On November 13, 2008, SoMAS graduate student Brooke Rodgers and Stony Brook undergraduate student Amandeep Parhar were awarded scholarships at the 11th annual Evan R. Liblit Memorial Fund Scholarship Breakfast, which was held at the New York Institute of Technology Culinary Arts Center. The scholarships are awarded annually to SoMAS students who exemplify a commitment to academic excellence, public outreach, and to finding scientific solutions to society’s environmental problems.
The scholarship fund was established in 1997 to honor the memory of Evan R. Liblit, a nationally recognized professional, innovator, and teacher in the field of recycling and waste management. Liblit was the principle author of New York’s recycling goals, helped initiate the first household hazardous waste collection programs in the state and was the driving force behind efforts to form a Long Island Regional Recycling Cooperative.
“We at Stony Brook University are grateful that the Liblit Steering Committee decided to establish the memorial scholarship fund here at SoMAS,” said Professor R. Lawrence Swanson, director of the Waste Reduction and Management Institute. “The scholarships allow us to recognize the academic achievements of our students and to honor the positive impact that they are having on society.”
This year, Master’s student Brooke Rodgers became the eleventh SoMAS graduate student to be recognized as a Liblit Scholar. Rodgers is a Master’s student in Professor Bradley Peterson’s lab, where she studies the impact of submarine groundwater discharge and herbicides on eelgrass communities. She was awarded $3500 and will present her research this May at the Solid Waste and Recycling Conference in Lake George, New York.
In order to recognize SoMAS’s expanded role in undergraduate environmental education, this year the Memorial Fund Committee introduced a second scholarship of $1000 to honor an outstanding undergraduate student who demonstrates a commitment to helping solve environmental problems. The first annual Evan R. Liblit Undergraduate Scholarship was awarded to Amandeep Parhar, a Senior majoring in Economics and minoring in Environmental Studies.
“The growth of the graduate award, and the establishment of the undergraduate award, reveals the commitment that [this organization] has to promoting scholarship, environmental stewardship and, of course, honoring the memory of Evan Liblit,” said Stony Brook University Provost Eric Kaler in his welcoming remarks. “The academic and environmental achievements of the 2008 scholarship recipients are truly remarkable. They certainly make us at Stony Brook University proud.”
At the breakfast, Dennis Lynch, chairman of the Evan R. Liblit Memorial Fund Committee, also presented an Environmental Stewardship Award of Long Island to the Stony Brook University Environmental Club, whose faculty advisor is SoMAS Professor Kamazima Lwiza. Stony Brook Senior Michele Pizer, president of the Environmental Club, accepted the award. Other recipients of this year’s Stewardship Award were the Neighborhood Network, The Greater Long Island Clean Cities Coalition, and Smithtown Environmental Protection Director Russell Barnett.
In addition, Dennis Lynch was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award, in recognition of his outstanding commitment to waste reduction, reuse, and recycling and for his continuing efforts to promote these principles as the chairman of the Evan R. Liblit Memorial Scholarship Fund.
In his keynote address, guest speaker Anthony J. Orlando, president and CEO of Covanta Energy, discussed how innovative waste management might help us tackle the long term challenges facing the economy, energy policy, and the environment.
“I believe individuals, educational institutions, and companies need to work together to benefit communities,” said Orlando, praising the efforts of the Evan R. Liblit Memorial Fund. “Most people just want waste to go away, but someone has to take steps to make that happen.”
