CF
Cierra Ford
  • Civil Engineering
  • Class of 2018
  • Georgia, Vt.

Georgia Resident Cierra Ford, Honored for Team Project in Australia

2018 Feb 28

A team of undergraduates from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) were recently recognized as one of three runner-ups for the President's IQP Awards for participating in a project in Australia. Cierra Ford of Georgia, Vt., a member of the class of 2018, was a participant of one of these teams. Their project was titled A Citizen Platform for Long-Term Monitoring of Microplastic Pollution In Port Phillip Bay. In their project summary, the students wrote, "This project was intended to help the Port Phillip EcoCentre establish a long-term monitoring program to track microplastic pollution in Port Phillip Bay."

Awarded annually, the President's IQP Award is given to student teams whose Interactive Qualifying Project (IQP) work is determined to be outstanding in its focus on science, technology, and society. Hundreds of IQPs are completed each year, and 50 are submitted for consideration for the annual award.

Of the five entries, three were completed abroad in Australia, Namibia, and Armenia (Armenia hosted its inaugural projects during the summer of 2017), and two were completed in Worcester as part of the Worcester Community Project Center and Massachusetts Water Resource Outreach Project Center.

This year there were two winners: the teams who completed their project work in Armenia and Namibia. The judges were impressed with the breadth of work the teams completed, their multidisciplinary solutions, and the way they connected their work to the sponsors' broader missions.

The Feb. 2 ceremony in Higgins House marked the 40th anniversary of the award, something President Laurie Leshin was proud to participate in, saying, "It's a thrill to be able to continue the tradition of presidents who have come before me."

About Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Founded in 1865 in Worcester, Mass., WPI is one of the nation's first engineering and technology universities. Its 14 academic departments offer more than 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science, engineering, technology, business, the social sciences, and the humanities and arts, leading to bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. WPI's talented faculty work with students on interdisciplinary research that seeks solutions to important and socially relevant problems in fields as diverse as the life sciences and bioengineering, energy, information security, materials processing, and robotics. Students also have the opportunity to make a difference to communities and organizations around the world through the university's innovative Global Projects Program. There are more than 40 WPI project centers throughout the Americas, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Europe.