The EPA's Science and Technological Achievement Awards (STAA) program promotes and recognizes scientific and technological achievement by EPA employees. STAA is among the most prestigious of EPA's scientific awards programs.

The STAA program is an agency-wide competition sponsored by the Office of Research and Development (ORD) that recognizes outstanding scientific and technological papers published by EPA employees. Each year since 1980, EPA scientists and engineers have submitted their publications to be evaluated by a panel convened by EPAs Science Advisory Board (SAB). The SAB convenes an experienced group of scientists and engineers who review and evaluate the nominations. The SAB review panel then produces a set of recommendations used to select the actual awards.

Eligibility Criteria

Publications are now eligible for five (5) years based on publication date.  To be eligible, the nominated research must be published in a peer-reviewed journal, initiate or revise a scientific principle or procedure, and be recognized as a major achievement within its field of study. Publication date limits are set each year at the time of the formal announcement. The competition is EPA-wide and only EPA employees are eligible. Each award cycle identifies several categories to recognize for that particular year. In the past, categories have included:

• Control Systems and Technology
• Ecological Research
• Health Effects Research and Human Health Risk Assessment
• Monitoring and Measurement Methods
• Transport and Fate
• Review Articles
• Risk Management and Ecosystem Restoration
• Integrated Risk Assessment
• Social Sciences
• Environmental Futures
• Environmental Statistics

STAA Awards

Four award levels are granted in each research category:

• Level I: Level I awards are for those who have accomplished an exceptionally high-quality research or technological effort. The awards recognize the creation or general revision of scientific or technological principle or procedure, or a highly significant improvement in the value of a device, activity, program, or service to the public. Awarded research is of national significance or has high impact on a broad area of science/technology. The research has far reaching consequences and is recognizable as a major scientific/technological achievement within its discipline or field of study.
• Level II: Level II awards are for those who have accomplished a notably excellent research or technological effort that has qualities and values similar to, but to a lesser degree, than those described under Level I. Awarded research has timely consequences and contributes as an important scientific/technological achievement within its discipline or field of study.
• Level III: Level III awards are for those who have accomplished an unusually notable research or technological effort. The awards are for a substantial revision or modification of a scientific/technological principle or procedure, or an important improvement to the value of a device, activity, program, or service to the public. Awarded research relates to a mission or organizational component of the EPA, or significantly affects a relevant area of science/technology.
• Honorable Mention: Honorable Mention awards acknowledge research efforts that are noteworthy but do not warrant a Level I, II or III award. Honorable Mention applies to research that: (1) may not quite reach the level described for a Level III award; (2) show a promising area of research that the Subcommittee wants to encourage; or (3) show an area of research that the Subcommittees feels is too preliminary to warrant an award recommendation at this time.

Contact

Kathi Wiser (wiser.kathi@epa.gov) U.S. EPA, Office of Research and Development, Washington, DC; Telephone: (202) 564-6961

Nomination Procedures

After the annual STAA award cycle is announced, any EPA employee (or PHS employee assigned to EPA) may initiate the preparation of a nomination package. Nomination packages may only be submitted using the electronic STAA Nomination System at https://epaoei.lightning.force.com. Once the nomination has been submitted revisions are no longer permitted.

See the following documents for nomination details:

• Scientific and Technological Achievement Awards 2020 Nomination Procedures and Guidelines
• Science and Technology Award Application (STAA) User Guide

EPA announces the winners of the 2019 Scientific and Technological Achievement Awards, an agency-wide program that recognizes the outstanding scientific work of EPA employees who publish their technical work in peer-reviewed literature.

• 2019 Level I Scientific and Technological Achievement Awards

  Level I awards are for those who have accomplished an exceptionally high-quality research or technological effort. The awards recognize the creation or general revision of scientific or technological principle or procedure, or a highly significant improvement in the value of a device, activity, program, or service to the public. Awarded research is of national significance or has high impact on a broad area of science/technology. The research has far reaching consequences and is recognizable as a major scientific/technological achievement within its discipline or field of study.

  Citation	Authors	Nominating Organization
  Development and deployment of a high-throughput assay to detect chemical disruptors of thyroid hormone synthesis.	Steve Simmons Joan Hedge Michael Hornung Kevin Crofton Keith Houck Richard Judson Katie Paul Friedman Eric Watt Daniel Rotroff	ORD National Center for Computational Toxicology

• 2019 Level II Scientific and Technological Achievement Awards

  Level II awards are for those who have accomplished a notably excellent research or technological effort that has qualities and values similar to, but to a lesser degree, than those described under Level I. Awarded research has timely consequences and contributes as an important scientific/technological achievement within its discipline or field of study.

