Toowoomba Regional Council officially can claim one of Queensland’s smart young women in its ranks following the announcement of the Smart Women – Smart State Awards 2008 in Brisbane on Tuesday night.

Council Engineering officer and USQ Engineering student Nicola Mead won the Undergraduate Students – Engineering Award.� She received her prize from Minister for Women and Child Safety Margaret Keech.

The awards honour women’s outstanding achievements in non-traditional areas such as science, engineering and information communication technology.

Ms Mead’s project investigating domestic water consumption was driven by her interest in environmental engineering.

The pilot water consumption study forms part of her USQ course work.� She plans to complete her Bachelor of Environmental Engineering and Bachelor of Business (majoring in management and leadership) degrees in November.

Caption: USQ Engineering and Business student and Toowoomba Regional Council Engineering GIS officer Nicola Mead with her Smart Women – Smart State Undergraduate Students – Engineering Award.