The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded two University of Utah engineering teams with grants for sustainability research: chemical engineers will optimize cookstove design in rural Nepal, while civil engineers will design treatments for polluted water from olive oil mills in the West Bank.

These teams are two of 45 teams in the United States receiving $15,000 each to design their proposed technologies.

The World Health Organization estimates 1.5 million people die each year from health complications related to inhaling cooking smoke. These open fires also promote deforestation – to the tune of 560 acres per day in Nepal.

Read more at the U News Center