  Citation	Authors	Nominating Organization
  Nationwide study on the prevalence and potential health effects of contaminants of emerging concern in drinking water	Susan Glassmeyer Edward Fulong Dana Kolpin Angela Batt Robert Benson Justin Conley Joyce Donohue Maura Donohue Dawn King Mitchell Kostich Heath Mash Stacy Pfaller J. Scott Boone Jane Simmons Eunice Varughese Stephen Vesper Eric Villegas Nichole Brinkman Vickie Wilson Scott Keely Octavia Conerly Kathleen Schenck Nicola Evans Laura Rosenblum Micheal Ware Megan Vogel William Sander Mary Noriega G Shay Fout Robert Flick Emily Wheaton Jennifer Cashdollar Tripp Boone Craig Vigo Thuy Nguyen Paul Westerhoff Christian Byrne Joseph Ferrario Jacelyn Rice	ORD National Exposure Research Laboratory
  Development of New Alternative Methods for Assessment of Developmental Neurotoxicity Hazard	Timothy Shafer William Mundy Chris Frank Jasmine Brown Diana Hall Kathleen Wallace	ORD National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory
  A comprehensive description of the toxicity of major geochemical ion mixtures to Ceriodaphnia dubia	Russell Erickson David Mount Terry Highland J. Russell Hockett Dale Hoff Teresa Norberg-King Correne Jenson Kira Peterson Stephanie Wisniewsi Zachary Polaske	ORD National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory

• 2019 Level III Scientific and Technological Achievement Awards

  Level III awards are for those who have accomplished an unusually notable research or technological effort. The awards are for a substantial revision or modification of a scientific/technological principle or procedure, or an important improvement to the value of a device, activity, program, or service to the public. Awarded research relates to a mission or organizational component of the EPA, or significantly affects a relevant area of science/technology.

  Citation	Authors	Nominating Organization
  Using water isotope ratios to derive lake hydrologic parameters for EPA's national lakes assessment	J Renee Brooks John Stoddard John Gibson Marc Weber S. Jean Birk Kent Rodecap	ORD National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory
  High-throughput predictions of functional use	Katherine Phillips John Wambaugh Chris Grulke Kathie Dionisio Kristin Isaacs	ORD National Exposure Research Laboratory
  (1) Child environmental exposures to water and sand at the beach and (2) Water Ingestion by Swimmers	Stephanie Deflorio-Barker Elizabeth Sams Benjamin Arnold John Colford Alfred Dufour Stephen Weisberg Ken Schiff Timothy Wade Alfred Dufour Thomas Behymer Larry Wymer Matthew Magnuson Ricardo Cantu	ORD National Center for Environmental Assessment ORD National Exposure Research Laboratory
  Mercury Methylation in Reservoirs: a detailed study of the mechanisms responsible for increased mercury methylation	Todd Luxton Chris Eckley Jennifer Goetz John McKernan Joe Goulet	ORD National Risk Management Research Laboratory
  Impacts of ethanol policy on corn prices: A review and meta-analysis of recent evidence	Heather Klemick Ann Wolverton Nicole Condon-Kaiser	National Center for Environmental Economics
  Modeling and Validation of Conventional and Strong Hybrid Electric Vehicles and High Voltage Lithium-ion Battery Packs	Soduk Lee Jeff Cherry Joseph McDonald James Sanchez Ed Nam Anthony Neam	Office of Air and Radiation
  An investigation of the effects of urban stream burial on nitrogen uptake and ecosystem metabolism	Jake Beaulieu Paul Mayer Sujay Kaushai Michael Pennino Clay Arango David Balz Ken Fritz Brian Hill Colleen Eionen Jorge Santo-Domingo Hodon Ryu Heather Golden Tim Canfield Christopher Knightes	ORD National Risk Management Research Laboratory
  A chemical and Cheminformatics foundation for ToxCast & Tox21 research programs	Ann Richard Christopher Grulke Richard Judson Keith Houck John Wambaugh Thomas Knudsen Grace Patiewicz Antony Williams Russell Thomas Patra Volarath Inthirany Thillainadarajah Chihae Yang James Rathman Matthew Marti Jayaram Kancheria Kamel Mansouri Stephen Little Kevin Crofton	ORD National Center for Computational Toxicology
  Advancing High-Throughput Chemical Exposure Models for Consumer and Dietary Pathways	Kristin Isaacs Peter Egeghy Daniel Vallero Chris Grulke John Wambaugh Haluk Ozkaynak Michael-Rock Goldsmith Katherine Phillips Derya Biryol Luther Smith Raina Brooks Chantel Nicolas Graham Glen	ORD National Exposure Research Laboratory
  Validation of In Vivo-In Vitro Arsenic Bioavailability Methods for Human Health Risk Assessments at Contaminated Sites	Kirk Scheckel Karen Bradham David Thomas Clay Nelson Michele Burgess Sophia Serda Gary Diamond Albert Juhasz Julie Klotzbach Marc Stifelman Mark Maddaloni	ORD National Risk Management Research Laboratory
  For Development and Application of a Natural Hazards Resilience Screening Index to Enhance Community Resilience	J. Kevin Summers Lisa Smith Linda Harwell Kyle Buck	ORD National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory
  New mechanistic paradigm for pulmonary and systemic health effects of oxidant and irritant pollutants	Urmilla Kodavanti Andres Henriques Samantha Snow Mette Schladweiler Colette Miller Janice Dye Allen Ledbetter Judy Richards Marie McGee Wanda Williams Kevin Mauge-Lewis Daniel Costa	ORD National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory
  Development of a system for assessing the health impact of wildfire smoke	Ian Gilmour Yong Ho Kim Sarah Warren David Demarini William Preston Quentin Todd Krantz Mark Higuchi Matthew Landis Barbara George Mike Hays Charly King Rick Jaskot	ORD National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory
  On-the-ground implementation of early detection monitoring	Anett Trebitz Joel Hoffman Gregory Peterson Erik Pilgrim John (Jack) Kelly Tyler Billehus George Grant Michelle Gutsch Henry Quinlan Joshua Schloesser	ORD National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory
  Conversion of spent carbon dioxide into value added products	Mallikarjuna Nadagouda Rajender Varma Sanny Verma Nasir Baig	ORD National Risk Management Laboratory
  A sustainable approach to empower the bio- based future:upgrading biomass to value added products	Mallikarjuna Nadagouda Rajender Varma Sanny Verma Nasir Baig Christopher Len	ORD National Risk Management Laboratory

