AWRI Assists with the 2016 Regional Science Olympiad

Hundreds of middle and high school students convened on the GVSU Allendale campus for the Region 12 Michigan Science Olympiad hosted by the GVSU Regional Math & Science Center.  Events covered 41 different topics, and there were separate middle school (B) and high school (C) competitions.  Over 1000 students from more than 60 different teams competed.

A record number of people from AWRI assisted in this year’s Michigan Science Olympiad tournament.  Dr. Janet Vail, AWRI research scientist, and Ann Hesselsweet, AWRI science instructor, supervised the Green Generation “C” event.  Eighteen teams of high school students were challenged to demonstrate their knowledge of general ecological principles, problems from human impact on the environment, and solutions to reducing and reversing harmful effects.  Dr. Vail was a Region 12 Science Olympiad award recipient for leadership and continuing service.   

AWRI graduate student, Nick Gezon, facilitated the Green Generation “B” competition for middle school students.  Nick was a participant in Science Olympiad when he was in high school.  He reports that “as an alumnus of the Science Olympiad program, I was thrilled to help create and run the Green Generation B event. I found it to be equally challenging and interesting creating a Science Olympiad test.  I was given a sense of hope watching the students taking the test and discussing the questions with one another knowing that some of these kids will be future leaders of sustainability, fighting to put the natural world at the forefront of how our society is organized.”

The middle school Meteorology event was co-supervised by Dr. Kevin Strychar, AWRI Associate Professor, and Bill Steffen, WOOD TV 8 meteorologist. The theme of that event was Everyday Weather.  According to Dr. Strychar, “we had 37 middle school participants – all very excited about weather.  The students did so well that we had to make 5 tie breakers.  These kids were exceptionally bright, very good team workers, and determined to be the best they could be.  It was wonderful to be part of Science Olympiad again.” 

Dr. Charlyn Partridge, AWRI Assistant Professor, took the lead for the high school Invasive Species event. Students visited stations that tested their knowledge on a large number of invasive taxa. This was the first time this event was offered and a total of 18 teams participated. Dr. Partridge stated that the “students demonstrated a remarkable amount of knowledge regarding the consequences of invasive species and how to potentially manage them. This bodes well for future scientists coming from this region of the state.”

AWRI Professors Dr. Rick Rediske and Dr. Bopi Biddanda served as resources for schools preparing for the Science Olympiad.  The top teams in Michigan will compete at the state level on April 30 in East Lansing. The National Science Olympiad Tournament is scheduled for May 20-21 at the University of Wisconsin -Stout in Menomonee, Wisconsin.

AWRI was represented by the following individuals at the 2016 Michigan Science Olympiad Regional Tournament held on the Allendale campus on March 19:
Green Generation (middle school level) supervised by graduate student Nick Gezon**;
Green Generation (high school level) supervised by Janet Vail, with assistance from Ann Hesselsweet;
Invasive Species (high school level) supervised by Charlyn Partridge;
Meteorology (middle school level) supervised by Kevin Strychar and Bill Steffen (WOOD TV 8)

Mike Hassett, Ann Hesselsweet, and Janet Vail hosted the AWRI booth at the 2^nd Annual River City Water Festival held at the Grand Rapids Public Museum on March 12.

Al Steinman attended a Science and Information subcommittee meeting of the Great Lakes Advisory Board at USEPA in Chicago on March 9 and 10.

Al Steinman attended a Project Clarity breakfast meeting in Holland and provided updates on the lab’s monitoring and research activities.

Kevin Strychar has a two-year contract to sit on the editorial board for the weekly publication “Nature Scientific Reports”.

AWRI staff are bolded, undergraduate students are denoted with a single asterisk*, graduate students are denoted with two asterisks**, and post-doc researchers are donated with three asterisks ***.

Publications

Al Steinman and former post-doc Liqiang Xie were co-authors on a publication accepted to Environmental Pollution:
Xue, Q., A. D. Steinman, X. Su, Y. Zhao,  and L. Xie.***. 2016. Temporal dynamics of microcystins in Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri, a dominant oligochaeta of hypereutrophic Lake Taihu, China. Environmental Pollution 213: 585-593.

