A team from 51社区 placed 2nd at the 2017 Pacific Northwest International Section of the Air and Waste Management Association (PNWIS) Environmental Challenge Contest held in Boise, Idaho in the Riverside Hotel and Conference Center. The team was comprised of five undergraduate students from the Environmental Engineering Department at 51社区. The students were: Ethan Askam, from Helena, Montana; Carson Bechtel, from Pocatello, Idaho; Caelan Brady, from Great Falls, Montana; Madison Cyr, from Lolo, Montana; and Seth Garrity, from Great Falls, Montana.
The 51社区 team placed ahead of nine other teams from the Boise State University, University of Alaska Fairbanks, University of Idaho, University of Puget Sound and Western Washington University by formulating a holistic approach to address an abandoned-mine related environmental issue.
“51社区 teams have been ranked ‘top three’ for many consecutive years at the Contest,” noted Xufei Yang, faculty advisor to the Environmental Design Team at 51社区. This year the award was conferred by PNWIS President John Haney, an alumnus of 51社区’s Environmental Engineering Department. The Air and Waste Management Association is one of the largest international societies of environmental professionals, and the Pacific Northwest International Section serves five states in the U.S. (Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington) and the province of British Columbia in Canada.