• 2019 Honorable Mention Scientific and Technological Achievement Awards

  Honorable Mention awards acknowledge research efforts that are noteworthy but do not warrant a Level I, II or III award. Honorable Mention applies to research that: (1) may not quite reach the level described for a Level III award; (2) show a promising area of research that the Subcommittee wants to encourage; or (3) show an area of research that the Subcommittees feels is too preliminary to warrant an award recommendation at this time.

  Publication Title	Authors	Nominating Organization
  Characterization of emissions and residues from simulations of the Deepwater Horizon surface oil burns. Published in Marine Pollution Bulletin Mutagenecity and Oxidative Damage Induced by an Organic Extract of the Particulate Emissions from a Simulation of the Deepwater Horizon Surface Oil Burns. Published in Environmental and Molecular Mutagenicity,	Brian Gullett Johanna Aurell Amara Holder Dale Greenwell William Mitchell Michael Hays Robyn Conmy Dennis Tabor William Preston Ingrid George Joseph Abrahamson Randy Vander Wal Edith Holder William Linak David DeMarini Sarah Warren Katelyn Lavrich Alexis Flen Judith Schmid James Samet	ORD National Risk Management Research Laboratory
  Search for hidden costs: A Technology-based approach to the energy efficiency gap in light-duty vehicles. Published in Energy Policy.	Gloria Helfand Michael Kevin Bolon Mandy Sha Amanda Smith Lawrence Reichle	Office of Air and Radiation
  A Pilot Study of Fuel Impacts on PM Emissions from Light-Duty Gasoline Vehicles. Published in SAE International Journal of Fuels and Lubricants. Influence of Fuel MP Index and Ethanol on Particulate Emissions from Light-Duty Gasoline Vehicles. Published in SAE World Congress Technical Paper	Aron Butler Rafal Sobotowski Zuimdie Guerra George Hoffman Paul Machiele	Office of Air and Radiation
  Modeling the current and future roles of particulate organic nitrates in the southeastern United States. Published in Environmental Science & Technology. On the implications of aerosol liquid water and phase separation for organic aerosol mass. Published in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. Simulating aqueous phase isoprene-epoxydiol (IEPOX) secondary organic aerosol production during the 2013 southern oxidant and aerosol study (SOAS)	Havala O. T. Pye Sri Hapsari Budisulistiorini K. Wyat Appel Kirk Baker Jesse Bash William Hutzell Deborah Luecken Christopher Boyd Benjamin Murphy Donna Schwede Ben Ayres Karsten Baumann Annmarie Carlton William Carter Eric Edgerton Juliane Fry Allen Goldstein Hongyu Guo Jose Jimenez Pawel Misztal Weiwei Hu Gabriel Isaacman-VanWertz V. Faye McNeill Jason Surratt Athanasios Nenes Nga L. Ng Paul Shepson Petros Vasilakos Rodney Weber Lu Xu	ORD National Exposure Research Laboratory
  Connecting the Dots: Linking Environmental Justice Indicators to Daily Dose Model Estimates. Published in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Associations between socio-demographic characteristics and chemical concentrations contributing to cumulative exposures in the United States. Published in Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology.	Timothy Barzyk  Rogelio Tornero-Velez Hongtai Huang	ORD National Exposure Research Laboratory
  Evolution of the United States Energy System and Related Emissions under varying Social and Technological Development Paradigms: Plausible Scenarios for Use in Robust Decision Making. Published in Environmental Science & Technology. Role of future scenarios in understanding deep uncertainty in long-term air quality management. Published in Journal of Air & Waste Management Association.	Kristen Brown Julia Gamas Rebecca Dodder Dan Loughlin Troy Hottle Samaneh Babaee Rubenka Bandyopadhyay Ozge Kaplan Carol Lenox Cynthia Gage	ORD National Risk Management Research Laboratory
  Impacts of mountaintop removal and valley fill coal mining on C and N processing in terrestrial soil. Published in Water, Air, and Soil Pollution.	Roger Burke Ken Fritz Chris Barton Dean Hardy Jeff Jack Stephanie Fulton Brent Johnson	ORD National Exposure Research Laboratory
  Heavy-duty trucking and the energy efficiency paradox: evidence from focus groups and interviews. Published in Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice. Potential barriers to improving energy efficiency in commercial buildings: The case of supermarket. Published in Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis.	Heather Klemick Ann Wolverton Elizabeth Kopits Keith Sargent	National Center for Environmental Economics
  Dynamic evaluation of CMAQ part I: Separating the effects of changing emissions and changing meteorology on ozone levels between 2002 and 2005 in the eastern US. Published in Atmospheric Environment. Dynamic Evaluation of CMAQ part II: Evaluation of Relative Response Factor Metrics for Ozone Attainment demonstrations. Published in Atmospheric Environment.	Kristen Foley Patrick Dolwick Christian Hogrefe Heather Simon Brian Timin Norm Posseil George Pouliot Shawn Roselle	ORD National Exposure Research Laboratory
  Roadside vegetation design characteristics that can improve local, near-road air quality. Published in Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment.	Richard Baldauf	ORD National Risk Management Research Laboratory
  Ozone Trends Across the United States over a Period of Decreasing NOx and VOC Emissions. Published in Environmental Science & Technology. Assessing Temporal and Spatial Patterns of Observed and Predicted Ozone in Multiple Urban Areas. Published in Environmental Health Perspectives.	Heather Simon Benjamin Wells Kirk Baker Adam Reff Bryan Hubbell Neil Frank Jia Xing	Office of Air and Radiation
