June 9, 2025
Student award winners Michael Back, Augustus Pendleton, Abraham Francis, Julia Akinyi Obuya, Hector Esparra-Escalera, and Max Moran at last week's conference. Not Pictured: Amelia McReynolds, Owen Donnelly, and Mitch Kehne.
MILWAUKEE — The International Association for Great Lakes Research (IAGLR) recognized outstanding student scientists for their contributions to IAGLR and large lake science. The following awards were presented at the association’s 68th Annual Conference on Great Lakes Research last week in Milwaukee.
Norman S. Baldwin Scholarship
The 2025 winners are Amelia McReynolds (University of Vermont) for research on “Population dynamics and mechanisms of coexistence between native and invasive forage fishes in large lake systems: analysis of a long-term acoustic and net survey” and Max Moran (Purdue University) for research on “Ecomorphological Diversity in Lake Charr (Salvelinus namaycush) Morphology and Visual Sensory System at Klondike Reef, Lake Superior.” The Norman S. Baldwin Fishery Science Scholarship is awarded annually to deserving graduate students conducting research pertaining to Great Lakes fisheries. Sponsored by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, the scholarship honors the first executive secretary of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission.
David M. Dolan Scholarship
The recipient of this year’s award is Owen Donnelly (Western University) for research on “Evaluating the Impacts of Climate Change on Arsenic and Phosphorus Mobilization in Coastal Aquifers.” The scholarship is awarded for the pursuit of graduate research in applied mathematics for the advancement of a quantitative understanding and management of the Great Lakes ecosystem. The scholarship honors the memory of David M. Dolan, whose work in applied mathematics, statistics, and computer modeling provided a quantitative basis for phosphorus management on the Great Lakes.
IAGLR Scholarship
The 2025 winners are Michael Back (Kent University) for research on “The role of sediment and surface water nutrient cycling across spatial and temporal scales in hydrologically dynamic freshwater wetlands” and Augustus Pendleton (Cornell University) for research on “Microbial Biogeography of the Laurentian Great Lakes at a High Spatial Resolution.” The IAGLR Scholarship is awarded annually to promising Ph.D. students whose dissertation research is likely to make a significant contribution to the understanding of large lakes.
IDEA+ Presenter Scholarship
Hector Esparra-Escalera (Wayne State University) received the IDEA+ Presenter Scholarship for the presentation titled “Road Salt Impacts on Hexagenia spp: Implications for Freshwater Ecosystem Health” at the conference. This scholarship supports presenters who add to the diversity of perspectives shared at the IAGLR annual conference from the interface of large lake science, management, education, communication, policy, and community.
IDEA+ Research Scholarship
Abraham Francis (Clarkson University) received the IDEA+ Research Scholarship for the presentation titled “Actualizing traditional ecological knowledge within an Indigenous Community from a programmatic and practical perspective within the context of Canada and the United States.” This scholarship supports research that adds to the diversity of perspectives regarding large lake science, management, education, communication, policy and community.
IAGLR Outstanding Student Paper Award
Julia Akinyi Obuya (Bowling Green State University) received the IAGLR Outstanding Student Paper Award for research on “Socioeconomic consequences of cyanobacteria harmful algal blooms in small-scale fishing communities of Winam Gulf, Lake Victoria” presented at the IAGLR 2024 conference.
IAGLR Outstanding Student Poster Award
Mitch Kehne (Michigan Technological University) received the IAGLR Outstanding Student Poster Award for research on “Assessing the nutritional quality and fate of Saginaw Bay dreissenid mussel veliger” presented at the IAGLR 2024 conference.
