NYSP2I hosts ‘Greenovate NYS’ contest

‌

A fourth annual student competition sponsored by the New York State Pollution Prevention Institute (NYSP2I) will provide students across the state the opportunity to green their campuses or their local communities.

NYSP2I, as part of its ongoing Research and Development Program, is challenging teams of full-time students enrolled at any institute of higher education in New York state to identify a specific activity at their university or in their community with a large environmental footprint and define a solution for reducing it. Teams will compete in “Greenovate NYS” by undergraduate or graduate level.

“We are excited to hold this year’s competition at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute,” said Anahita Williamson, director of NYSP2I. “This competition encourages students to take on real-world environmental challenges and the economic and social issues related to these challenges. It also allows them to build partnerships within their community and develop innovative solutions.”

Once again, this year’s competition will allow students to expand their work beyond their campuses to partner with organizations in their community to drive sustainable changes.

“We are looking forward to seeing their inventive ideas,” Williamson added.

To be eligible, teams must have two to four members of any major, as well as a faculty or staff adviser. Applications are due Nov. 7 and projects will be selected by the end of November. Selected teams will be given up to $1,000 for project materials.

Selected teams will compete at an exhibition at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Earth Day, April 22, 2015, when students will exhibit their projects and give an oral presentation to a panel of judges. Winners will be announced at the exhibition awards luncheon and will receive cash prizes. Opportunities for company sponsorship of the competition are available.

Companies interested in sponsorship opportunities should contact NYSP2I at nysp2istudentcomp@rit.edu or 585-475-2512.

About NYSP2I

The New York State Pollution Prevention Institute is a partnership between the New York state Department of Environmental Conservation, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, University at Buffalo and Clarkson University, with a statewide reach. The goal of NYSP2I (a division of RIT's Golisano Institute for Sustainability) is to make the state more sustainable for workers, the public, the environment and the economy through pollution prevention. Pollution prevention is reducing or eliminating waste at the source by modifying production processes, promoting the use of non-toxic or less-toxic substances, implementing conservation techniques, and re-using materials rather than putting them into the waste stream.