Dayton Engineer

By Karen Updyke, School of Engineering

Emma Allington, University of Dayton civil and environmental engineering major, received the 37^th annual John E. Riley Award for her leadership roles with the University's River Stewards and the Hanley Sustainability Institute.

Named in honor of John E. Riley for his longstanding commitment to Student Development at the University of Dayton, the Riley award recognizes a junior student who has exercised sustained leadership through involvement with student initiatives and who exemplifies the educational and service values of the University and the Marianists. An award of $1,800 is given to the recipient ($900 per term during their senior year).

Her University leadership positions include the community-based River Stewards Program through the Fitz Center for Leadership in Community and the campus-based Student Leaders Program through the Hanley Sustainability Institute. Her scholarship includes participation with the 2020 summer NEMLab undergraduate research group with lab director, Dr. Erick Vasquez.

Fitz Center for Leadership in Community Rivers Institute

Allington is a member of the River Stewards program, the flagship program of the Rivers Institute administered by the University’s Fitz Center for Leadership in Community. The three-year interdisciplinary program focuses on leadership development and civic engagement and is based on the model of learn, lead, and serve.

Hanley Sustainability Institute Student Leaders Program

Allington is a member of the Hanley Sustainability Institute Student Leaders Program education team. The sustainability leaders’ program is an experiential learning and professional development program. The HSI education team is led by three sustainability leaders who work with a group of about 20 student volunteers to offer a series of sustainability education events and programming for their fellow students and the broader campus and community. The education team partners with AVIATE to facilitate presentations and conversations about sustainability with University students. The education team organizes volunteer peer education in the Sustainability Activation Program.

NEMLab

The Nanoscale Engineered Materials Laboratory group focuses on understanding the behavior and assembly of functionalized nanoscale materials to translate their knowledge onto practical macroscale engineering applications. NEMLab is led by Dr. Erick S. Vasquez, associate professor in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at the University of Dayton.

Tom Riley, the son of Jack Riley, presented Allington with the John E. Riley gift at the April 2022 ceremony.

Congratulations, Emma!