MSU Center for Water Sciences

Great Lakes Watershed Initiative

The overarching goal of the Great Lakes Watershed Initiative is to establish an organization, perhaps in the form of an institute, to bring scientists together and increase their capability to conduct the kind of research that will empower stakeholders and support policy development.  Increased communication among existing research groups and investment by the University will build capacity for interdisciplinary research, training, and outreach that will utilize advanced knowledge to transform lives throughout the region.  MSU has tremendous potential for advancing interdisciplinary research with great expertise in environmental science and policy, specifically as it relates to water resources, agriculture, energy, and a reinvented bioeconomy.  We can integrate research and education in creative application-based classes to develop the next generation of environmental leaders.  We can also use our experience in the Great Lakes to solve problems in freshwater ecosystems around the world.

Meetings

We held our first all-faculty meeting on August 25 to share our vision for this initiative, to discuss how faculty research could benefit from it, and ultimately to garner broad support from MSU researchers. For those not able to attend the August 25 meeting, we have posted materials below. We will announce future meetings on this site. If you would like to be informed of future activities, please send an email to Erin Dreelin indicating your interest.

We want your input!

We would like feedback on the GLWI concept from faculty across campus. We have several questions for you:

  1. What are key research questions and priorities for the Great Lakes watershed now?  What will those questions and priorities be in 50 years?
  2. How could this initiative address the key current issues and prepare MSU to address coming issues? What resources (e.g. infrastructure, expertise) are needed to do this research that we don’t have now?
  3. How should the GLWI be organized? For example, as a network linking centers, an umbrella over centers, a special effort of ESPP?
  4. How can we best keep you informed/involved as discussions about a GLWI proceed?
  5. Are there others individuals and groups at and beyond MSU that we should engage?
  6. Do you support the GLWI?

Please send your answers and any additional comments to Erin Dreelin. To download a Word document with the above questions, click here.

 

Materials

Please note the following materials are all pdf files.

 

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