Germantown Resident Wins WSSC Scholarship

[Howard Hartman]

Germantown Resident Wins WSSC Scholarship

University of Maryland Baltimore County student receives $1,000 award

LAUREL (August 14, 2012): The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission today awarded the annual $1,000 Joyce Starks Engineering Scholarship to Sebastian Snowberger of Germantown. The award was presented during the monthly WSSC Commissioners meeting.

Snowberger, a rising junior at the University of Maryland Baltimore County is studying chemical engineering with a focus on environmental engineering. As an undergraduate student, Snowberger spent this summer performing research that focused on treatment methods of pharmaceutical compounds in waste effluent. In his winning essay, Snowberger said the increasing prominence of pharmaceutical compounds entering the water supply is a challenge for the nation’s water and wastewater industry. The topic for this essay was: “What, in your opinion, is the biggest challenge/threat for the water/wastewater industry in the United States, and why?”

While the current scientific consensus is that there are no significant human health impacts from their ultra low-level presence in water, WSSC has been actively supporting leading water industry research in light of the many uncertainties about these compounds.

Equally important is the fact that we are exposed to chemicals at much higher doses via other routes such as food, fruits and personal care products. As such, this issue must be addressed in a holistic manner which should include source control and promotion of green chemistry for producing safer chemicals.

This award is definitely going to help out with books next year,” said Snowberger. “I am glad to get the support from WSSC and I will pursue opportunities with WSSC in the future.”

To qualify for this year’s Starks scholarship, students must be a resident of Prince George’s or Montgomery County had to be enrolled in an engineering degree program and write the 400-1000 word essay. Applications for the 2013 scholarship will be accepted between January 1 and May 31, 2013. For more information contact the Office of the Commissioners, (301) 206-8200.