TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The American Water Works Association Alabama-Mississippi section awarded University of Alabama College of Engineering students Renee Morquecho and Katie Vaughn memorial scholarships. The scholarships will support the students’ education in civil and environmental engineering.

Morquecho, a resident of Northport, is a doctoral student. She also received a graduate student research and travel support award from the UA graduate school for the Water Environment Federation annual conference in Los Angeles, where she presented a paper titled “Storm-water Heavy Metal Particulate Associations.”

Vaughn, also a native of Northport, is a senior and a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Society of Women Engineers, Chi Epsilon Honor Society and Gamma Beta Phi Honor Society.

“These students contribute a lot of time and effort to the University and their studies, and they deserve to be recognized and awarded,” said Dr. Robert Pitt, Cudworth Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Founded in 1881, AWWA is an international scientific and educational society dedicated to the improvement of drinking water quality and supply. They are the largest organization of water supply professionals in the world. The Alabama-Mississippi chapter, founded in 1946, was formed from the Southeastern section of AWWA by a group of Alabama engineers.

In 1837, UA became the first university in the state to offer engineering classes and was one of the first five in the nation to do so. Today, the College of Engineering, with about 1,900 students and more than 90 faculty, is one of the three oldest continuously operating engineering programs in the country and has been fully accredited since accreditation standards were implemented in the 1930s.