Audrey Blair, an environmental health and sustainability (EHS) major at Illinois State University, received the “Best Topic” award November 10 at the 2026 Illinois Public Health Association (IPHA) Virtual Student Research Symposium. Blair was recognized for her work on “Sustainable Ammonia Recovery Using Waste Gypsum.”
This project is to use two waste streams, the ammonia emissions from wastewater stripping process, and the waste drywall, to produce a valuable fertilizer ammonium sulfate. Through intensive laboratory experiments, Blair and fellow environmental health and sustainability major Riley Sanburg, optimized a variety of operating parameters and achieved 90% ammonia recovery rate.
“I’m excited to receive this award because the research experience with Dr. Guang Jin has been incredibly eye-opening and rewarding as an environmental health and sustainability major,” Blair said.
The idea of using wastes as a resource to create a widely useful fertilizer is not only interesting but also meaningful to the field of environmental health. “Not only am I now seeing how my studies apply to the real world, but I’m also enjoying the experience! It’s not just another assignment; it’s an opportunity to make a real-world impact,” Blair said.
Blair is grateful to the EHS program for providing her with the opportunity to participate in the research and present her findings to other environmental health professionals at symposia and conferences—experiences she never expected to have as a student: “I love what I study and love what I get to do in the lab. I’ve been exposed to new skills, new ideas, and have learned so much about environmental processes. It’s empowering to know that what I’ve learned isn’t just found in a book or a website, but it’s at my very fingertips in my work.”
The environmental health and sustainability program at Illinois State University has the tradition of involving undergraduate students in research projects.
Source: news.illinoisstate.edu