Al Steinman and former post-doc Liqiang Xie were co-authors on a publication accepted to Environmental Science and Technology:
Zhao, Y., Q. Xue, X. Su, L. Xie***, Y. Yan, L. Wang, and A. D. Steinman. 2016. First identification of the toxicity of microcystins on pancreatic islet function in humans and the involved potential biomarkers. Environmental Science & Technology.

Presentations

(Presenter listed first)

Bopi Biddanda gave a presentation titled “Muskegon Lake Observatory: What it is and how it is of use to boaters and public” at the Spring Thaw Open House event held at Torresen Marine on March 12.

Delilah Clement, graduate student working with Al Steinman, gave a presentation about her thesis research at an EcoLunch at AWRI on March 25.

Dave Kraff gave a presentation on the Integrated Watershed Commission project at the University of Michigan Water Center during the week of March 14.

Rick Rediske gave a presentation on the restoration status of White Lake to the White Lake Watershed Partnership on March 16.

Rick Rediske gave a presentation on the Flint water crisis to the Grand Rapids Rotary Club on March 17.

Al Steinman and Carl Ruetz attended a Great Lakes Areas of Concern conference at U of M Dearborn on March 2 and 3; Al gave a presentation titled: “Muskegon Lake: a case study for BUI de-listing”.

Al Steinman presented to the Michigan Botanical Club at a meeting held in the Kindschi Hall of Science on the GVSU Allendale campus on March 12. The title of his presentation was “AWRI and Algal Blooms”.

Al Steinman was the featured speaker at the “Think Green” Job and Sustainability Career Fair at the Gerald R. Ford Academic Center on March 16.

Janet Vail and Amanda Syers presented a MEECS Climate Change workshop at the Michigan Science Teachers Association conference in Lansing on March 5.

Janet Vail presented a workshop titled “Sharing a small world: ecology activities for young learners” at the Michigan Early Childhood Education Conference in Grand Rapids on March 31.

Emily Kindervater, graduate student working with Al Steinman, received an award for $1500 from the Michigan Chapter, North American Lake Management Society (McNALMS) for her thesis research.

Emily Kindervater also received an SFS (Society for Freshwater Science) fellowship in the amount of $1000.

There were no new grants or contracts for this issue.  Check again next month!

AWRI In the News

“Lake Macatawa water quality may be improving”
Holland Sentinel, March 2, 2016
Al Steinman was interviewed regarding the improving water quality of Lake Macatawa.

“AWRI director appointed to EPA board”
Grand Valley Lanthorn, (GVSU student-run newspaper), March 3, 2016
Al Steinman was appointed to serve on the subcommittee of the U.S. EPA’s Great Lakes Advisory Board.

“GV professor acts as witness in water pollution case”
Grand Valley Lanthorn, March 3, 2016
Mark Luttenton is aiding a conservation group in fighting for clean water in the Au Sable River.

“AWRI earns environmental honor”
FORUM: a newsletter for the Grand Valley State University community, March 14, 2016
AWRI will be inducted into the Michigan Environmental Hall of Fame on April 7 at an event at DeVos Center.

LMC Events

Mar 18
Seminar Speaker: Dr. Jennifer Read, Director of the University of Michigan Water Center, presented:
“Science in Action: Lessons Learned from Fish Spawning Habitat Restoration in the St Clair-Detroit River System”

Mar 24
The Muskegon Lake Watershed Partnership held a public meeting at the LMC.

Mar 25
AWRI hosted a graduate student “mixer” at the LMC.  Former graduate students were invited to come to AWRI and share their professional/educational experiences with AWRI’s current graduate students.

Mar 28
AWRI faculty and staff participated in a professional development session on the topic of StrengthsQuest®, at the LMC. Valerie Guzman, with GVSU’s Office of Student Life, was the facilitator for the session.