Florida Solar Energy Center Hosts EPEC Awards

Exemplary Projects in Energy and Conservation (EPEC) Awards were presented to 21 Brevard County students at a reception and exhibit at the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) on Tuesday, May 10.

The projects receiving EPEC Awards were selected by judges from FSEC, the Space Coast Clean Cities Coalition and the National Energy Foundation at the regional science fairs held in February and April.

Recipients of the elementary awards were Zak Blougras of Cape View, Dominik Cioppa of Suntree, Amanda Cox of Riverview, Troy Cunio of Imperial Estates, Nick Dorros of Ascension Catholic, Jessica Gillenwater of Fairglen, Ryan Regan of West Melbourne and Rachel Van Dusen of Saturn.

Awardees from middle schools were Mathew Balwant of Stone Middle, Alexander Del Rio of Edgewood Jr/Sr High, Laura Diebel of Johnson Middle, Melissa Ingram of Edgewood Jr/Sr High, Daniel LaManna of Ascension Catholic, Brittany Norton of Jackson Middle and Jeremy Porta of St. Teresa Catholic.

High School awards went to Carter Davis of West Shore, Amie Lamb of Satellite, Heather Mills of Covenant Christian, Daniel Rood of Palm Bay, and Eric Smith & Ryan Jones of Astronaut.

At this Second Annual EPEC Awards Ceremony, new awards were presented to teachers who sponsor Energy Action Patrol Programs in their schools. Six outstanding programs and the teachers who sponsor them were honored this year:

Astronaut High School Major John Mallamaci, Army JROTC
Atlantis Elementary Randi Ondo, Grade 5
Audubon Elementary Janice Cheshire. Grades 2 through 6
Longleaf Elementary A.J. Fuller, Grade 2
Palm Bay Elementary Barbi Miller, Gifted classes
Sea Park Elementary Alisann DelFavero, Grade 6 gifted

FSEC Director James Fenton welcomed EPEC Award recipients and their guests, then presented each student with a medallion and a T-shirt. Energy Action Patrol teacher-sponsors received a trophy. Speakers for the occasion included Robin Reinarts on behalf of Johnson Controls, Inc. and the National Energy Foundation and Frank Leslie, Florida Institute of Technology, for Space Coast Clean Cities Coalition.

EPEC Awards Projects will be posted soon at www.energywhiz.com.

The Florida Solar Energy Center, a research institute of the University of Central Florida, is the largest and most active state-supported energy research center in the country. Current research activities include solar water and pool heating, solar electric and distributed generation systems, energy-efficient buildings, alternative transportation systems, hydrogen fuel, fuel cells and other energy areas. For more information about the center, visit www.fsec.ucf.edu or call the FSEC Public Information Office at (321) 638-1015.