The Hickman Endowment, a 20-year old program to support college students in real-world research and operations projects, has announced it will be a major supporter of the National Solid 91²Ö¿â Design Competition, a program of SWANAâs Young Professionals (YP) Initiative. The National Solid 91²Ö¿â Design Competition is a university-level student team competition to solve a real world problem faced by solid waste professionals. The first competition in August 2015 drew four teams and was won by students from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Â Five teams have signed up for the 2016 competition with presentations and judging to occur at WASTECON â Indianapolis in late August.
The Hickman Endowment will contribute up to $5,000 toward prizes for the 2016 Solid 91²Ö¿â Design Competition. Â In future years, the Endowment has committed to contribute up to 7% per year of its balance toward the Competition. âThe field of Solid 91²Ö¿â Management continues to offer challenging, life-long careers for young people interested in engineering, the sciences, the environment, and public policy,â said H. Lanier (Lanny) Hickman, Jr., SWANAâs first executive director (1978 to 1996). Â Â âLike the Hickman Internship Program, the Solid 91²Ö¿â Design Competition gives top university students the opportunity to experience that for themselves. Â It canât help but interest them in the field and their career possibilities.â
The Endowment will also make available tuition assistance of $2,500 each for two competitors selected from all participating teams in return for completing a professor-supervised, for credit, research project on a topic related to preventing, processing or management of solid waste. Three efforts are planned to help replenish the funds committed by the Endowment to YP Initiative programs: A voluntary donation on SWANA member forms; a donation option on SWANAâs website; and a fundraising campaign among SWANA chapters and Past Presidents. Members of SWANAâs YP Initiative are pleased by the financial commitment and appreciate the opportunity to gain support from long-time SWANA members like the Past Presidents. âThe YP Initiative Steering Committee could not be more pleased with the partnership and support of the Hickman Endowment,â said Nathan Mayer, P.E., a Steering Committee member who works for the Solid 91²Ö¿â Authority of Palm Beach County as well as overseeing the Competition. Â Â âOur goal is to introduce YPs to solid waste management by attracting more universities and more students to the Competition, which hopefully encourages them to make a career of it.â
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