Scholarships awarded to students pursuing Great Lakes research

For IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 9, 2016

Contacts: Awards Committee Co-chairs Laura Beecraft and Lars Rudstam, awardschair@iaglr.org

Guelph, Ontario — The International Association for Great Lakes Research (IAGLR) recognized top student scientists for their contributions to IAGLR and Great Lakes science. The following awards were presented Thursday at the association’s 59th annual Conference on Great Lakes Research, in Guelph, Ontario.

IAGLR Scholarships

The 2016 winners are Jessica Sherman (University of Toledo) for her project on “Creating a spatially explicit Habitat Suitability Index model for multiple life stages of Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) in the Maumee River, Ohio” and Trevor Keyler (University of Minnesota - Duluth)  for his project on “Foraging mechanisms of siscowet lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) on pelagic prey.” The IAGLR Scholarship, valued at $2,000, is awarded annually to promising Ph.D. students whose dissertation research is likely to make a significant contribution to the understanding of large lakes.

Norman S. Baldwin Scholarship

The 2016 winner is Lisa Peterson (Michigan State University) for her project on “Evaluating methods for estimating mortality components of Great Lakes walleye using acoustic telemetry.” The Norman S. Baldwin Fishery Science Scholarship, valued at $6,000, is awarded annually to a deserving graduate student conducting research pertaining to Great Lakes fisheries. The scholarship is sponsored by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, IAGLR's oldest sustaining member, and honors the first executive secretary of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission.

David M. Dolan Scholarship

The 2016 recipient is Annie Scofield (Cornell University) for her research “Assessing the ecological importance of deep chlorophyll layer formation in the Great Lakes: Understanding a vertically restructured system.” The David M. Dolan Memorial Scholarship, valued at $3,000, is awarded to a student pursuing research in applied environmental statistics or modeling that enhances the understanding and management of Great Lakes ecosystems. It was established is 2014 in memory of David M. Dolan, a Great Lakes researcher and active member of IAGLR.

Paul W. Rodgers Scholarship

The 2016 winner is Timothy Malinich (Purdue University) for his project on the "Phenotypic plasticity of yellow perch and the role of phenotypic diversity in fish populations." The scholarship, valued at $2,000, was established in memory of Paul W. Rodgers, who was vice president of LimnoTech, a Great Lakes researcher and active supporter of IAGLR. It is given to a student to support the advancement of knowledge relating to Great Lakes aquatic ecosystem health and management. This is the final year this scholarship will be awarded.

International Travel Awards

IAGLR awarded two international travel awards this year. Rajiv Das Kangabam from Bharathidasan University, Tamil Nadu, India, presented on the “Ecotoxicological risk assessment of organochlorine pesticide residues in water of Loktak Lake.” Felipe Martinez from De La Salle University Dasmariñas, Cavite, Philippines, presented the “Monitoring and evaluation of water quality of Taal Lake, Taal, Batangas Philippines.” These awards provide travel funds for a graduate student or post-doctoral fellow from countries outside of North America to attend the conference, aiming to encourage connections between an extended network of students and researchers beyond the Great Lakes of North America.

IAGLR-Hydrolab Best Student Paper Award

The two top oral presentations given by students at the Vermont IAGLR 2015 meeting received awards. The students were Alicia McGrew (Central Michigan University) for “Herbivorous feeding behaviors of an invasive omnivore, Hemimysis anomala” and Margaret Hutton (Purdue University) for “Nearshore primary production in Lake Michigan: Analysis of trends using remote sensing techniques.”

IAGLR-Hydrolab Best Student Poster Award

Two best poster awards were given out for the IAGLR 2015 meeting in Vermont.  The two students were Monisha Sugla (Rutgers University) for ”A zooplankton respiration model to evaluate lake metabolism estimates from high-frequency data” and Eric Stadig (Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne) for “Monitoring long term trends in the St. Joseph River watershed.”

JGLR/Elsevier Student Award

The award went to Allison Hrycik, University of Vermont, for her article “Mysis zooplanktivory in Lake Champlain: A bioenergetics analysis,” Journal of Great Lakes Research 41(2):492-501. This award, valued at $750, honors a student who is first author on the top-ranked article in the Journal of Great Lakes Research. Co-authors include Paul Simonin, Lars Rudstam, Donna Parrish, Bernard Pientka, and Timothy Mihuc.