As 2019 winds down, IISG launches new resources to learn about the Great Lakes

Posted December 19th, 2019 in Director's Blog, News
ice covered lake michigan

As 2019 draws to a close, I’m pleased to report that here at Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant, we’ve had a very good year, and that remained the case through the latter months.  

In October, IISG underwent its program site review, which takes place every four years. Through this process, we presented our work from our last omnibus as well as our current activities to the external site review team. The review provides a great opportunity to reflect on our accomplishments and to look forward to new efforts.

The review team was very positive in its response, which, in large part, is due to not only the hard work of the IISG team, but also the great amount of support from our diverse partners, many of whom directly participated in the review.

This fall, we expanded our communication tools and products to share information about the Great Lakes with wider audiences. Inspired by a rich collection of photographs taken by Peter Essick, who works with National Geographic, IISG led the development of a photo essay called Great Lakes Resurgence about Areas of Concern in the region. The Great Lakes Sea Grant Network collaborated to tell the stories of these degraded waterways, to describe the progress of cleanup efforts and report local impacts of coastal restoration.

IISG now has a monthly podcast series, Teach Me about the Great Lakes, which debuted in December. Hosted by Stuart Carlton, the program’s assistant director, the podcast helps Stuart—and listeners—learn about the biology, ecology and natural history of the Great Lakes. Stuart is a social scientist who grew up in the south, so he is fairly new to Great Lakes issues. The first installment dove into concerns about microplastics, which have been found in the Great Lakes and many waterways all over the world. The next episode, available in early January, will focus on the geological history of the Great Lakes.

Autumn also brought awards season for the Sea Grant program, both regionally and nationally. We are proud of Pollution Prevention Specialist Sarah Zack, who was honored with the Great Lakes Sea Grant Network Early Career Award at the regional meeting in Sault St. Marie, Michigan. Irene Miles, strategic communication coordinator, won the Communications Service Award at the Sea Grant Extension Assembly, Communicator and Research Coordinator Conference in Savannah, Georgia. Also at the Savannah meeting, Brian Miller, IISG’s former director, was selected for the William Q. Wick Visionary Career Leadership Award, one of Sea Grant’s most prestigious honors.

As we all look forward to 2020, we wish you the best in the new year. For IISG, 2020 will bring an even greater focus to Lake Michigan. Scientists from around the Great Lakes basin will converge on the lake to conduct intensive research through the Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative (CSMI). IISG has just released an ESRI story map, Lake Michigan Health: A Deeper Dive, to share the results from the 2015 CSMI field year on Lake Michigan.

The Shipboard Science Workshop will also take place on Lake Michigan in the coming year. During this week-long workshop on the EPA research vessel the Lake Guardian, organized through the Center for Great Lakes Literacy, teachers from the region work side by side with scientists to study one of the Great Lakes. This coming year they set sail on Lake Michigan. We look forward to new science and stories that will emerge from both of these exciting initiatives.

Tomas Höök
Director, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant

 

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is a part of University of Illinois Extension and Purdue Extension.

IISG Instagram

Join is in welcoming our new research and reporting coordinator, Laura Esman, to the team! In her new role, Laura will oversee research competitions and manage IISG’s research portfolio. She will also spearhead IISG data collection and lead the program’s annual reporting process.

Esman brings over 30 years of experience in research, project coordination and grant administration. Her most recent positions include managing director of the Indiana Water Resources Research Center, and lab manager and research associate in the Natural Resources Social Science Lab in Purdue’s Department of Forestry and Natural Resources.

Full story at the link in bio.

15 0
Open post by ilinseagrant with ID 17847944430638356
Join is in welcoming our new research and reporting coordinator, Laura Esman, to the team! In her new role, Laura will oversee research competitions and manage IISG’s research portfolio. She will also spearhead IISG data collection and lead the program’s annual reporting process.Esman brings over 30 years of experience in research, project coordination and grant administration. Her most recent positions include managing director of the Indiana Water Resources Research Center, and lab manager and research associate in the Natural Resources Social Science Lab in Purdue’s Department of Forestry and Natural Resources.Full story at the link in bio.

There’s still time to register! Educators are invited to join the Great Lakes Region Place-Based Education Institute starting this February and dive into hands-on strategies that connect students with their communities and local environments. Don’t miss this powerful professional learning opportunity!

Learn more & register at the link in bio.

7 0
Open post by ilinseagrant with ID 18063625076281979
There’s still time to register! Educators are invited to join the Great Lakes Region Place-Based Education Institute starting this February and dive into hands-on strategies that connect students with their communities and local environments. Don’t miss this powerful professional learning opportunity!Learn more & register at the link in bio.

🎉 Congratulations to our IISG Knauss Fellowship finalists!
We’re proud to announce Anupama Chandroth (@iubloomington) and Laura Gray (@illinois1867) as Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant’s finalists for the 2026 Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship.

They’ll join a national cohort of 48 finalists placed in executive and legislative branch offices in Washington, D.C., contributing scientific expertise to federal decision-making on marine, coastal, and Great Lakes issues.

Full story at the link in bio.

16 0
Open post by ilinseagrant with ID 17925527007208099
🎉 Congratulations to our IISG Knauss Fellowship finalists! We’re proud to announce Anupama Chandroth (@iubloomington) and Laura Gray (@illinois1867) as Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant’s finalists for the 2026 Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship.They’ll join a national cohort of 48 finalists placed in executive and legislative branch offices in Washington, D.C., contributing scientific expertise to federal decision-making on marine, coastal, and Great Lakes issues.Full story at the link in bio.