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Charlyn Partridge, right, associate professor at GVSU’s Annis Water Resources Institute, examines a hemlock tree with biology major Zoe Gondeck at a Muskegon Conservation District site in Oceana County on July 23. Partridge is leading a study using e...

Mission

The Robert B. Annis Water Resources Institute (AWRI) is a multidisciplinary research organization within GVSU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS).

AWRI's mission is to integrate research, education, and outreach to enhance and preserve freshwater resources.

AWRI consists of 3 programmatic areas and offers exciting research and education opportunities to undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and staff:

An AWRI graduate student holds a large sturgeon while kneeling in a river.
Jasmine Mancuso, Dr. Bopi Biddanda, and Anthony Weinke pose in front of the Muskegon Lake Observatory Buoy.
AWRI vessel staff and an elementary student collect water from the W.G. Jackson using a Van Dorn bottle sampler.

The Ecological Research Program explores questions about aquatic ecology, chemistry and toxicology, fisheries ecology, hydrology, microbial ecology, aquatic molecular ecology, ecosystem restoration, and ecological modeling.

AWRI faculty lead coursework at GVSU that are used or cross-listed in a variety of departments and programs, including Biology, Cell and Molecular Biology, Environmental and Sustainability Studies, Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Geography, Natural Resources and Environmental Management, and Sociology

The Education and Outreach Program utilizes AWRI's two research vessels and the Annis Educational Foundation Classroom to provide scientific information to K-12 students, policymakers, educators, college students, and community groups.

Students, faculty, and staff have the opportunity to participate in AWRI activities as volunteers, paid assistants, undergraduate interns, graduate students, research associates, postdoctoral research fellows, faculty fellows, or sabbatical visitors.

Our strategic plan can be found online (updated January 2023).

As an institution, AWRI is a member of the following national and regional organizations:

Page last modified April 17, 2026