[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 100 (Wednesday, June 22, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E977]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            RED ROCKS COMMUNITY COLLEGE INNOVATION CHALLENGE

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                           HON. ED PERLMUTTER

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 22, 2016

  Mr. PERLMUTTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and 
congratulate the team from Red Rocks Community College on becoming a 
finalist for a second year in a row in the National Science 
Foundation's Community College Innovation Challenge. This program 
serves as an innovative way for community college students to partner 
with local industries to create pioneering STEM-based solutions for 
real world issues. The Community College Innovation Challenge is an 
important example of encouraging STEM education and research for our 
nation's students and future leaders. I congratulate all of the 
competition's participants for their work on a variety of important 
projects.
  The Red Rocks Team tackled water conservation which has become a 
critical issue in the western United States as we tackle long-term 
drought and the demand for water resources increases. Cooling towers 
are used in large office and industrial buildings for air conditioning. 
Through typical use of cooling towers, these systems must discharge and 
then replace water to continue operation in a process called blow down. 
These students have worked to improve the efficiency of the blow down 
process through reverse osmosis, ion exchange, and various filter media 
which reduces water consumption and saves money. This advance is 
important for reducing water consumption and can be scaled up for 
commercial deployment across the country.
  I congratulate the Red Rocks Team of Matt Armijo, Mike Fisher, Sean 
Kelly, Valeria Mokrushova, Danny Rogers, and their faculty advisory 
Jeremy Beard for their success. I applaud these students for their 
dedication to this important project and their leadership and 
commitment to STEM education blazing a path for our country's future 
leaders and innovators. I am proud of the work Red Rocks Community 
College does every day and I look forward to seeing what the school and 
these students accomplish in the years to come.

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