Faculty

Lead Instructor: Dr. Martin T. Auer, MTU Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering

Dr. Auer teaches courses in applied limnology and surface water quality modeling. He brings to the cruise a broad knowledge of research activity on Lake Superior. His research activities have included attached algal growth in Lakes Huron and Michigan as well as trophic dynamics in Green Bay. Dr. Auer has also worked on the restoration and protection of inland lakes and reservoirs in New York. Marty coordinated the Diporeia sampling program, served as instructor in the area of plankton ecology, and provided oversight for the AQUATOX ecosystem modeling tutorial.

Dr. Noel R. Urban, MTU Associate Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering

Dr. Urban teaches courses in applied limnology and biogeochemistry, and has a special interest in the carbon cycle in lakes. In addition to working on Lake Superior, he has worked on small lakes and reservoirs in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York and Switzerland, and worked extensively in wetlands as well. His publications on Lake Superior cover topics ranging from sedimentation to nutrient cycling. Noel directed efforts in sediment sampling and analysis and assisted with the chemistry laboratory.

Dr. Nancy A. Auer, MTU Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences

Dr. Auer teaches courses in global water issues, aquatic ecology, fish biology and biodiversity. Her research interests include larval fish ecology, invasive species, and benthic macroinvertebrates. Dr. Auer is internationally known for her work with the threatened lake sturgeon in Lake Superior. She is also author, illustrator and editor of a key to the larval fishes of the Great Lakes and has been involved in several power plant impact studies. Nancy was responsible for collection, processing and identification/enumeration of benthos and larval fish and instructed in the area of fish biology.

Dr. Judith A. Perlinger, MTU Associate Professor, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering

Dr. Perlinger teaches graduate courses in the transport and transformation of pollutants and applied boundary layer meteorology. Her research interests involve assessing risk of anthropogenic chemicals to humans and wildlife through measurements and modeling of partitioning, transformation, and fluxes of anthropogenic chemicals between the atmosphere and the biosphere.. Dr. Perlinger’s is a member of Science Advisory Board of the International Joint Commission. Judith directed air sampling operations aboard the Lake Guardian, was responsible for collection of benthos for organic pollutant analysis, and instructed in the area of synthetic organic chemical dynamics in lakes and in the use of AQUATOX to model those dynamics.

Dr. Sarah A. Green, MTU Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Chemistry

Dr. Green teaches courses in environmental chemistry and conducts research on photochemical transformations and optical properties of natural organic matter in the environment. She served as project director for a $5.4 million study of Lake Superior supported by the National Science Foundation. Sarah provided oversight in the development of new research methods for phosphorus analysis and directed the laboratory chemistry portion of the course.

Mr. Mark Gleason, MTU Doctoral Student, School of Forest resources

Mr. Gleason’s is a doctoral student conducting research on educational applications of remotely operated vehicles. He is a past Director of the Isle Royale Institute with a great love for and knowledge of Isle Royale National Park, the crown jewel of the Lake Superior ecosystem. Mark deployed and operated a VideoRay ROV on the cruise, bring an exciting visual dimension to our benthic sampling efforts.

Dr. Alan Weidemann, Faculty, is an adjunct faculty member at University of Southern Mississippi, Department of Marine Science, as well as a researcher at the Naval Research Laboratory, Stennis Space Center, MS.

Dr. Weidemann is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Southern Mississippi, Department of Marine Science, in addition to his regular job at the Naval Research Laboratory. His areas of specialization include are optical oceanography, propagation of ultraviolet, visible, and near-IR electromagnetic radiant energy in oceanic environments, and the relationship between inherent and apparent optical properties. Alan served as instructor for the optics portions of the class, directed collection of optical research data and was a generally, all-around helpful guy.

Tony Prestigiacomo, Research Scientist of the Upstate Freshwater Institute (UFI), Syracuse, NY.

Mr. Prestigiacomo holds a bachelor’s degree in Biology and a master’s degree in Environmental and Resource Engineering from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, NY. As a scientist at UFI, he spends a great deal of time supporting field sampling and robotic monitoring operations. His professional interests include reservoir and lake process studies and underwater optics. Tony was responsible for on-deck operations and deployment of equipment in the optics research work.

David O’Donnell. Senior Engineer, Upstate Freshwater Institute (UFI), Syracuse, NY,

Mr. O’Donnell holds a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan Tech. As an engineer at UFI, he is responsible for equipment maintenance, software development and communications for the institute’s extensive robotic monitoring network. His professional interests include in-situ instrumentation and underwater optics. Dave handled the ‘dry side’ of the optics research program, keeping the equipment in top shape and coordinating data acquisition.

Mr. Sinan Abood, Graduate Student, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Michigan Tech

Mr. Abood is a Fulbright Scholar from Iraq, pursuing a master’s degree in Environmental Engineering at Michigan Tech. He has broad experience in water-related matters, having worked for the United Nations in Iraq. His professional interests include mathematical modeling and drinking water treatment. Sinan served as an instructor on this cruise, introducing students to the modeling of synthetic organic chemical cycling using the EPA’s AQUATOX software.

Mr. Ahmed is a Fulbright Scholar from Iraq, pursuing a master’s degree in Environmental Engineering at Michigan Tech. Before coming to the U.S. for advanced study, he owned an environmental engineering consulting firm in Iraq. His professional interests include water treatment and surface water hydrology and quality. He is especially interested in the field of mathematical modeling. Ziad served as an instructor on this cruise, working with students on developing a food web model for Lake Superior using the EPA’s AQUATOX software.

Mr. Matt Seguin, Department of Chemistry, Michigan Technological University

Mr. Seguin is pursuing the doctorate in Chemistry at Michigan Tech. His research involves the development of chemical techniques for measuring phosphorus at the ultra-low levels characteristic of Lake Superior. Matt served as a research scientist on this cruise, using the Lake Guardian as a platform for the conduct of his research on Lake Superior.

Mr. David Tobias, Researcher, Civil and Environmental Engineering department, Michigan Technological University

Mr. Tobias is pursuing the doctorate in Environmental Engineering at Michigan Tech. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering from MTU and worked for five years for Ford Motor Company. David’s research involves the study of the flux of synthetic organic chemicals across the air-water interface. He was responsible for on-deck operations of the air quality research component of this cruise.