Great Lakes Research Consortium names NY Sea Grant educator Associate Director

Oswego to Host its First GLRC Conference March 30-31

Syracuse, NY, March 30, 2012 - The Great Lakes Research Consortium (GLRC) - an organization of 18 colleges and universities in New York with nine affiliate campuses in Ontario, Canada, working together for Great Lakes research and outreach to improve the understanding of the Great Lakes ecosystem - has named New York Sea Grant Great Lakes Program Coordinator Dave White as its Associate Director.

Nearly 350 GLRC member faculty conduct research on all aspects of Great Lakes science.

Dr. Gregory L. Boyer with the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY, is the Great Lakes Research Consortium Director.

Boyer says, “Dave White as Associate Director will play an important role in responding to our member campuses’ research community needs. The Consortium is instrumental in building broad collaborations and interdisciplinary teams statewide to successfully compete for federal funding. President Obama has pledged nearly $3 billion dollars towards Great Lakes restoration over the next ten years and we want to ensure that New York State receives its share of those dollars.”

New York Sea Grant Director Dr. James Ammerman notes, “New York Sea Grant is pleased to collaborate with and assist the Great Lakes Research Consortium, a model for cohesive multi-University research partnerships.”

To help build partnerships, the GLRC administers the New York Great Lakes Protection Fund Small Grants Program in cooperation with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the New York Great Lakes Basin Advisory Council. Projects have considered such topics as invasive species pathways, water quality, wetlands, and monitoring buoy systems.

Students can apply for GLRC internships and travel awards to attend and present their research at national and international conferences, such as the International Association for Great Lakes Research meeting to be held in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada, May 13-17, 2012.

White, a Recreation and Tourism Specialist, has worked with a number of partners throughout the Great Lakes region including boating and marine trade associations, shipwreck and diving groups, the Great Lakes Seaway Trail National Scenic Byway, and the Oneida Lake Education Initiative.

In May of 2011, the BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water, Annapolis, MD, awarded White a 2010 Environmental Leadership Commendation for developing the Discover Clean and Safe Boating Campaign. White, who started his career with New York Sea Grant in 1984, is based at the State University of New York (SUNY) College at Oswego.

One of White’s first tasks with the GLRC was to help organize the 2012 Great Lakes Research Consortium Student-Faculty Conference. This conference is currently underway (March 30-31) at the SUNY at Oswego. More than 30 students and professionals will have the opportunity to present their research projects to an audience of peers and faculty.

The students will compete for the GLRC Donald Rennie Memorial Awards sponsored by New York Sea Grant for the best oral and poster presentations. The late Dr. Rennie helped found the Consortium and was a Vice-President at the University of Buffalo.

This is the first time this conference has been held at SUNY Oswego.

The GLRC’s participating academic institutions are the University at Albany, Binghamton University; Buffalo State College; the University at Buffalo; Clarkson University; Cornell University; Hobart and William Smith Colleges; the Rochester Institute of Technology; St. Lawrence University; Syracuse University; the SUNY at Brockport, Cortland, Fredonia, Geneseo, Oswego, Plattsburgh, and Potsdam; and the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.

Learn more about the GLRC at www.esf.edu/glrc; about NYSG at www.nyseagrant.org.

New York Sea Grant (NYSG) is a statewide network of integrated research, education and extension services promoting coastal vitality, environmental sustainability, and citizen awareness about the State’s marine and Great Lakes resources. NYSG is one of 32 university-based programs under the National Sea Grant College Program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and is a cooperative program of the State University of New York and Cornell University.


More Info:

The Great Lakes Research Consortium’s 2nnd Annual Student/Faculty Conference will be held in Lanigan Hall at SUNY Oswego March 30-31.

Conference sponsors include: SUNY Oswego, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Great Lakes Program Office, New York Sea Grant, and the Great Lakes Research Consortium’s member campuses.

Speakers for the Conference include:

• Dr. Douglas Wilcox, SUNY Brockport: Wetland Restoration Options Under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
  
  
• Marie Schrecengost, US Fish and Wildlife Service: Aquatic Habitat Restoration Projects and Opportunities
  
  
• Dr. Sue Watson, Environment Canada: An Overview of Great Lakes Research Activities at Environment Canada
  
  
• Dr. Katherine Bunting-Howarth, New York Sea Grant Extension: Thoughts and Perspectives on Going Forward in Great Lakes Research”