Media Contact: Michael Mueller, (860) 841-9138

University of Massachusetts Amherst and Adventus Americas, Inc. Recognize Future Environmental Science Leaders

Remediation biotechnology firm announces winners of its annual Student Award program

AMHERST, Mass. (November 1, 2006) – Adventus Americas, Inc., an international remediation biotechnology firm, joined the University of Massachusetts Amherst to recognize talented, emerging environmental scientists during the 22nd Annual International Conference on Soils, Sediments and Water held here recently.

Three $1,000 awards were given for the best student presentations from among the 22 participants during the conference presented by the Northeast Regional Environment Public Health Center and The School of Public Health. The award judges included Fayaz Lakhwala (Adventus Americas), Chris Mitchell (ENSR International), Frank Peduto (SPECTRA Environmental Group), Susan Henry (AEHS), and George Shaw (W.L. Gore Associates).

Dr. Paul Kostecki, Vice Provost for Research at University of Massachusetts Amherst, offered an optimistic perspective on this public and private sector partnership saying, “For the third consecutive year, Adventus has recognized the value of fostering student involvement in industry events such as this conference. I continue to challenge other far-sighted firms to join us in seeing the Student Award program as a superb way to bring the state-of-the-art information presented here to the next generation of scientists.”

“These impressive young environmentalists all displayed superb thought leadership and presentation skills. Selecting the winning themes was extremely difficult, although the industry will surely be hearing more from these students in years ahead,” said Dr. Fayaz Lakhwala, Director of Engineering for Adventus Americas, who led the panel of judges to select the winners. “As Adventus continues to develop the next generation of remediation biotechnologies, it is our privilege to showcase the important role partnerships with the academic community and private sector organizations can play. Adventus Americas is committed to continue sponsoring this exciting event and congratulates all the participants – especially our award winners.”

This year’s contest winners were:

Ms. Megan Lord-Hoyle of the Royal Military College of Canada, Environmental Sciences Group, in Kingston, Ontario, Canada won for her platform “Bioaccessibility: Improving Risk Assessments for Contaminated Sites.”

Mr. Ashish K. Sahu of the University of Massachusetts Amherst won for his platform titled “Perchlorate Reduction in a Packed Bed Bioreactor Using Elemental Sulfur.”

Ms. Christina L. Stauber of the University of Massachusetts Amherst won for her poster presentation titled “The Use of Local Carbon Sources in Encouraging Acid Mine Drainage Bioremediation.” Her work was presented during the Acid Mine Drainage session.

The winning students and their presentation themes were presented during both platform and poster sessions.

Other participants in this year’s contest were:

• Carmen M. Neculita (Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal, Montreal, QB Canada)
• Andrea Slesarova (Slovak Academy of Sciences, Kosice, Slovak Republic)
• Veysel Demir (San Antonio, TX)
• Fang Lin (Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, Heilongjiang, P.R. China)
• Elsbeth Hearn (University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA)
• W.C. Li (Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong SAR, PR China)
• Judite S. Vieira (University of Porto, Portugal)
• Jennifer L. Hatch (University of Illinois, Urbana, IL)
• Lars Rehmann (Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario Canada)
• Caitlin Bell (University of Illinois, Urbana, IL)
• Yang Zhang (University of Illinois, Urbana, IL)
• Aiman Q. Jaragat (Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY)
• Cory McDonald (Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI)
• Kanwertej S. Sra (University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario Canada)
• Kimberly M. Reinauer (University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign, Urbana, IL)
• Erika Williams (University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON Canada)
• Man Jae Kwon (University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign, Urbana, IL)
• K.Samanta (Jadavpur University, Kolkota, India)
• Sharungbam Geeta Devi (University of Pune and Bhabha Atomic Research Center, India)

About The Adventus Group

The Adventus Group provides an intriguing portfolio of environmental remediation technologies, including patented offerings from Adventus Americas Inc., and EnviroMetal Technologies Inc. Our business model supports site owners, environmental engineers, and diverse consulting professionals by providing unbiased design, and selection of the most cost-effective remediation strategies.

Adventus provides biotechnology-based remedial solutions that effectively manage complex, challenging environmental liabilities, while saving our clients significant time and money. Our technically superior remedial solutions are proven to treat a wide range of organic contaminants by accelerating their natural attenuation in soil, sediment and groundwater.

Adventus exclusively offers DARAMEND®, TERRAMEND®, EHC® and related ZVI technologies for In Situ Chemical Reduction (ISCR), along with ISBS in situ stabilization technology. Our world-class technical team, supported by an ever expanding suite of technologies and solutions, is a recognized industry leader in the fields of remediation biotechnology and accelerated natural attenuation. Since inception in 2002, Adventus as successfully deployed field installations at over 200 sites in North America, Europe, Japan and Australia.

The Adventus family of companies is seeking qualified international licensees in numerous countries.  For more information contact Michael Mueller at . More information can be found online at www.AdventusGroup.com or www.eti.ca.

About University of Massachussets Amherst

Located on 1,450-acres in the scenic Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts, The University of Massachusetts Amherst is the flagship campus of the Commonwealth’s University system. UMass Amherst is a major research university enrolling 24,000 students, from all 50 United States and more than 100 countries. Its 10 schools and colleges offer 88 undergraduate majors, 68 master’s and 48 doctoral programs. Sponsored research activities total more than $100 million a year.

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For further information, please contact Adventus Group.