A team of Michigan students and faculty was among six winners of the Environmental Protection Agency’s P3 Awards: People, Prosperity, and the Planet. In addition to Michigan, teams that won awards included Appalachian State University, Lafayette College, Portland State University, University of Massachusetts-Lowell, and Stanford University. Over 40 teams composed of more than 350 university students and advisors competed at the EPA's National Sustainable Design Expo on the National Mall in Washington D.C. in May, 2006. The winning teams were honored at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. for their innovative designs for a sustainable tomorrow.

The Michigan team, comprised of architecture and engineering students and faculty, led by Harry Giles, Professor of Practice in Architecture at the Taubman College of Architecture + Urban Planning, developed and tested new product design concepts using bio-composite materials in load-bearing façades and window elements in buildings. These materials were derived from agricultural fibers combined with recyclable polymers. The team’s challenge was to develop innovative design concepts to optimize the environmentally beneficial properties of the materials in order to minimize energy consumption during a building’s life cycle. This educational and research project intends to revolutionize design and construction methods toward more sustainable buildings.

The P3 Award was launched in 2004 to respond to the challenges of the developed and developing world in moving toward sustainability. A peer review panel evaluates all P3 applications based on problem definition; innovation and technical merit; connections to sustainability in terms of P3; measurable results, evaluation method, implementation strategy; and integration of the P3 Award competition as an educational tool. This national competition enables college students and faculty to research, develop and design scientific, technical and policy solutions to sustainability challenges. Their designs will help achieve the mutual goals of economic prosperity while providing a higher quality of life and protecting the planet. The P3 Competition consists of two phases. In Phase I, student teams compete for P3 grants and the winning recipients are awarded $10,000 to research and develop their projects during the academic year. The P3 Award is given to the highest-rated student designs. The award includes a Phase II additional funding up to $75,000 that gives the winning teams an opportunity to further develop their designs for sustainability, implement their projects in the field, and move them to the marketplace.

Support for the competition includes 42 partners in the federal government, industry, and scientific and professional societies.

Participating faculty and students from the various departments included:

Principal Advisor: Harry Giles, Taubman College of Architecture + Urban Planning
Co-Advisors: Robert Adams, Kyoung Hee Kim, College of Architecture + Urban Planning; Richard Robertson, Department of Materials Science & Engineering; Steven Skerlos, Department of Mechanical Engineering; Gregory Keolian, School of Natural Resources & Environment.
Student Team Members: Jeremy Freeman, Stephanie Driver, Josh Bard, Steve Jelinek, Erin
Putalik, College of Architecture + Urban Planning;  Eric Heininger, Carrie Bayer,
Department of Materials Science & Engineering; Michelle Cho, Katie Kerfoot, Brandon Cox,
John Stepowski, Shangchao Lin, Department of Mechanical Engineering; Han Zhang, Thomas
DiCorcia, Sarah Ann Popp, Mitsuyo Yamamoto, School of Natural Resources & Environment.