  Inhibition of biofilm growth on polymer-MWCNTs composites and metal surfaces. Published in Science of Total Environment. Experimental and modeling studies of sorption of ceria nanoparticles on microbial biofilms. Published in Bioresources Technology.	Endalkachew Sahle-Demessie Hengye Jing George Sorial Christina Bennett-Stampe Ashraf Aly Hassan Bineyam Mezgebe	ORD National Risk Management Research Laboratory
  Degradation Studies of Multiwall Carbon Nanotube Reinforced Polypropylene During Environmental Aging. Published in Carbon. Evaluating weathering of food packaging polyethylene-nano- clay composites: Release of nanoparticles and their impacts. Published in Nanoimpact. Effects of source and seasonal variations of natural organic matters on the fate and transport of CeO₂ nanoparticles in the environment. Published in Science of the Total Environment.	Endalkachew Sahle-Demessie Amy Zhao Teri Richardson Jonathan Pressman Eunice Varughese George Sorial Zhen LI Changseok Han Jun Wang	ORD National Risk Management Research Laboratory
  Uterine Artery Flow and Offspring Growth in Long-Evans Rats following Maternal Exposure to Ozone during Implantation. Published in Environmental Health Perspectives. Aspirin Pre-Treatment Modulates Ozone-Induced Fetal Growth Restriction and Alterations in Uterine blood flow in rats. Published in Reproductive Toxicology.	Colette Miller Mette Schladweiler Aimken Farraj Janie Dye Urmila Kodavanti Allen Ledbetter Samantha Snow Charles Wood Judy Richards Leslie Thompson Andres Henriquez Erica Stewart Mendi Hazari	ORD National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory
  Vegetation land cover near residence is associated with reduced allostatic load and improved biomarkers of neuroendocrine, metabolic and immune functions. Published in Environmental Research. Environmental risk factors for T. gondii infections and the impact of infections on allostatic load in residents of Central North Carolina. Published in BMC Infection Diseases.	Andrey Egorov Shannon Griffin Timothy Wade Reagan Converse Elizabeth Sams Edward Hudgens Laura Jackson Jennifer Styles Elizabeth Klein Anthony Wilson	ORD National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory
  Comparison of modeling approaches to prioritize chemicals based on estimates of exposure an exposure potential. Published in Science of the Total Environment. A decision analytic approach to exposure-based chemical prioritization. Published in PLOS ONE Advances on a Decision Analytic Approach to Exposure‐Based Chemical Prioritization. Published in Risk Analysis.	Daniel Vallero Perter Paul Egeghy Elaine Cohen Hubal Jade Mitchell John Wambaugh Antony Williams Matthew Wood  Igor Linkov Jon Arnot Sastry Isukiapalli Oliver Jolliet Panos Georgopoulos Surajit Dasgupta Muhilan Pandian Nicolas Pabon  Zachary Collier Kenton Piourde Sabrina Larkin	ORD National Exposure Research Laboratory
  Key ecological responses to nitrogen are altered by climate change. Published in Nature Climate Change.	Tara Greaver Jana Compton Chris Clark Jill Baron Dena Vallano Alan Talheim Chris Weaver Larry Band Eric Davidson Lingli Liu Jason Lynch Christine Goodale Rick Haeuber Emmi Felker-Quinn Christina Tague Kris Novak Jeff Herrick	ORD National Center for Environmental Assessment
  Sunlight-Driven Reduction of Silver Ions by Natural Organic Matter. Published in Environmental Science & Technology.	Richard Zepp Brittany Stuart Roberta Howes Wen-che Hou	ORD National Exposure Research Laboratory
  Development of a conceptual framework depicting a child's total (built, natural, social) environment. Published in Journal of Environmental and Health Sciences. Contributions of a child's built, natural, and social environments to their general Cognitive Ability. Published in PLOS ONE. Chemical and non-chemical stressors affecting childhood obesity: a systematic scoping review. Published in Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology.	Nicolle Tulve Jazmin Ruiz Kim Lichtveld  Sally Darney Jim Quackenboss Kent Thomas	ORD National Exposure Research Laboratory
  Application of the Human Well- Being Index to Sensitive Population Divisions: a Children’s Well-Being. Published in Child Indicators Research. Evaluating the Transferability of a U.S. Human Well-Being Index (HWBI) Framework to Native Americans. Published in Social Indicators Research. A model for change: An approach for forecasting well-being from service-based decisions. Published in Ecological Indicators	Nicolle Tulve Jazmin Ruiz Kim Lichtveld Sally Darney Jim Quackenboss Kent Thomas	ORD National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory
  Thoracic and respirable particle definitions for human health risk assessment. Published in Particle and Fibre Toxicology.	James Brown Terry Gordon Owen Price Bahman Asgharian
  Oxidative C-H activation of amines using protuberant lychee-like goethite. Published in Nature Climate Change. Photocatalytic C-H activation and oxidative esterification using Pd@g-C3N4. Published in Catalysis Today. Hydroxylation of benzene via C-H activation using bimetallic CuAg@g-C3N4. Published in ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering.	Mallikarjuna Nadagouda Rajender Varma Sanny Verma Nasir Baig	ORD National Risk Management Research Laboratory
  Increasing the credibility of regional climate simulations by introducing subgrid-scale cloud- radiation interactions. Published in Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres.	Jerold Herwehe Kiran Alapaty Tanya Spero Christopher Nolte	ORD National Exposure Research Laboratory
  Bayesian framework for water quality model uncertainty estimation and risk management. Published in ASCE Journal of Hydrologic Engineering.	Mohamed Hantush Abhishek Chaudhary	ORD National Risk Management Research Laboratory

