water protection, and drinking water and wastewater treatment.
The two U.S. runners-up were Xing and Anjali Chadha of duPont Manual High School in Louisville, Ky. The first-place winner was Braden Milford of Cascia Hall Preparatory School in Tulsa, Okla. Madeline Kane of the Zoo Academy in Omaha, Neb., received the Bjorn von Euler Innovation in Water Scholarship Award from Xylem Inc. Helen Laird of Interior District Education of Alaska received the James L. Condon Recognition for Environmental Stewardship.
“WEF is proud to support and encourage these young researchers who have chosen to use their talents and energy to develop solutions to protect and preserve our water resources,” said Eileen O’Neill, the executive director of WEF. “The inventive approaches these students use to tackle longstanding issues facing the water sector is both impressive and inspiring.”
In the U.S., WEF and its Member Associations organize the regional, state, and national competitions with support from Xylem Inc., who also sponsors the international competition.
For more information on the Stockholm Junior Water Prize, click here. For a list of state winners, click here.
