Westmont Magazine She's an NSF Fellow

Kathleen Purvis ’95, a second-year doctoral student in chemistry at Princeton University, has received one of five National Science Foundation fellowships enabling select graduate students to explore the environmental context and public policy components of their research. Katie’s work will contribute to the environmental quality of paint and coating technology, providing less expensive and better products. She will study the environmental health effects of volatile organic compounds on workers in the paint manufacturing business of Nairobi, Kenya.

“Katie wanted to work on remedying the ever-increasing environmental problems in the Third World,” comments her mentor, Dr. Allan Nishimura, professor of chemistry at Westmont. “Many developing countries have not had to deal with industrial pollution and lack stringent environmental policies. Heavy industries are located in the cities to take advantage of cheap labor without regard for the health and safety of the workers or the environment.”