This week Governor Pat Quinn signed the Clean Water Initiative, which will provide financial support for communities in Illinois to improve stormwater, wastewater, and drinking water infrastructure, and be better prepared to cope with the impacts of climate change – increased risk of drought and extreme precipitation.
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Friday Foto: Green infrastructure funding is part of newly-signed Clean Water Initiative
July 25th, 2014 by iisg_superadminKnauss Fellow Sara Paver shares her experiences at NSF
July 24th, 2014 by iisg_superadmin
“I have officially reached the halfway point in my fellowship. I am having a wonderful experience, and the time has passed unbelievably quickly. I would consider the best aspects of being a Knauss Fellow to be (in no particular order) the abundance and breadth of opportunities—no two fellowship experiences are the same, and there is quite a bit of flexibility to tailor your experiences to your interests—and the awesome people you have the opportunity to interact with along the way. I really enjoy working with my colleagues at the National Science Foundation (NSF) and spending time with the other fellows.
My fellowship placement is in the Division of Ocean Sciences, where I have been working to facilitate the review of grant proposals submitted to the Coastal Science, Engineering, and Education for Sustainability (Coastal SEES) program and the Biological Oceanography core program. I submitted a few grants to NSF as a graduate student, and it has been very illuminating to see the grant review process from the other side. I especially enjoy meeting and interacting with the scientists who serve on panels.
My position at NSF has also enabled me to improve my science communication skills. I revised the 2014 Coastal SEES award abstracts to make them accessible to a non-specialist audience. I have also been writing NSF Highlights to describe the broader impacts of research accomplishments funded by the NSF Biological Oceanography program.
Outside of my work at NSF, I have been using my non-stipend fellowship funds to travel. I recently returned from Waterville Valley, NH, where I attended my first Gordon Research Conference. The theme of the conference was “Ocean Global Change Biology: Interactive Effects of Multiple Global Change Variables.” In May, I had the opportunity to travel to the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in East Boothbay, ME to participate in an Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry scoping workshop focused on improving predictive biogeochemical models through single cell-based analyses of marine plankton. These experiences provided me with opportunities to network with researchers—including scientists whose work I cited in my dissertation and had specifically hoped to meet—as well as the chance to watch collaborations form and new research areas emerge.
The Knauss Fellowship has also provided me with unique extra-curricular experiences. For example, I recently viewed Saturn through a telescope at the Naval Observatory during a special tour for Knauss Fellows set up by Justine Kimball, the fellow currently serving as policy liaison to the Oceanographer of the Navy. Earlier in the year, I went bowling with my NSF colleagues at the Truman Bowling Alley in the basement of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, which is near the White House. I also went on a road trip with some of the other Knauss Fellows, including IISG fellow Katherine Touzinsky, to Horn Point Laboratory on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, where we completed an Integration and ApplicationNetwork (IAN) science communication course.
I am excited to see what is in store for me in the next six months and would encourage anyone interested in the intersection of science and policy to seriously consider applying to be a Knauss Fellow.”
Be sure to check back here next week to hear how things are going for Katherine Touzinsky.
**Photo A: Sara (left) and three other Knauss Fellows take a break from Capital Hill Ocean Week events to pose for a photo.
Photo B: Sara enjoying her visit to East Boothbay, ME.
Join us in welcoming our new graphic arts specialist
July 23rd, 2014 by iisg_superadminWe are excited to announce that Joel Davenport has joined the team as IISG’s graphic arts specialist. Joel helps shape the look of the program and works closely with the communication team and program specialists to produce our newsletter, flyers, displays, and other print and online outreach materials.
Asian carp jump into new markets
July 22nd, 2014 by iisg_superadminLatest climate report details the lasting effects of this past winter’s weather
July 18th, 2014 by iisg_superadminWeb-based tipping points tool will help communities protect and grow at the same time
July 16th, 2014 by iisg_superadmin![](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xo85OKZt54k/U8Ql6ZbW0UI/AAAAAAAACyw/lyp0f9E_PpY/s1600/Tipping+points1.jpg)
Stay up-to-date on this week’s dangerous lake conditions with the Michigan City buoy
July 15th, 2014 by iisg_superadminBoaters, anglers, and swimmers, you many want to think twice before heading out into Lake Michigan today. Forecasters are predicting waves swells as high as 7 ft, creating dangerous conditions for any one in water.
The high waves are the result of an unusual weather pattern expected to continue into tomorrow. A small piece of the polar vortex has dropped down to the southern Great Lakes, bringing fall-like weather to parts of Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana.
The cool air may be a welcomed break from July heat, but the shifting weather is not without its downsides. Right now, parts of the lake are actually warmer than the air above it, creating the perfect conditions for waterspouts. The wave swells created by gusty winds also bring a higher chance of rip currents, especially along Michigan’s western shore.
Whether you are planning a trip to the lake or not, you can track wave height and other lake conditions in southern Lake Michigan as the strange weather continues with the IISG real-time buoy.
*The week’s strange weather brings a chance of waterspouts like this one captured near Winthrop Harbor in 2013. Photo by Phil Mathis.
Former intern Naoki turns Great Lakes buoy experience into offshore power development
July 14th, 2014 by iisg_superadminDuring my internship, I led a project that resulted in the first-ever nearshore real-time weather observation buoy in Indiana’s Lake Michigan waters. Data from the Michigan City buoy is used for research, educational, and weather alert purposes. I was responsible for configuring, testing, deploying, operating, and recovering the buoy in 2012. I also developed a user manual to ensure proper buoy operations in the future.
In the news: Teachers test water quality, learn about invasive species near Erie, PA
July 10th, 2014 by iisg_superadminIt’s day four of the Shipboard and Shoreline Science Workshop, and teachers from across the Great Lakes region are hard at work conducting field experiments alongside researchers aboard the EPA R/V Lake Guardian. The group was in Lake Erie’s Presque Isle Bay yesterday collecting water samples and hunting for invasive species. Their work, along with some of the researchers and participants, was featured on WICU 12 Erie.
“I’m going to bring this back to my classroom,” Chad Solomon, a teacher at Chicago’s Whitney M. Young Magnet High School told WICU. “We live in Chicago, but very rarely do kids actually get to the lake. I am going to be bringing this experience back to them.”
Joining the teachers at this shoreline stop and throughout the research cruise is IISG’s Kristin TePas. Kristin coordinates the annual teacher workshop, held each year on a different lake, for the Center for Great Lakes Literacy and the EPA Great Lakes National Program Office.
Sea Grant-funded researchers Sam Mason and Steve Mauro were also on board sampling for emerging pollutants like plastic and pharmaceuticals. You can learn more about Mason’s research in Lake Erie and across the Great Lakes in the latest issue of UpClose. And watch for the next edition later this month to hear from Mauro directly about his work on the Lake Guardian.
*Photo taken during the 2010 cruise on Lake Michigan
Recent News
- Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant announces funding for southern Lake Michigan region research
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- Middle schoolers join a Chicago research lab in the quest for new antibiotics
- You can take steps to reduce your exposure to PFAS contaminants
- IISG summer initiatives include interns, water safety, and aquatic invasive species
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