Rowan engineering student awarded Louis Fontenelli scholarship
April 29, 2008

The New Jersey Water Environment Association (NJWEA) recently awarded Lauren DiGiovanni, 23, of Seaville, a Rowan University graduate student studying civil and environmental engineering, the Louis Fontenelli Award. The association will honor her with the $2,250 scholarship on April 30 at the annual NJWEA conference in Atlantic City.

DiGiovanni was awarded for her studies of two local lakes. In the fall 2007 semester, DiGiovanni monitored the condition of Silver Lake, a pristine body of water located in Clayton. This semester DiGiovanni turned her studies toward Bethel Lake in Pitman. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection deemed Bethel Lake an impaired body of water due to irregular levels of phosphorous. DiGiovanni is comparing the two lakes to determine the best ways to help Bethel Lake become a cleaner environment.

The Louis Fontenelli Award is given to master's degree program students whose research emphasis is on environmental protection or water pollution control. This award is one of 10 scholarships, ranging from $500 to $2,250, funded by NJWEA's Raymond Manganelli Scholarship Awards Program, according to NJWEA.

The NJWEA is a member of the Water Environment Federation (WEF). Formed in 1928, the WEF is a not-for-profit technical and educational organization with 34,000 individual members and 81 affiliated member associations representing an additional 50,000 water quality professionals throughout the world, according to the WEF Web site.