There were no submissions for 2018.

EPA announces the winners of the 2017 Scientific and Technological Achievement Awards, an agency-wide program that recognizes the outstanding scientific work of EPA employees who publish their technical work in peer-reviewed literature.

• 2017 Level I Scientific and Technological Achievement Awards (STAA)

  Level I awards are for those who have accomplished an exceptionally high-quality research or technological effort. The awards recognize the creation or general revision of scientific or technological principle or procedure, or a highly significant improvement in the value of a device, activity, program, or service to the public. Awarded research is of national significance or has high impact on a broad area of science/technology. The research has far reaching consequences and is recognizable as a major scientific/technological achievement within its discipline or field of study.

  Publication Title	Authors	Lab/Office/Center
  Understanding the fate and transport of human adenovirus in environmental matrices.	Richard Zepp Irene Xagoraraki Kelvin Wong Thomas Voice Biplab Mukheriee Marirosa Molina Amy Kahler Dermont Bouchard	NERL
  Using retrospective case studies to better understand the relationship between non-traditional oil and gas development and drinking water resources	Richard Wilkin Ralph Ludwig Douglas Beak David Rectenwald Tony Lee Christopher Ruybal Susan Mravik Gregory Oberley Steven Acree Randall Ross Michael Overbay Amy Wolfe	NRMRL
  Demonstrating the effects of air pollution on individuals with prior cardiac complications	Robert Devlin Laura McGuinn Colette Blach Carol Haynes Elaine Dowdy Marie Lynn Miranda William Kraus Petros Koutrakis David Diaz-Sanchez Wayne Cascio Shaibal Mukerjee Casson Stallings Luther Smith Gregory Simon Savti Shah Elizabeth Hauser Lucas Neas Alexandra Schneider Alexandra Chudnovsky Cavin Ward-Caviness	NHEERL

• 2017 Level II Scientific and Technological Achievement Awards (STAA)

  Level II awards are for those who have accomplished a notably excellent research or technological effort that has qualities and values similar to, but to a lesser degree, than those described under Level I. Awarded research has timely consequences and contributes as an important scientific/technological achievement within its discipline or field of study.

  Publication Title	Authors	Lab/Office/Center
  Reviewing the need for, use of, and demands on modeling to support ‘robust’ decision frameworks around resiliency	Christopher Weaver Robert Lempert Casey Brown John Hall David Revell Daniel Sarewitz	NCEA
  Demonstrating the utility of the Seqapass tool for addressing 21st century challenges in species extrapolation	Carlie LaLone Daniel Villeneuve David Lyons Henry Helgen Serina Robinson Joseph Swintek Travis Saari Gerald Ankley Leon Gray Michael Hornung Christine Russom	NHEERL
  Researching the role of neuroendocrine stress axes activation in systemic and pulmonary health effects of air pollutants	Urmila Kodavanti Desinia Miller Mette Schladweiler Allen Ledbetter Samantha Snow Beena Vallanat Debora Andrews Andrew Ghio Wayne Cascio M. Ian Gilmour Michael Madden Joleen Soukup William Ward Virginia Bass Edward Karoly Janice Jones Lauren (Nicki) Bell Judy Richards	NHEERL
  Investigating the role of reservoirs in removing excess reactive Nitrogen	Jake Beaulieu Rebecca Smolenski Christopher Nietch Amy Townsend-Small Michael Elovitz Joe Schubauer-Berigan Jade Young	NRMRL

• 2017 Level III Scientific and Technological Achievement Awards (STAA)

  Level III awards are for those who have accomplished an unusually notable research or technological effort. The awards are for a substantial revision or modification of a scientific/technological principle or procedure, or an important improvement to the value of a device, activity, program, or service to the public. Awarded research relates to a mission or organizational component of the EPA, or significantly affects a relevant area of science/technology.

