January 25, 2006
Ezra Cates of Chapel Hill to Study Pollution Control at UNC Asheville

Raleigh & Asheville, NC (January 25, 2006) - NC Beautiful and UNC Asheville are pleased to announce that Ezra Cates was recently named as a NC Beautiful Undergraduate Environmental Research Scholar. He will receive the Governor and Mrs. Dan K. Moore Fellowship, a $3,000 scholarship for research of pollution control.

Cates is one of four UNC Asheville students to receive the prestigious recognition from NC Beautiful, a North Carolina non-profit organization dedicated to supporting environmental stewardship from the mountains to the coast.

“Ezra is a dedicated student who is truly concerned about North Carolina’s environment,” says Jane Rogers, NC Beautiful managing director. “His passion aligns with that of our organization and we are thrilled to support a student whose efforts will positively impact the future of our state.”

Cates is a graduate of Chapel Hill High School and a sophomore at UNC Asheville. He is studying the effects of aquatic ecology and pollution control as an environmental science major. His research includes experimentation with a runoff detention basin and rain-garden that have recently been installed on UNC Asheville’s campus to protect Reed Creek from chemical contamination.

“I’ll be waiting for rain events to assess non-point source water pollution, perhaps the most complicated type of water quality study,” says Cates. ”Thanks to this scholarship, I will be able to concentrate more on my research and hope to gain useful information.”

The Governor and Mrs. Dan K. Moore Fellowship is offered to Environmental Studies students at UNC Asheville, due to the strength of this department. The research money is designed to support a student’s tuition fees, room and board so they can more effectively concentrate on their area of study.

ABOUT NC BEAUTIFUL
NC Beautiful is a non-profit environmental education organization interested in protecting North Carolina’s natural beauty and good environmental stewardship. Governor and Mrs. Dan K. Moore founded it in 1966. Governor Easley serves as honorary chair of the Board of Directors, which is comprised of volunteers from across North Carolina. NC Beautiful sponsors other programs to promote beautification and stewardship. It also provides $1,000 incentive grants to teachers and $10,000 research fellowships to graduate students studying environmental sciences at North Carolina universities, and manages a research-focused scholars program at the undergraduate level. For more information about programs in which your community, schools, and citizens can participate, contact NC Beautiful at PO Box 10155, Raleigh, NC 27605; call 919-828-3028; or e-mail ncbeautiful@bellsouth.net.