John Koches: A Career Well-Served

The Annis Water Resources Institute (formerly, Water Resources Institute) has been in existence for 32 years; in that time period, only one employee had retired—our founding Director, Ron Ward.  We now have a second employee joining the esteemed rank of retiree:  John Koches.  John has been a critical cog in AWRI’s machinery over the past 29.5 years, and we devote this Newsletter to him. We thank him for his years of service, the training he provided to countless students and staff over the years, and his unfailing commitment to AWRI and GVSU. Fare thee well, John.   

We asked a few of his long-time colleagues at AWRI to reflect on his role and importance to the Institute, as well as any other observations:

Janet Vail:
From the basement of Padnos Hall on main campus through many moves to finally AWRI’s home in Muskegon, John has been a mainstay of the Institute.  In 1989, his work with the first regional center for the Groundwater Education in Michigan (GEM) program, housed at AWRI, brought state and regional attention to the Institute.  This was followed by the five-year Grand River Watershed Program where John’s team contributed to the body of knowledge about the Grand River watershed.  His Information Services Center (ISC) has been a significant source of a variety of reports and tools for decision makers in watersheds and local government.  ISC was on the cutting edge of making Geographic Information System (GIS) products readily available to stakeholders.  His legacy at AWRI and beyond continues with John’s work in regional sustainability efforts.      

Kurt Thompson:
When John was hired, AWRI was the Water Resources Institute (WRI) and Grand Valley State College had fairly recently (1987), become a University.  The WRI consisted of Dr. Ronald Ward from Biology (also Director); Dr. Edward Baum from Chemistry; and Dr. Norman Ten Brink from Geology, with a shared clerical assistant (from Biology): Tonya (nee Cnossen) Brown.  John occupied the outer portion of Dr. Ward’s research office; I met John while working as a student research assistant on the completion of Dr. Norm Ten Brink’s Ottawa County Well-log database project.  This project would become one of the critical stepping stones in WRI history, with Dr. Ward and John securing a significant grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, establishing WRI, as the first Regional Center for Groundwater Education in Michigan.    

Rick Rediske:
I thought John really liked iced tea until I heard he was talking about the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act, aka ISTEA.

Alan Mock, graduate student working with Carl Ruetz, successfully passed his Qualifying Exam on March 26^th.

Katie Knapp and Anthony Weinke attended a workshop titled “Introduction to Open Science Framework” at the Idema - Pew Library on the Allendale campus on March 26^th.

Al Steinman was an invited panelist for 2 separate MSU events.  One on February 26^th was on water security and the other on March 24^th was on the future of Michigan’s Environment.

Al Steinman participated in a “trolley tour” with US Senator Peters on March 9^th.  The theme was Muskegon Lake as a future port.

Al Steinman participated in a Water Summit meeting of the Muskegon River Watershed Assembly on March 13^th.  The group is putting together a conference to be held in Big Rapids in April 2019 with the goal of being proactive with response to future pressures in the watershed.

Al Steinman chaired the Environmental Committee meeting of the Community Foundation for Muskegon County on March 15^th.

Al Steinman met with Dan Schoonmaker of the West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum on March 19^th.

Al Steinman attended the West Michigan Watershed Coalition Focus Group at the Ottawa Conservation District on March 20^th.

Al Steinman was an invited panelist on “the Future of Water” at the GRAM (Grand Rapids Art Museum), hosted by the Michigan League of Conservation Voters, on March 27^th.  This panel discussion was in conjunction with the presentation of commissioned art pieces about the Great Lakes by artist Alexis Rockman.

Kevin Strychar participated in the annual GVSU Regional Math and Science Center’s Science Olympiad on the topic of Meteorology on March 17^th.

Janet Vail attended the GLOBE North American Regional Meeting at Purdue University from March 27^th – 29^th.  She has been appointed to the GLOBE U.S. Partner Forum.

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 is a co-author of two papers, one in Ecological Indicators and the other in Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety:
Su, X., Steinman, A.D., Xue, Q., Zhao, Y., and L. Xie. 2018. Evaluating the contamination of microcystins in Lake Taihu, China: The application of equivalent total MC-LR concentration. Ecological Indicators 89: 445-454.

Cao, Q., Steinman, A.D., Yao, L., and L. Xie. Effects of light, microorganisms, farming chemicals and water content on the degradation of microcystin-LR in agricultural soils.  Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 156: 141-147.

Presentations

(Presenter listed first)

AWRI was represented at the Michigan Academy of Science, Arts, and Letters conference at Central Michigan University on March 9^th.  Matt Allen, Molly Lane, and Brian Scull attended and each presented a paper.
Allen, M.*, R. Rediske, M. Lane**, and K. Thompson.  Investigation of the spatial distribution of E. coli in a Great Lakes coastal tributary.
Lane, M.**, R. Rediske, B. Scull, and B. Schulz*. A comparison of qPCR and Colilert (Escherichia coli) data at Lake Michigan beaches in Muskegon County, MI.
Scull, B.T., R.R. Rediske, M. Lane**, and B. Schultz*.  Comparison of Colilert and qPCR methods for monitoring inland lake beaches in Muskegon County. 

