From Basic Research to Private Enterprise: Making the Most of Invasive Aquatic Plants

AWRI's core mission is to integrate research, education, and outreach to preserve and enhance freshwater resources. Although business development is nowhere to be found in our mission statement, we also recognize this type of activity would present tremendous benefits to our students and the community.

Currently, Dr. Ryan Thum and his lab members are in the process of initiating the commercialization of genetic identification services of invasive aquatic plants, which until recently, has been done solely for research purposes. The goal of this proposed work is to develop a business that will provide accurate identification information that is essential to effective long-term management of invasive aquatic plant species in freshwater lakes.

To that end, Ryan has recently received funding from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation to fund an individual, with the goal of launching a business housed initially at AWRI. Syndell Parks, who is currently a graduate student in Ryans lab, will interact with earlyvangelist customers that have already verbally committed to providing samples for genetic identifications, participate in marketing (including attending and presenting at events such as lake management conferences, local group meetings, and entrepreneurial events). In addition, she will be responsible for creating a commercialization roadmap and a start-up pitch deck, with guidance from her mentors, including Dr. Thum, who is her faculty advisor, and Drs. Linda Chamberlain (industrial mentor), Al Steinman (AWRI Director) and Bob Smart (Vice Provost for Research at GVSU). We also thank Kevin McCurren, Executive Director of the Richard M. and Helen DeVos Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation at GVSU, who facilitated the grant proposal that will fund Ms. Parks.

Syndell Parks, graduate student working with Dr. Ryan Thum, prepares plant specimens for genetic analysis. Syndell will be leading the effort at AWRI to develop a commercial genetic identification service for hard-to-identify invasive aquatic plants.

LMC Events

Nov 4
The Silver Lake Steering Committee held a meeting at the LMC.

Nov 12
The Mona Lake Watershed Council technical advisory committee held a meeting at the LMC.

Nov 21
The Muskegon Lake Watershed Partnership held a public meeting at the LMC.

Nov 22
Seminar Series: Dr. Frank Lupi, Associate Professor with the Dept. of Fisheries and Wildlife at Michigan State University presented, "A spatially-explicit economic demand model of river and stream angling in Michigan: Linking anglers, fish and phosphorous".

 

Activities

Bopi Biddanda, with assistance from Carl Ruetz, Jim McNair, Scott Kendall, Leon Gereaux, and Janet Vail conducted the "Diving Into Our Waters - With Data" event at STATurday - a Super Science Saturday celebration of the International Year of Statistics 2013 in Allendale on November 9.

John Koches and Betty Gajewski coordinated a Land Use Workshop for the Upper Muskegon River Watershed held November 13 in Lyon Township.

Jim McNair and Kevin Strychar represented AWRI at a "Careers in Math, Science, and Statistics" event on the Allendale campus on November 14.

 

Presentations

AWRI was represented at the NASA Michigan Space Grant Consortiums annual fall conference held in Ann Arbor on November 2. Bopi Biddanda chaired a session at the conference, and Megan McPherson and James Smit gave presentations.
Presenters are first listed, AWRI staff are bolded, graduate students are denoted with an *, undergraduates are denoted with **. McPherson, M.* Oral. Improving methods for estimating lake metabolism using the free-water method and a 1-D hydrodynamic model. Smit, J.* Oral. Sediment nutrient flux in response to hydrologic reconnection and climate change.

Bopi Biddanda and graduate student Leon Gereaux co-presented research findings titled "Muskegon Lake Observatory 2011-2013: From Observations to Discoveries, and where do we go from here?" at the Great Lakes Observing System (GLOS) annual meeting in Ann Arbor on November 18.

Bryan Giordano, graduate student working with Mark Luttenton, was invited to speak at a meeting of the Kalamazoo Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited on November 21.

Dave Janetski gave a presentation titled "Causes and consequences of change in the Great Lakes fishery at the monthly meeting of the Muskegon County Nature Club on November 21.

Scott Kendall gave a presentation titled Using real-time buoy data in lakes within the framework of the NGSS at the Fall Science Update conference organized by the Regional Math and Science Center for the regions K-12 educators held at GVSU on November 20.

