A team of students from Georgia Southern University has earned an award of up to $90,000 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The EPA said Friday the nine School of Engineering students received the People, Prosperity, Planet (P3) Award for its work on designing a diesel engine that has even lower emissions. The EPA says the money will be used to further develop the team's design.

Previous winners of the college competition have started successful businesses and are marketing their technologies around the world.

This year's competition featured approximately 300 students and their sustainable projects designed to protect people's health and the environment, while encouraging economic growth and using natural resources more efficiently.

The Georgia Southern group was among seven teams receiving the award.

Tags: environment, Georgia Southern University, EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, Statesboro, Georgia Southern