Sanford N. Young Scholarship

AWRA Florida offers a $3,000 scholarship to assist exceptional graduate students with tuition, educational fees and/or research expenses. Applications should include a discussion of the applicant’s educational and professional goals, with as much specificity as possible. If support of a research project or program is being sought, a description of the research should be included. Applicants should also have at least one letter from a faculty member in support of the student’s request. Applications must be received by Friday April 11, 2025.

The 2025 Application form will be available soon.

The Sanford N. Young Scholarship may be given for work in any area of water resources science, technology, or management. However, AWRA Florida's Board of Directors may give preference to applicants seeking to continue their education after U.S. military service, as well as those working in areas that combine biological sciences and engineering or that focus on aquaculture or improving the environmental regulatory process. Scholarship recipients will be invited to attend the AWRA Florida Annual Meeting to receive the award and be acknowledged by the members.

AWRA Florida, as a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, welcomes contributions to the Sanford N. Young Scholarship Program, which are tax deductible.

2024 Recipients

Javed "Javy" Ali - University of Central Florida, PhD student in Civil Engineering

Javed is a PhD Candidate in Civil Engineering at the University of Central Florida, specializing in Water Resources Engineering. He is also a Graduate Research Assistant at the National Center for Integrated Coastal Research (UCF Coastal), where he focuses on multi-hazard risk assessment, analyzing compound weather/climate extremes and their spatial and temporal interactions, and modeling the impacts of natural hazards and climate change adaptation. He is currently involved in four big multi-institutional research projects funded by the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the National Academy of Sciences. Javed’s doctoral research work has been featured in several news and media outlets. In addition to his professional and academic involvements, Javed has been an active and engaged member of various local and global organizations. He has been serving as the President of the IAHR UCF Young Professionals Network, a Global Peer Leader, an Ambassador for UCF, and a Global Student Ambassador, supporting and mentoring other UCF students. He also serves as a Chair of the Outreach Committee at American Geophysical Union’s Hydrology Section Student Subcommittee, Vice President (Marketing) at the Scholastic Association of Graduates in Engineering (SAGE), UCF’s Graduate Students Advisory Council Member, and Executive Committee Member of Young Earth Systems Scientists community.”

Past Recipients

2023

Jinsheng Huang - University of Florida

Bibek Acharya - University of Florida

2022

Amanda Chappel - University of Florida

2021

Taylor Hancock - University of Florida

2020
Michelle Platz - University of South Florida

2019
Conor MacDonnell - University of Florida

2018
Miles Medina - University of Florida

2017
Carrie Schuman - University of Florida

2016
Ian Hahus - University of Florida
Felicia Nudo - Florida Gulf Coast University

2015
Alice Alonso - University of Florida
Wesley Henson - University of Florida

2014
Natalie Nelson - University of Florida

2013
Drew Liddick - Florida Gulf Coast University

2012
Yogesh Kahare - University of Florida

2011
Hollie Hall - University of Florida

2010
Miguel Morales - University of Florida

2009
No award

2008
Ruben Kertesz - University of Florida

2007
Stuart B. Norton