On November 16, Paula Rose, a second-year MSRC doctoral student, received the 7th annual “America Recycles Day” breakfast held at the New York Institute of Technology’s Culinary Arts Center in Central Islip. The $2,000 award was presented by Dennis J. Lynch, chairman of the Evan R. Liblit memorial Fund.
Rose’s master’s thesis focused on medical radioisotopes in municipal sewage and sewage sludge. The motivation for this research came out of a conference hosted by MSRC’s Waste Reduction and Management Institute (WRMI) in 2001 on low-level radioactivity in solid waste. In her acceptance speech, Rose explained that the most common source of radioactivity in solid waste comes from medical patient waste (diagnostic and therapeutic treatments) which is predominantly disposed of in the sewerage system. She added, “While a radioisotope of iodine was detectable in sewage sludge at levels higher than suggested in the scientific literature, it’s probably not much of an issue environmentally. For my Ph.D. research, however, I will be exploring its utility as a possible sewage effluent tracer, or perhaps as a geochemical tracer for short-term coastal processes.” In addition, Rose has been a major organizer in MSRC’s first three annual regional Ocean Sciences Bowls and a mentor to female high school students in Stony Brook University’s (SBU) Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Program, among other community outreach efforts.
Dr. Paul Edelson, Dean of the School of Professional Development at SBU, spoke during the breakfast about waste management and the School’s Waste Management Certificate Program. This advanced program, offered in association with WRMI, is designed for waste management professionals in order to provide educational background as well as current expertise in waste management issues.
Additional environmental awards were presented by Dennis Lynch. Larry Swanson, MSRC Associate Dean and Director of WRMI, received a Lifetime Achievement Award for this work and commitment to waste reduction, reuse and recycling. Annual Liblit Environmental Stewardship Awards for outstanding and innovative recycling and environmental programs were given to: A1A/US Green Building Council, Dvirka and Bartilucci Consulting Engineers, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and keynote speaker Michael Cahill, an environmental lawyer with Germano and Cahill, P.C., and adjunct faculty at SBU.
The Evan R. Liblit Memorial Fund, established in 1997, commemorates the life and works of Evan Liblit – a pioneer in recycling and waste management. As the fund grows, it may ultimately be possible to support a student full time for a year, or perhaps increase the award amount. Larry Swanson who serves on the fund’s advisory committee, noted, “It is important that the scholarship award is unencumbered funding for a graduate student. It recognizes not only the scholarship in terms of GS and research, but commitment and involvement in environmental and community service.”
This year’s major sponsors include: American Ref-Fuel, Assoc. of Long Island Recycling Officials, Bimasco, Inc., Brookhaven National Lab, Canon USA, Covanta Energy, Thomas K. Cullen, Dvirka & Bartilucci, Estee Lauder, Germano and Cahill, P.C., the Glass Family, the Liblit Family, Long Island Power Authority, Long Island Compost, NY State Assoc. for Reuse, Reduction, Recycling, RRT Design and Construction, Verizion, Wehran Energy Corp., and Winter Brothers Waste Systems, Inc.
