AWRI Wishes a Fond Farewell to a Friend

Kurt Thompson is taking voluntary early retirement at the end of this month, after 31 years of invaluable service to the Annis Water Resources Institute and Grand Valley State University. It is almost impossible to do justice in mere words to how much Kurt’s presence has meant to us.  We called on him for his expertise in geology, geospatial analysis, and information technology, to name but a few, and he always delivered, invariably with a smile.  His departure will leave a huge hole at AWRI, that will be impossible to fill.  And as much as we will miss his technical expertise, it is really his positive, smiling attitude that will be missed the most.  We wish you all the best Kurt, for that is what you deserve. 

The Muskegon Lake Observatory Buoy was retrieved on November 2^nd; it has now completed a decade of operations in Muskegon Lake.

Charlyn Partridge has been attending weekly Zoom meetings to discuss the COVID wastewater project. Both Maggie Petersen and Syndell Parks from the Partridge Lab will be involved in this project. 

Charlyn Partridge attended an NSF Reviewer Webinar on November 16^th, and will be serving as a panel reviewer in January 2021.

The Rediske Lab and others at AWRI are starting to test samples for the SARS-CoV-2 wastewater Pilot Study.

Rick Rediske lead a meeting of the Wolverine Community Advisory Group on November 20^th to discuss the agenda for 2021.

Meg Sanders completed her qualifying exam on November 13^th. Members of her committee include Charlyn Partridge (advisor), Jim McNair, and Ali Locher (BIO).

Katy Sheets completed her qualifying exam on November 12^th. Members of her committee include Al Steinman (advisor), Mark Luttenton, and Dan O’Keefe (MI Sea Grant).

Al Steinman has been asked to join the Technical Review Panel of the H2Ohio program, which is charged with addressing the water quality challenges impacting Lake Erie and other areas throughout Ohio.

Al Steinman has been assigned to the nutrient and invasive species work groups of the Great Lakes Advisory Board.

Al Steinman had several virtual meetings with Kathy Evans and others from around the state and federal government on continuing efforts exploring the proposal to create a National Estuarine Research Reserve in west Michigan, as well as promoting Muskegon Lake’s status as a NOAA Habitat Focus Area.

Al Steinman participated in a Board meeting for Goodwill Industries on November 16^th.

Al Steinman participated in meetings for the West Michigan Symphony on November 18^th and 20^th.

Al Steinman was interviewed by Good Morning America’s Ginger Zee for an upcoming broadcast on how climate affects water levels in the Great Lakes.

Amanda Syers organized another session of the MiRCLE Climate Conversations workshop series for teachers on November 4^th.

Janet Vail virtually attended the Ottawa County Water Quality Forum on November 2^nd.

Janet Vail attended a virtual meeting of the Muskegon Lake Watershed Partnership on November 5^th.

Janet Vail attended a meeting of the Muskegon County Environmental Coordinating Council on November 10^th.

Janet Vail attended the Project Learning Tree advisory committee meeting on November 13^th.

Janet Vail and Amanda Syers completed the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) Guidelines for Excellence Train-the-Trainer professional development series in November.

Janet Vail also meets regularly with the National Organization of Marine Laboratories Education Committee.  NAML held an open meeting on November 20^th with over sixty people signed up.

Sean Woznicki met with Matthew Chappuies from the Ottawa County Planning & Performance Improvement Department, to discuss GIS and agricultural planning in the county on November 10^th.

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

Bopi Biddanda had a "Postcards from the Field" published in Eos:
Biddanda, B. 2020. Buoy completes a decade of lake observing science. Postcards from the Field. Eos, American Geophysical Union, 10 November 2020. https://americangeophysicalunion.tumblr.com/tagged/postcards+from+the+field

Presentations

Emily Neuman, graduate student working with Sarah Hamsher, gave a presentation at the virtual Upper Midwest Invasive Species Conference on November 6^th.
Neuman, E.**, S. Woznicki, K. Karol, J. McNair, and S. Hamsher. Predictive modelling assessment of suitable habitats for Starry Stonewort (Nitellopsis obtusa).

Maggie Oudsema, technician in the Steinman lab, gave a presentation at the virtual Ottawa County Water Quality Forum on November 2^nd.
Oudsema, M, E. Kindervater, M. Hassett, and A.D. Steinman. Application of Iron Slag Filters for Phosphorus Reduction in Agricultural Tile Drain Runoff.

Maggie gave a presentation at the virtual Macatawa Watershed Annual Meeting on November 16^th.
Oudsema, M. Project Clarity Research and Monitoring Update.

Rick Rediske gave a presentation at the virtual Ottawa County Water Quality Forum on November 2^nd.
Rediske, R. Michigan SARS-CoV-2 Wastewater Monitoring Pilot Program.

Rick Rediske gave a presentation about the COVID-19 Pilot Study his lab is leading at AWRI to Honors College class HON 280, Water in a Changing World, on November 17^th.

Carl Ruetz gave a virtual guest lecture to Peter Wampler’s HRN 151/152, Water in a Changing World, course titled “Invasive Sea Lamprey, native Lake Sturgeon, & reintroduction of Arctic Grayling” on November 17^th.

Al Steinman gave a presentation at the virtual Ottawa County Water Quality Forum on November 2^nd.
Steinman, A.D. An update on the Great Lakes Advisory Board (GLAB).

Al Steinman gave a virtual guest lecture to Jen Moore’s BIO 610 course titled “The Publishing Process” on November 2^nd.

Amanda Syers and Janet Vail presented a session at the GVSU Science Update on November 10^th. The topic was the new MEECS Water Quality Curriculum.

No awards for November.  Please check back next month.

Megan Sanders was awarded a Presidential Research Grant through the GVSU Graduate School. Her proposal was titled “Development of modified airborne eDNA techniques for the early detection of hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae)”.

Carl Ruetz received funding from NOAA via a sub-contract from the West Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission to do fish monitoring as part of restoration of Little Cedar Creek in the amount of $9,500.

Al Steinman received a 12-month extension, extending the award date to 12/31/2021, and $82,151 in funding to continue his collaborative work with University of Michigan Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research on the Great Lakes Long-term Ecological Research Program.

AWRI In The News

“New freshwater research findings from Grand Valley State University described”
Ecology Daily News, NewsEdge.com, November 12, 2020
Al Steinman is named as the contact in an article written about a recent article on microplastics research found in Journal of Great Lakes Research.

“Jasmine Mancuso”
Great Lakes HABS Collaborative newsletter, Fall 2020
Jasmine Mancuso, recent MS graduate from the Biddanda lab, had an article discussing her thesis work.

“Oakland County and Oakland University testing for COVID-19 in wastewater as part of pilot program”
The Oakland Press, November 23, 2020
GVSU-AWRI is listed as one of the locations wastewater testing for COVID-19 is taking place.

“Michigan universities and health departments get money to test wastewater for COVID-19”
MLive, November 23, 2020
GVSU-AWRI is listed as one of the locations wastewater testing for COVID-19 is taking place.

This article was also carried by:
State News Service, November 23, 2020
“EGLE awards nearly $10 million in Covid-19 wastewater surveillance grants and equipment”

Targeted News Service, November 24, 2020
“Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy awards nearly $10 million in Covid-19 wastewater surveillance grants and equipment”

The Morning Sun, November 25, 2020
“Oakland County and Oakland University testing for COVID-19 in wastewater as part of pilot program”

The Cherokee Ledger News, November 30, 2020
“Flushing out COVID-19: EGLE awards $10 mil in grants to detect virus in wastewater”

LMC Events

There were no events held at the LMC this month.