Henry Hudson 400 Announces Student Winners
Henry Hudson 400 announced the winners of the New Generation Competition that challenged undergraduate students to propose innovative solutions to water issues facing coastal cities.
The competition is a highlight of the transatlantic H209 Water Forum commemorating the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's pioneering journey. H209 will bring together Dutch and American business, government and environmental leaders, and these students to explore the water challenges of the 21st century on Sept. 9 and 10 in Jersey City, N.J.
The winners of the New Generation Competition are:
- First prize: Anke Poelstra, Technical University Delft: Rain Water for the Rest Room -- To use rainwater collected on roofs for flushing toilets to conserve water, reduce runoff and raise public awareness of a more sustainable water cycle.
- Second prize: Ellen Speace, Rutgers University: Green Infrastructure and Stormwater Management -- To manage stormwater runoff through green infrastructure and the use of hydrodynamic separators to store water during peak rainfall and release it during dry weather.
- Third prize: Brendan McKeon, Columbia University: Private Infrastructure as Source Control: Green Roofs -- To control excessive rainwater runoff through building green roofs combined with an incentive program to encourage private investment in green roofs.
Judges for the competition included Alan Blumberg, director of the Center for Maritime Studies at Stevens Institute; Malcolm Bowman, professor of Oceanography at SUNY Stony Brook; William Solecki, director of the CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities and co-chair of the NYC Panel on Climate Change; Tara Gallagher, a private consultant on infrastructure and former vice president of infrastructure at Arcadis and Parson Brinckerfhoff; and Gary Rancourt, Business Development, Big Green Innovation at IBM.
Decisions were based on a scoring system that evaluated creativity, viability, methodology and presentation. Judges' comments on the winning entries included "Fantastic," "Highly Original," "Well thought out," "Fun," and "Well researched and presented."
The three winners will attend H209 and participate in the session "Recruiting the New Generation of Water Professionals" on Sept. 10. They will receive cash prizes at Hoopla on the Hudson: The Future of Water Gala on Sept. 9 in the presence of Prince Willem Alexander of The Netherlands. Internships with major companies will also be arranged for them for Summer 2010.
H209 is organized by the Henry Hudson 400 Foundation in partnership with Liberty Science Center, Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance and Netherlands Water Partnership. It is part of the NY400 week, which celebrates the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's voyage from Amsterdam to New York Harbor and 400 years of enduring friendship between The Netherlands and the United States.
For more info: visit www.henryhudson400.com.