  Publication Title	Authors	Lab/Office/Institution
  Creating a scientifically sound method of quantifying water-damage and mold growth in homes	Stephen Vesper Larry Wymer	NERL
  Measuring the effects of nutrients on aquatic ecosystems at the large scale	John Stoddard John Van Sickle  Alan Herlihy  Janice Brahney  Steve Paulsen David Peck Richard Mitchell  Amina Pollard	NHEERL
  Simulating the downstream effects of geographically isolated wetlands on downstream waters	Heather Golden  Charles Lane Devendra Amatya Karl Bandilla Raanan Kiperwas-Hadas Christopher Knightes Herbert Ssegane	NERL
  Helping inform decisions impacting the places we live, learn, work and play through EnviroAtlas	Anne Neale Brian Pickard Jessica Daniel  Laura Jackson Megan Mehaffey	NERL
  Simulating extreme weather for environmental impact studies using regional meteorological modeling techniques	Tanya Spero Christopher Nolte  Martin Otte Jared Bowden	NERL
  Improving the understanding of how eutrophication and hypoxia affect the functioning of marine benthic communities	Stephen Hale Giancarlo Cicchetti Christopher Deacutis	NHEERL
  Evaluating naturally occurring asbestos toxicity to inform risk assessment of contaminated sites	Stephen Gavett Jaime Daly (Cyphert)  Urmila Kodavanti Mette Schladweiler  Abraham Nyska  Marie (McGee) Hargrove  Ron Mahoney Debora Andrews Darol Dodd	NHEERL
  Designing a quantitative framework that estimates a water treatment plant's economic incentive to protect its source water	Matthew Heberling Christopher Nietch Hale Thurston Michael Elovitz Kelly Birkenhauer Srinivas Panguluri Balaji Ramakrishnan Eric Heiser Tim Neyer	NRMRL
  Developing and refining methods to estimate the economic costs and benefits of greenhouse gas mitigation policies	Alex Marten Steve Newbold  Wesley Brooks	OA
  Applying biological effects prediction, surveillance, and monitoring approaches to complex mixture assessments	Daniel Villeneuve Gerald Ankley Brett Blackwell Colleen Elone Kathleen Jensen Terri Jicha Rodney Johnson Michael Kahi Carlie LaLone Jason Berninger Chad Blanksma Jenna Cavallin Evan Eid Natalia Garcia-Reyero Megan Hughes Zachary Jorgenson Kathy Lee Shibin Li Dalma Martinovic-Weigelt Joe Mayasich  Rebecca Milsk Krysta Nelson Edward Perkins Heiko Schoenfuss Anthony Schroeder Kyle Stevens  Linnea Thomas Matthew Weberg	NHEERL
  Advancing assessment of oil spill impacts with integrated laboratory studies, field surveys, and spatially explicit modeling	Jill Awkerman Sandy Raimondo Mace Barron  Crystal Lilavois Bechy Hemmer Julie Krzykwa Alex Almario	NHEERL
  Using novel zebrafish toxicity assays to evaluate a predictive model of developmental vascular toxicity Toxicology.	Tamara Tal Nicole Kleinstreuer Claire Kitty Breandan Kennedy Andrew Smith Carlie LaLone Stephanie Padilla Alan Tennant Thomas Knudsen Catherine McCollum Maria Bondesson	NHEERL
  Measuring the employment effects of regulations	Ann Ferris Ron Shadbegian Ann ​Wolverton	OA
  Analyzing retrospective cost of EPA regulations	Elizabeth Kopits  Al McGartland  Cynthia Morgan Carl Pasurka Ron Shadbegian Nathalie Simon David Simpson Ann Wolverton	OA
  Measuring sustainability through ecosystem service-based valuation of coastal restoration projects	Richard Fulford David Yoskowitz Marc Russell Darrin Dantin John Rogers	NHEERL
  Improving hazard concentration estimates for ecological risk assessments of threatened and endangered species	Sandy Raimondo Jill Awkerman Mace Barron  Crystal Lilavois Morgan Willming	NHEERL
  Filling an analytic gap in benefit-cost analysis of methane and nitrous oxide emission reductions	Alex Martin Elizabeth Kopits  Charles Griffiths Steve Newbold  Ann Wolverton	OA
  Measuring the impact of light exposure on transformations and aggregation of emerging chemicals	Richard Zepp Dermont Bouchard W. Matthew Henderson Wen-Che Hou Indranil Chowdhury Xiaojun Chang  Sharon Martin Howard Fairbrother David Goodwin	NERL

• 2017 Honorable Mention Scientific and Technological Achievement Awards (STAA)

  Honorable Mention awards acknowledge research efforts that are noteworthy but do not warrant a Level I, II or III award. Honorable Mention applies to research that: (1) may not quite reach the level described for a Level III award; (2) show a promising area of research that the Subcommittee wants to encourage; or (3) show an area of research that the Subcommittees feels is too preliminary to warrant an award recommendation at this time.

