Grants support programs across engineering school and chemistry
department
PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 11, 2015--
The PPG Industries Foundation has donated $103,000 to the University of
Pittsburgh (Pitt) for programs in its engineering school and chemistry
department. The funding supports PPG Summer Undergraduate Research
Fellows in the Swanson School of Engineering, two PPG Industries
Foundation Graduate Fellows in Civil and Environmental Engineering, and
the annual undergraduate chemistry laboratory poster session.
“These research-related experiences offered by Pitt’s engineering and
chemistry departments promote academic excellence by encouraging
students to develop a better understanding of how the scientific process
relates to the real world,” said Sue Sloan, executive director, PPG
Industries Foundation. “Students participating in these programs will
learn how to combine scientific learning and research with practical
communication skills, which better prepares them for future professional
opportunities in science and engineering fields.”
Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering received $50,000 to support 12 PPG
Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships. The fellows, who are
undergraduate engineering students, are working full-time during the
summer alongside a faculty mentor, who may be from any department at
Pitt or even from another university, on an approved research project.
At the end of the summer, each fellow will submit a two-page abstract on
his or her research to the department and to the university’s Science
2015 Student Poster Fair held in October -- the most prominent on-campus
student poster session of the year.
The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Pitt also
received $50,000 to fund two PPG Industries Foundation Graduate Fellows
for one year. Fellow Xiao ‘Sean’ Ma, in the lab of Assistant Professor
Kyle Bibby, has been working on drinking-water treatment and biofilm
growth on antifouling coatings. Fellow Omkar Lokare, who is working with
Radisav Vidic, the William Kepler Whiteford Professor and Chair of Civil
and Environmental Engineering, is evaluating the potential of membrane
distillation for treatment of produced water from unconventional gas
industry. In addition to funding the PPG Industries Foundation Graduate
Fellows’ research efforts, the grant funds opportunities for the
students to visit off-campus laboratories, seeing different intellectual
and research environments and enhancing university-industry
collaborations.
Also, a $3,000 PPG Industries Foundation grant to the Department of
Chemistry helped fund Pitt’s undergraduate chemistry laboratory poster
session. Annually, over 400 students enrolled in upper-level chemistry
laboratory courses prepare posters explaining experimentation that they
conduct. The students’ posters and presentations are graded by faculty
members, judges and peers who assess how well each student describes the
goal, results and conclusion of his or her research.
“The support PPG and its foundation provide to Pitt’s engineering and
chemistry programs is helping us offer research and enrichment
opportunities to additional students,” said Gerald D. Holder, Ph.D., the
university’s U.S. Steel Dean of Engineering. “The fellowships and
undergraduate poster session offer our students experience in conducting
important research projects and then developing skills to convey their
methods and findings through posters and presentations, and to
professionals working in non-university environments.”
The PPG Industries Foundation aims to create brighter, more colorful
communities where PPG has a presence in the United States. By investing
in educational opportunities, we help grow today’s skilled workforce and
develop tomorrow’s innovators in research and development,
manufacturing, information technology and other careers related to
science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Plus, we empower PPG
employees to make an impact for causes that are important to them by
supporting their volunteer efforts and charitable giving. Learn more at www.ppgcommunities.com.
About the University of Pittsburgh
Located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the University of Pittsburgh is a
state-related research university, founded as the Pittsburgh Academy in
1787. Pitt is a member of the Association of American Universities
(AAU), which comprises 62 preeminent doctorate-granting research
institutions in North America. Nearly 29,000 students are enrolled in
the University’s 17 undergraduate and graduate schools. For further
information, visit www.pitt.edu.
PPG: BRINGING INNOVATION TO THE SURFACE.®
PPG Industries' vision is to be the world’s leading coatings company by
consistently delivering high-quality, innovative and sustainable
solutions that customers trust to protect and beautify their products
and surroundings. Through leadership in innovation, sustainability and
color, PPG provides added value to customers in construction, consumer
products, industrial and transportation markets and aftermarkets to
enhance more surfaces in more ways than does any other company. Founded
in 1883, PPG has global headquarters in Pittsburgh and operates in more
than 70 countries around the world. Reported net sales in 2014 were
$15.4 billion. PPG shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange
(symbol:PPG). For more information, visit www.ppg.com
and follow @PPGIndustries
on Twitter.
Bringing innovation to the surface is a registered trademark of
PPG Industries Ohio, Inc.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150811006062/en/
Source: PPG Industries, Inc.
PPG Industries, Inc.
K.C. McCrory, 412-434-2445
kmccrory@ppg.com