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Great Lakes Research Consortium
Programs of the Great Lakes Research Consortium

Scientists come together to share insights from their work and plan future collaborative research, through such GLRC programs such as:

  • Task groups are formed to study particular aspects of Great Lakes science, for example the source and fate of toxic contaminants, the physical and biological dynamics of large lake environments, and the social and political factors of environmental degradation. Tasks groups contain members from more than one GLRC campus and help facilitate the partnerships of the future.
  • Seminar series, from 0 to 20 annually, covering a wide range of topics in chemistry and the biological and social sciences. Each member and affiliate campus can offer two seminars per year with the GLRC picking up the speaker expenses. Past topics have dealt with invasive species, fish mortality, global warming, river ice processes, the toxic effect of pharmaceuticals, and the transport of contaminants by air, bird, fish or other sea life. We estimate that since 1986 over 6,000 students, faculty and the general public have attended one of these seminars. Current offerings are available on our seminar page.
  • Research planning workshops. Similar to Research Task Groups but at a larger scale, these planning workshops bring potential collaborators together to develop research agendas and plan for future collaborative work. Over the years, the GLRC has sponsored nearly thirty of these workshops. The most recent was the Great Lakes Restoration Workshop (co-sponsored by the Center for Environmental Information, New York Sea Grant, and Congressman James Walsh), held March 18, 2005 at SUNY ESF, in order to discover what research was needed to support New York's participation in Great Lakes Restoration efforts. The research priority categories were aligned with those prepared for the Great Lakes Regional Collaborative and the report was made available to New York Great Lakes leaders and government officials.
  • GLRC Small Grants and the New York Great Lakes Protection Fund Small Grants (NYGLPF). This program's funds are intended to be used as seed money for multi-campus innovative research. The grants projects awarded under this program have gone on to attract over $10 million dollars in additional support for Consortium scientists.

In addition to the Consortium's primary objective of developing research teams for addressing Great Lakes problems, the Consortium:

  • Hosts an Annual Conference which brings together faculty and students from all the member campuses to share ideas and research results. The conference gives graduate and undergraduate students an opportunity to present their work to an audience of their peers and faculty. Awards, sponsored by New York Sea Grant, are given for best student presentations in several oral categories and a poster session.
  • Disseminates news about and for our member institutions in our newsletter, the GLRC Report, and current research being conducted around the Great Lakes basin, in the Great Lakes Research Review. The Consortium also compiles and distributes a monthly electronic newsletter to share research opportunities and other news with our members. Our members also receive a member directory, providing information on nearly 400 faculty members – their research interests, current projects, courses and contact information.