The AAEES Science Award

The AAEES Science Award is given to an individual who is an outstanding performer in the management and implementation of environmental science programs and projects conducted under either public or private auspices and has demonstrated exemplary professional conduct, has distinguished qualities of personal leadership, originality in devising new management techniques for dealing with environmental issues, and sensitivity and responsiveness to the impact of social and political influences on the conduct of environmental programs.

For the full list of eligibility criteria and information on how you can submit nominations for a worthy Environmental Scientist or Environmental Engineer, click here.

2023 Science Award Recipient

Gregory V. Lowry, Ph.D., BCEEM

Greg Lowry is the Walter J. Blenko, Sr. Professor and Executive Director of New Initiatives in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. He is also an Executive and Associate Editor of the ACS Journal Environmental Science & Technology. He is on the editorial board of the ACS Journal Environment & Health, the RSC Journal Environmental Science: Nano, and Nature: Scientific Data. Lowry holds a B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of California at Davis, an M.S. in civil and environmental engineering from University of Wisconsin at Madison, and a Ph.D. in civil and environmental engineering from Stanford University. He holds a Doctor Honoris Causa of Aix Marseille University.

His research is addressing important global sustainability challenges in agriculture, environmental remediation, and energy through fundamental research in environmental geochemistry, nanochemistry, and nanobiotechnology. Current applications of interest include the development of efficient nano-carriers for efficient agrochemical delivery, remediation and destruction of perfluoroalkyl substances in groundwater, development and testing of robots for autonomous characterization and sampling of contaminated soils, environmental fate of mercury, and biological reduction of selenium in powerplant wastewater.

Lowry is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and a Fellow of the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP). He has published over 200 scientific articles in leading environmental engineering and science journals, and a book on nanoscale iron particles for groundwater remediation. He has received awards for his research from the American Academy of Environmental Engineers & Scientists (Science Award), American Society of Civil Engineers (Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Award), and the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (Malcolm Pirnie/AEESP Frontiers in Research Award). He has several best paper awards from the American Chemical Society (Best Feature Article (2012) and Best Review Paper (2022) in Environmental Science &Technology) and Environmental Science: Nano (Best perspective 2019). He received the Distinguished Service award from AEESP in 2018 and 2022, and was awarded the Fenves Award for Systems Research in 2011. He is a “highly cited” scientist (top 1%) in the area of ecology and environment according to Thompson Reuters/Clarivate (2014-2022).

Lowry's research has been supported by the federal government (National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Army Research Office, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency), with additional grant support from industry. Lowry served on the EPA Science Advisory Board (Environmental Engineering Panel, 2015-2018) and has served on two NAS panels; Science Breakthroughs to Advance Food and Agricultural Research by 2030 and the Committee to Develop a Research Strategy for Environmental Health and Safety Aspects of Engineered Nanomaterials. He served as a science advisory board member for several research Centers including the Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology (CSN) and the international research Centers, NANOREM and NANOFASE.