AWRI Summer Student Interns

One of the joys of summer at AWRI is our student intern program. This summer, we welcome 13 student interns to the Institute. These students are funded by a variety of sources and work with different principal investigators.

Four interns are being funded in part through the D.J. Angus-Scientech Educational Foundation: Courtney Cave will be working with Kevin Strychar; Andrew Pyman will be working with Ryan Thum; Chris Vandenberg will be working with Bopi Biddanda and John Koches; and Megan Zawacki will be working with Mark Luttenton.

Three interns are being funded through the R.B. Annis Foundation: Jack Gibson will be working with John Koches; Fallon Januska will be working with Janet Vail; and Jepkoech (Jay Jay) Kottutt will be working with Rick Rediske.

Other student interns: Fatouma Abdoulaye, Greg Chorak, and Ryan Sheick, will all be working in Ryan Thums lab. Nathaniel Akey and Justin Wegner, will be working with Mark Luttenton. Samantha Morsches will be working with Carl Ruetz.

Back row, L to R: Justin Wegner; Chris Vandenberg; Greg Chorak; Jay Jay Kottutt; and Ryan Sheick.
Front row, L to R: Nate Akey; Fallon Januska; Fatouma Abdoulaye; and Jack Gibson.
Not Pictured: Courtney Cave; Samantha Morsches; Andrew Pyman; and Megan Zawacki.

LMC Events

April 10
The Muskegon Lake Watershed Partnership held a public meeting at the LMC.

April 11
Seminar Speaker: Dave Dempsey, Great Lakes Author and Advocate, presented: "Great Lakes Protection: Past, Present and Future"

April 15
Public Health Muskegon County held an Environmental Health Regulations meeting at the LMC.

April 16
The Allendale Lifelong Learners group were given a tour of the LMC and Field Station.

April 22
GVSUs Regional Math and Science Center held a Project PRIME Plus workshop for area teachers.

April 25
Forest Hills 5th graders visited the Annis Educational Foundation Classroom for hands-on activities and took a vessel cruise on the W.G. Jackson.

April 28 & 29
AWRI hosted the first in a series of Lake Michigan-Muskegon Lake Connectivity workshops at the LMC. AWRI-GVSU is working in partnership with NOAA - Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) on this initiative.

April 30
Harbor Hospice of Muskegon held a meeting at the LMC.

 

Activities

Syndell Parks attended the Wisconsin Lakes Partnership Convention held in Stevens Point, WI on April 24  26.

Ann Hesselsweet and Michelle Smith, science instructors on the W.G. Jackson, staffed an AWRI booth at the Muskegon Earth Fair on April 26.

Carl Ruetz attended a Lake Michigan Food Web workshop in Ann Arbor on April 1 and 2.

Al Steinman was invited by Senator Hansen to update MDNR Director Keith Creigh on the Silver Lake project on April 7, at Silver Lake State Park.

Al Steinman assisted the Community Foundation for Muskegon County on April 14 by interviewing Muskegon County High School students competing for academic scholarships.

Janet Vail attended the GLOBE North American Partners meeting on April 2 in Woods Hole, MA.

Janet Vail gave a program at the LMC for the Allendale Lifelong Learners on April 16.

Janet Vail trained eight teachers from the Muskegon Montessori Academy for Environmental Change in Project WET and Project Learning Tree at the LMC on April 17.

 

Presentations

(When citing presentations, the presenter is first listed. When citing articles or presentations, AWRI staff are bolded, graduate students are denoted with a *, and undergraduate students are denoted with **.)

Bopi Biddanda gave a presentation titled Carbon cycle, lake observatory and sinkhole exploration in the Great Lakes at the Great Lakes Science in Action CMU-GVSU conference held at CMU on April 4.

Bopi Biddanda gave a presentation titled Time-series observations in Muskegon Lake AOC at the NOAA-GLERL and GVSU-AWRI workshop held at AWRI on April 28-29.

Al Steinman gave an invited presentation at Wayne State University on April 10 as part of their Water@Wayne seminar series.

Al Steinman gave a presentation on Climate Change at the Spring Lake Library on April 15.

Al Steinman presented to the Kent County Garden Club on Great Lakes Challenges and Solutions on April 22.

 

Publications

(When citing articles or presentations, AWRI staff are bolded, graduate students are denoted with a *, and undergraduate students are denoted with **.)

Homola*, J.J., C.R. Ruetz III, S.L. Kohler, and R.A. Thum. 2014. Weak effects of a microsporidian parasite on mottled sculpin in Michigan streams. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2013-0545.

Al Steinman is a co-author on two manuscripts that are in press:
Nogaro, G. and A.D. Steinman. 2014. Influence of ecosystem engineers on ecosystem processes is mediated by lake sediment properties. Oikos 123: 500-512.

Sterrett-Isely, E., A.D. Steinman, P. N. Isely, and M.A. Parsell. In Press. Building partnerships to tackle conservation and management of West Michigan's natural resources. Freshwater Science.

 

Awards & Recognition

John Koches received the Individual Sustainable Champion Award from the Muskegon Area Sustainability Coalition at a ceremony held on April 23.

 

AWRI In the News

Graduate students show off research: showcase to highlight GV student dissertations for fourth year
Lanthorn (GVSUs student newspaper), March 31, 2014 Brandon Harris was interviewed regarding his research project.

Through the winter: new AWRI Field Station expands research season
Horizons: a Grand Valley University Foundation publication, Spring 2014 Ryan Thum was interviewed about research taking place in the new, climate controlled mesocosm area in the new AWRI Field Station.

New Grand Valley Field Station earns LEED Gold Certification
GVNext (online), April 9, 2014 The article is about the LEED certification bestowed on the new AWRI Field Station.

Field Station at GVSUs Annis Water Resources Institute gets LEED Gold certification
WOOD News Radio, April 9, 2014 The article is about the LEED certification bestowed on the new AWRI Field Station. Also picked up by Targeted News Service.

Field Station earns LEED Gold Certification
FORUM: a newsletter for the Grand Valley State University Community, April 14, 2014 Leadership for Energy and Environmental Design is an internationally recognized certification system developed by the U. S. Green Building Council that certifies environmentally sustainable construction projects.

AWRI to host research workshop series
GVNext, April 24, 2014 AWRI will host a series of workshops to explore research opportunities linking watersheds, drowned-river mouth systems, and Lake Michigan on April 28 - 29.

Area Earth Fair activities teach students about variety of environmental issues
Muskegon Chronicle, April 27, 2014 Ann Hesselsweet was interviewed about the AWRI display at the Muskegon Area Earth Fair.

Lake Michigan  Muskegon Lake Connectivity Workshop
GLERL Newsletter: April 2014 AWRI hosted the first in a series of workshops to explore research opportunities linking watersheds, drowned-river mouth systems, and Lake Michigan on April 28 - 29.