  Publication Title	Authors	Lab/Office/Center
  Evaluation of cyanobacteria cell count detection derived from MERIS imagery across the eastern USA. Published in Remote Sensing of Environment.	Ross Lunetta Blake Schaeffer Richard Stumpf Mark Murphy Daryll Keith Scott Jacobs	NERL
  Mutagenicity and Pollutant Emission Factors of Solid-Fuel Cookstoves: Comparison with Other Combustion Sources. Published in Environmental Health Perspectives.	David DeMarini  Esra Mutlu Sarah Warren Seth Ebersviller Ingeborg Kooter Judith Schmid Janice Dye William Linak Matthew Gilmour James Jetter Mark Higuchi	NHEERL
  (1) Evaluation of the Efficacy of Methyl Bromide in the Decontamination of Building and Interior Materials Contamination. Published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology. (2) Whole-Building Decontamination of Bacillus Anthracis Sterne Spores by Methyl Bromide Fumigation. Published in Journal of Applied Microbiology.	Joe Wood Morgan Wendling William Richter Andrew Lastivka Mickelsen Shannon Serre  Worth Calfee Marshall Gray Rudolph Scheffrahn Renny Perez William Kern Neil Daniell	NHSRC
  Expanding the Test Set: Chemicals with Potential to Disrupt Mammalian Brain Development. Published in Neurotoxicology and Teratology.	William Mundy Stephanie Padilla Kevin Crofton Mary Gilbert David Herr Karl Jensen Kathleen Raffael Kelly Schumacher Timothy Shafer John Cowden Nicholas Radio Joseph Breier	NHEERL
  (1) Counting Legionella Cells Within Single Amoeba Host Cells. Published in Applied and Environmental Microbiologist. (2) Enhanced Survival but Not Amplification of Francisella spp. in the Presence of Free-Living Amoebae. Published in Acta Microbiologica et Immunologica Hungarica. (3) Legionellae in Engineered Systems and Use of Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment to Predict Exposure. Published in Water Research.	Helen Buse Nicholas Ashbolt Eugene Rice Frank Schaefer III Mary Schoen	NHSRC
  (1) Dietary Supplementation with Olive Oil or Fish Oil and Vascular Effects of Concentrated Ambient Particulate Matter. Published in Environmental Health Perspectives. (2) Dietary and Pharmacological Intervention to Mitigate the Health Effects of Air Pollution Toxicity. Published in Biochimica et Biophysica Acta-General Subjects.	Haiyan Tong Samet James Ana Rappold David Diaz-Sanchez Robert Devlin Wayne Cascio Tracey Montilla Maryann Bassett Martin Case Melissa Caughey Alan Hinderliter Jon Berntsen Philip Bromberg	NHEERL
  (1) SOA Formation from the Atmospheric Oxidation of 2-Methyl-3-buten-2-ol and its Implication for PM2.5. Published in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. (2) The Formation of SOA and chemical Tracer compounds from the Photooxidation of Naphthalene and its Methyl Analogs in the Presence and Absence of Nitrogen Oxides. Published in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. (3) Secondary Organic Aerosol Formation from the Oxidation of a Series of Sesquiterpenes: a-Cedrene, b-Caryophyllene, a-Humulene, and a-Farnesene with O3, OH, and NO3 radicals. Published in Environmental Chemistry	Tadeusz Kleindienst Michael Lewandowski John Offenberg Mohammed Jaoui Kenneth Docherty William Lonneman	NERL
