The Gus VonBodungen Scholarship Award 2022

The Gus VonBodungen Award is given to the top LA Section scholarship applicant annually. Gus was the long time Assistant Secretary of Air Quality at LDEQ. His life-long goal was to see the Baton Rouge area come into compliance with the ozone ambient air quality standard. Unfortunately he passed away before seeing that goal met. He kept a telescope in his office downtown – which faced north – so he could keep an eye on the plants in north Baton Rouge! He was a big supporter of the Louisiana Section of A&WMA and was always ready to speak at meetings. After his untimely death, the Louisiana Section named a college scholarship after him to celebrate his life’s work in improving the environment in Louisiana.

The Gus VonBodungen Award is given annually in the amount of $5,000 (1 recipient). In addition, the LA Section offers additional scholarships ranging from $1000 – $5000 for up to 3 additional applicants. The award also includes a one year student membership in the Air & Waste Management Association. The 2022 Scholarship opportunity window has closed. All entries were due by July 8, 2022.

Eligibility: Individuals must meet the following minimum requirements to be eligible for award consideration:

  1. Must be a full time student during the year of the scholarship award attending a college or university or law school located within the geographical region of the section, Louisiana and the Sabine River Region of Eastern Texas.
  2. Must be at least a Junior and no higher than Master’s level graduate student during the year of the scholarship award.
  3. Must have at least two semesters (or three quarters) of schooling remaining at the time of the award.
  4. Must be pursuing a bachelor’s or master’s degree with the major in engineering, physical or natural science, or public health. Students pursuing a law degree are eligible.
    Note: Doctoral candidates are not eligible. Those pursuing a degree in computer science are not eligible.
  5. Must show through course work, projects, personal interest, etc., a desire to promote air pollution control and/or solid or hazardous waste management.
  6. Must have at least an overall GPA of 3.00 or higher on a scale of 4.00 including all coursework through the last completed semester.
  7. Must be interviewed by Louisiana Section representatives. The interview will be scheduled by the Section after the application deadline.
  8. The winning applicant should attend the Louisiana Section meeting in September to receive the scholarship award.

The Louisiana Section of the Air & Waste Management Association is proud to announce we awarded a combined total of $12,000 to the 2021 recipients!  Congratulations to every winner for your hard work in the environmental sciences.  The award also includes a one-year student membership in the Air & Waste Management Association.

2021 Scholarship Winners

  • Anna Katherine Parker – Undergraduate in Environmental Engineering at LSU
  • Kenneth A. Despain, Jr. – Undergraduate in Environmental Science at ULL
  • Seija Meaux – Undergraduate in Geology and Climatology at LSU

2019 Scholarship Winners

  • Mae Anne Mangaoil $5,000 – Undergraduate in Chemical Engineering at LSU
  • Benjamin Wolf $5,000 – Undergraduate in Chemical Engineering at LSU

2018 Scholarship Winners

  • Morgan Lauck $5,000 – Undergraduate at LSU
  • Colleen Slade $3,000 – Undergraduate at LSU
  • Nayara de Souza $2,000 – Undergraduate at UNO