Katie Knapp, graduate student working with Bopi Biddanda, represented AWRI at the annual “Spring Thaw” event with a poster presentation and buoy sensor demonstration.  The event was organized by and held at Torresen Marine in Muskegon on March 10^th. Knapp, K.**, B. Biddanda, A. Weinke**, T. Claffey* and S. Kendall.  Poster.  Muskegon Lake Observatory: A Sentinel for a Great Lakes Estuary AOC.

Charlyn Partridge gave an invited presentation on her Baby’s Breath work in Sleeping Bear Dunes at the Kellogg Biological Station on March 2^nd.

Rick Rediske was a guest lecturer for Public Health 520, Environmental & Occupational Health, on the topic of the Rockford and Flint Water Crises on March 7^th.

Kevin Strychar gave a presentation at the Whitehall Library titled “Climate change and coral reefs” on March 8^th.

Kevin Strychar attended and presented at the Benthic Ecology conference held in Texas from March 27^th – 29^th.  The title of his presentation was “Climate change and coral reefs”.

John Koches received one of the first “Sustainability Leadership Awards” at the Sustainability Champion Awards luncheon held in the Kirkhof Center on March 23^rd.  The Environmental and Sustainability Studies Student Showcase of presentations and posters took place in conjunction with the awards luncheon.

Rick Rediske received the CLAS Annual Faculty Service Award at an event held on the Allendale campus on March 28^th.

Paige Kleindl, a graduate student working with Al Steinman, received a $2,000 grant from the Michigan Chapter of the North American Lake Management Society for her study titled “Littoral Zone Restoration and Nutrient Enrichment Source Impacts on Macrophyte and Epiphytic Algal Communities”.

Charlyn Partridge and Priscilla Nyamai (GVSU Biology Department) have received a grant from NASA Space Grant to look at the genetic structure of Blue Lupine across habitats in Michigan.

Rick Rediske has received a contract to sample macroinvertebrates in two areas of Muskegon Lake.  The award is for $5,000.

Carl Ruetz received a contract from the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians titled: “Evaluating remote site incubators: implications for the reintroduction of Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus) in Michigan”.  The award is for $31,000 over 2 years and will support Alan Mock’s graduate research.

AWRI In the News

“Student Highlight: Maria Scarborough: 2017 Annis Foundation Intern”
Grand Valley Lanthorn, March 1, 2018
AWRI intern Maria Scarborough is featured in a quarter page ad used to promote AWRI and its internship programs.

“Project Clarity leverages public, private support to improve Lake Macatawa watershed”
MIBiz, March 4, 2018
The picture with the article is AWRI’s Emily Kindervater and Maggie Oudsema doing some sampling work in the Lake Macatawa area.  AWRI is mentioned as a Project Clarity partner.

“Muskegon Lake’s rebirth opens city to new water-focused uses”
MIBiz, March 4, 2018
Al Steinman is interviewed regarding AWRI’s ongoing Muskegon Lake research.

“Partners back effort to reintroduce long-extinct arctic grayling to Michigan rivers”
MIBiz, March 4, 2018
AWRI is mentioned as a partner in the study to reintroduce arctic grayling to the northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan.

“Research data from Grand Valley State University update understanding of freshwater research (Integrated Watershed Management in Michigan: Challenges and proposed solutions)
NewsEdge.com, March 9, 2018
The Integrated Watershed Management project recently completed by Dave Kraff and Al Steinman is briefly discussed.

“An expert pointed to where the toxins would be”
NewsEdge.com, March 18, 2018
The article is about the water contamination in Rockford, MI, caused by historic dumping of waste by Wolverine World Wide.
This article was also carried by MLive, Muskegon on March 11, 2018.

“Communities, researchers make case for federal Great Lakes funding”
MIBiz, March 19, 2018
Al Steinman is quoted regarding the work already done in the West Michigan area and that the money spent has provided a high return on investment.

“Mercury’s match: sex hormones?”
Great Lakes Echo, March 26, 2018
Rick Rediske is interviewed regarding mercury levels in fish.

“Watershed monitoring is community effort”
Holland Sentinel.com, March 26, 2018
AWRI, specifically the Steinman Lab, are mentioned as partners in the various Project Clarity efforts.

“PFAs foam used at Ford Airport uphill from homes”
WOOD-TV 8, March 28, 2018
Rick Rediske was interviewed concerning water contamination from PFAs found in the flame retardant foam used for many years at airports and Air Force bases.

LMC Events

Mar 2
Seminar Speaker: Dr. Qianqian Liu, Postdoctoral Research Associate at AWRI & CIGLR, presented:  “Modeling Muskegon Lake - A Freshwater Estuary Under the Stresses of Anthropogenic Activities and Climate Change”

Mar 13
Students from Central Elementary (Muskegon County) visited the Annis Educational Foundation Classroom for hands-on activities.

Mar 13
The Muskegon River Watershed Assembly held a Water Summit Planning meeting at the Lake Michigan Center.

Mar 15
The Grand Haven Chamber of Commerce held their “Lakeshore Youth Program” at the Lake Michigan Center.

Mar 15
Members from a North Muskegon Book Club visited AWRI for a tour and a program hosted by Janet Vail.

Mar 16
The Life Sciences Department at Muskegon Community College held a staff meeting at the Lake Michigan Center.

Mar 22
Students from Ross Park Elementary (Muskegon County) visited the Annis Educational Foundation Classroom for hands-on activities.