American Water (NYSE: AWK), the largest publicly traded U.S. water and wastewater utility company, today announced that Hannah Greenwald, a doctoral student at the University of California, Berkeley, has been chosen as the recipient of the American Water Works Association (AWWA) 2022 American Water Scholarship. The American Water scholarship is an annual award of $5,000 presented to a graduate level student to assist with the development of professionals interested in service to the water industry.

"American Water is pleased to present this prestigious award to Hannah Greenwald, who was selected among 166 outstanding applicants," said Dr. Zia Bukhari, principal scientist, water & wastewater research at American Water. "The field of water research is vital to the future of our business and the industry. We are pleased to help Ms. Greenwald advance her research studies and hope she will develop and utilize her talent for the long-term benefit of people, communities and the environment."

Ms. Greenwald was selected for this scholarship as a result of her outstanding academic record, remarkable character, community and outreach experience and dedication to contribute to the advancement of science in the field of drinking water. She is a doctoral student in Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, with minors in infectious disease and environmental health.

During the recent pandemic, Ms. Greenwald worked to understand the microbial safety of drinking water in buildings that were unoccupied during the COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders. She contributed to an improved understanding of microbial communities in distribution systems and management strategies. Ms. Greenwald is planning additional research on Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE), focusing on creating more resilient water infrastructure. The research examines if wastewater can be utilized as an information resource that can be used to address public health challenges and will help to maintain drinking water quality throughout distribution systems during transitions in water usage.

Ms. Greenwald earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.

Administered by AWWA, American Water's Scholarship is currently the only one offered by a water utility among the Association’s 16 active scholarships. For more information about AWWA scholarships, visit http://www.awwa.org/membership/get-involved/student-center/awwa-scholarships.aspx.

About American Water

With a history dating back to 1886, American Water (NYSE: AWK) is the largest and most geographically diverse U.S. publicly traded water and wastewater utility company. The company employs approximately 6,400 dedicated professionals who provide regulated and regulated-like drinking water and wastewater services to an estimated 14 million people in 24 states. American Water provides safe, clean, affordable, and reliable water services to our customers to help keep their lives flowing. For more information, visit amwater.com and follow American Water on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

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