Stacey Louie Receives EPA STAR Fellowship

Stacey Louie is a 2010 recipient of the EPA STAR (Science to Achieve Results) fellowship. Louie is a doctoral student studying at Carnegie Mellon University, under the guidance of faculty adviser Dr. Greg Lowry, CEINT Deputy Director, and Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

The STAR fellowship is a competitive, federally funded program with a mission to help ensure that the U.S. meets its current and projected human resource needs in the environmental science, engineering, and policy fields. It is designed to support students at the graduate level who are committed to meeting the challenges of today and the next generation by pursuing a career related to protecting human health and the environment.

Stacey Louis

As a STAR fellow, Louie will receive financial support over three years which includes a stipend, tuition, and an annual expense account that can be used to pay for travel, books, and equipment necessary for her research.

Louie's graduate research focuses on the effect of surface coating morphology on the fate, transport, and effects of nanomaterials.

In the lab, she plans to study nanoparticles coated with synthetic polymers and natural organic matter, in order to contribute to a fundamental understanding of the coating characteristics that control nanoparticle transport in the environment. According to Louie, who received her bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, she is "excited to have the opportunity to proactively characterize the environmental effects of nanomaterials as an emerging technology, and grateful for the support of the EPA STAR fellowship toward [her] research."

"Stacey is a gifted researcher and we are excited to have her in the CEINT family. The EPA Star Graduate Fellowship is recognition of her tremendous potential as a scientist," said her graduate adviser, Greg Lowry.