Geraldine Nogaro was guest lecturer for Eric Snyders General Ecology, BIO 215 class, on November 6.

Al Steinman was guest lecturer for Mark Luttentons Limnology course on November 13.

Al Steinman was invited to speak on the Blue Economy Initiative at the Region 4 Economic Development Collaboration on November 21.

Al Steinman was invited to speak on climate change and the Great Lakes at the Ottawa County Water Forum on November 25. John Koches and Mark Luttenton were also in attendance.

Kevin Sylvester, Target Inquiry teacher from summer 2013 working with Ryan Thum, had a poster presentation at Van Andel Institutes West Michigan Undergraduate Symposium held on November 16.
Sylvester, K. Poster. Environmental DNA (eDNA) detection of an invasive aquatic plant species.

Kurt Thompson was a guest lecturer, via webinar, for GIS Day at Eastern Michigan University on November 21. The talk was titled "Opportunities in environmental applications of GIS".

Ryan Thum presented "Patterns of growth, reproduction, and herbicide sensitivity in natural and synthetic populations of hybrid watermilfoils" at the Michigan Chapter of the North American Lake Management Society (NALMS) "Lunch & Learn" series in Lansing on November 1.

Ryan Thum gave a presentation titled "Hybrid watermilfoils: an emerging issue for aquatic invasive species management in Michigan" to the MDEQ in Lansing on November 7.

Ryan Thum was guest lecturer for Dawn Harts CMB 250, Introduction to Biotechnology course, on November 19. The topic of his lecture was finding genes related to herbicide resistance.

Janet Vail and Karen Meyers from the Regional Math & Science Center, presented a session on GLOBE at the Great Lakes Place-Based Education Conference in Grand Rapids on November 8.

Janet Vail was a co-presenter for a Population Connection session at the GVSU Fall Science Update conference for teachers on November 20.

 

Publications 

Bopi Biddanda authored an article published in GVSU Regional Math and Science Centers Interchange:
Biddanda, B. A. 2013. Submerged sinkholes trap Lake Huron carbon. STEM connections for the classroom. Interchange, Newsletter of Regional Math and Science Center, GVSU. November 2013, Volume 20, Number 3. https://www.gvsu.edu/rmsc/interchange/connections-for-the-stem-classroom-299.htm

Geraldine Nogaro authored an article published in Oikos. Al Steinman was a co-author:
Nogaro, G. and A.D. Steinman. In Press. Influence of ecosystem engineers on ecosystem processes is mediated by lake sediment properties. Oikos

 

Awards & Recognition

Jared Homola, a recent AWRI graduate student working with Carl Ruetz, won two GVSU awards: The Graduate Dean's Citation for Academic Excellence in the Major and the Graduate Dean's Citation for Outstanding Thesis.

 

Grants & Contracts

The ISC has been contracted by the Muskegon Conservation District to assist with their GLRI-USDA Forest Service grant award for $6,024 in support of the restoration of urban tree canopy titled "City of Muskegon site determination and implementation".

Ryan Thum has a grant through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation Tech Transfer Talent Network (T3N) in the amount of $25,000 that will be used to fund Syndell Parks for a year as the Thum lab launches a commercial genetic identification services business.

 

AWRI In the News 

"NOAA announces $15.8 million for Great Lakes habitat restoration"
The Fishing Wire, November 4, 2013 GVSU-AWRI is mentioned regarding a study of the economic value of habitat restoration in the Muskegon Lake Area of Concern.

"Connections for the STEM classroom: submerged sinkholes trap Lake Hurons carbon"
InterChange Newsletter (a publication of the GVSU Regional Math & Science Center), November 2013 Bopi Biddanda discusses his research with underwater mats at the bottom of Lake Huron.

"Stronger storms, more inland lake 'dead zones' ahead, GVSU water researcher says"
MLive, November 26, 2013 Al Steinman spoke at the Ottawa County Water Quality Forum on November 25 and was quoted.