  (1) Preferential Colonization and Release of Legionella Pneumonphila from Mature Drinking Water Biofilms Grown on Copper. Published in International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health. (2) Impact of Drinking Water Conditions and Copper Materials on Downstream Biofilm Microbial Communities and Legionella Pneumophila Colonization. Published in Journal of Applied Microbiology.	Jingrang Lu Helen Buse Ian Struewing Vicente Gomez-Alvarez Jorge Santo Domingo Nicholas Ashbolt	NERL
  Isomers/Enantiomers of Perfluorocarboxylic Acids: Method Development and Detection in Environmental Samples. Published in Chemosphere.	John Washington Jonathan Naile A. W. Garrison  Jimmy Avants	NERL
  Welfare Estimates of Avoided Ocean Acidification in the U.S. Mollusk Market. Published in Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics.	Chris Moore	OA
  Eco-Directed Sustainable Prescribing: Feasibility for Reducing Water Contamination by Drugs. Published in Science of the Total Environment.	Christian Daughton	NERL
  Inactivation of Burkholderia Pseudomallei on Environmental Surfaces Using Spray-Applied, Common Liquid Disinfectant. Published in Letters in Applied Microbiology.	Michael Worth Calfee Morgan Wendling	NHSRC
  Probing Photosensitization by Functionalized Carbon Nanotubes. Published in Environmental Science & Technology.	Richard Zepp Chia-Ying Chen	NERL
  Temporal Changes in Biological Responses and Uncertainty in Assessing Risks of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals. Published in Toxicological Sciences.	Gerald Ankley Daniel Villeneuve	NHEERL
  (1) Sediment Bioaccumulation Test with Lumbriculus Variegatus: Effects of Feeding. Published in Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. (2) Sediment Bioaccumulation Test with Lumbriculus Variegatus: Effects of Organism Loading. Published in Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology.	Lawrence Burkhard Dave Mount Teresa Norberg-King Terry Highland James Hockett Nanditha Billa Dylan Hubin-Barrows Steven Hawthorn  David Miller Carol Grabanski	NHEERL
  (1) Chloride Released from Three Permeable Pavement Surfaces After Winter Salt Application. Published in Journal of the American Water Resources Association. (2) Evaluation of Surface Infiltration Testing Procedures in Permeable Pavement Systems. Published in Journal of Environmental Engineering. (3) Assessment of Clogging Dynamics in Permeable Pavement Systems with Time Domain Reflectometers. Published in Journal of Environmental Engineering.	Michael Borst Robert Brown	NRMRL
  (1) Sustainable Pathway to Furanics from Biomass via Heterogeneous Organo-Catalysis Green Chemistry (2) Sustainable Strategy Utilizing Biomass: Visible Light-Mediated Synthesis of g-Valerolactone. Published in ChemCatChem. (3) Visible Light Mediated Upgrading of Biomass to Biofuel. Published in Green Chemistry.	Rajender Varma  Mallikarjuna N. Nadagouda Sanny Verma R.B. Nasir Baig	NRMRL
  A Near-Road Modeling System for Community-Scale Assessments of Traffic-Related Air Pollution in the United States. Published in Environmental Modeling and Software.	Timothy Barzyk Vlad Isakov James Cook  Akula Venkatram  Saravanan Arunachalam Brian Naess	NERL