AWRI director elected to science board

Alan Steinman, director of Grand Valley’s Annis Water Resources Institute, has been selected to serve on the Society for Freshwater Science's Board of Directors.

Steinman's term on the board of the organization is for three years. Members of the organization elected Steinman to serve as the society's first academic delegate, as the organization (formerly the North American Benthological Society) undergoes a reorganization.

It’s not the only board Steinman serves on. He was recently appointed as a member of the Michigan Board of Trustees of The Nature Conservancy, and also serves on the boards of the Community Foundation for Muskegon County, the West Michigan Symphony, and Goodwill Industries of West Michigan.

The Society for Freshwater Science is an international scientific organization whose purpose is to promote further understanding of freshwater ecosystems (rivers, streams, lakes, reservoirs, and estuaries) and ecosystems at the interface between aquatic and terrestrial habitats (wetlands, bogs, fens, riparian forests and grasslands). 

The society fosters exchange of scientific information among the membership, and with other professional societies, resource managers, policy makers, educators, and the public. 

Society members study aspects from the genetics to community structure of freshwater organisms, freshwater ecosystem function, physical processes that affect freshwaters, and linkages between freshwater ecosystems and surrounding landscapes. 

Applied aspects of their science include habitat and water quality assessment, conservation, fisheries and invasive species management, integrated water resource management, and restoration.