AWWA 2019 American Water Scholarship Presented to University of Colorado at Boulder Doctoral Student Kaitlin Mattos

American Water (NYSE: AWK), the largest publicly traded U.S. water and wastewater utility company, today announced that Kaitlin Mattos, a doctoral student at the University of Colorado at Boulder, has been chosen as the recipient of the American Water Works Association (AWWA) 2019 American Water Scholarship. The 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 Kaitlin, who was selected among 88 outstanding applicants," said Dr. Zia Bukhari, principal scientist, water & wastewater research at American Water. "By attracting scholars to the field of water research, which is vital to the future of our business, we hope to develop and tap their talent for the long-term benefit of our communities and the environment. We are honored to help Kaitlin advance her research studies."

Kaitlin was selected for this scholarship due to her exceptional academic abilities, outstanding 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 and the Engineering for Developing Communities program. Her current work focuses on researching and re-engineering household water and wastewater treatment systems for unserved communities in rural Alaska – including social, technical and environmental considerations alongside the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium’s Division of Environmental Health and Engineering.

Kaitlin earned her undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies from Washington University in St. Louis and worked for six years in natural resources management and environmental planning in the Mariana Islands. She then received her master’s degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder after working with the University of Alaska Anchorage team studying water resources and reuse in rural Alaska. She received a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Program Fellowship in 2016 and has used the opportunity to support continued fieldwork in rural Alaska researching public health and environmental issues. Upon completion of her PhD, Kaitlin plans to continue working on environmental and public health protection in small, isolated and rural communities.

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 is the largest and most geographically diverse U.S. publicly traded water and wastewater utility company. The company employs more than 7,100 dedicated professionals who provide regulated and market-based drinking water, wastewater and other related services to more than 14 million people in 46 states. American Water provides safe, clean, affordable and reliable water services to our customers to make sure we keep their lives flowing. For more information, visit amwater.com and follow American Water on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

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