For the past four summers (2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003), The University of Toledo’s Lake Erie Center has hosted a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF). This program has given unique research opportunities to 42 undergraduate students to date from 26 colleges and universities and 12 states. Students participated in an interdisciplinary research project with the focus being environmental protection of the Maumee River watershed that flows through Toledo into Lake Erie. The Maumee River and its watershed contribute one half of the sediment loading to Lake Erie. It is also a major source of contaminants that threaten aquatic habitats and drinking water supplies. Students work with professors with expertise in a wide range of disciplines including Geography, Planning, Earth Science, Biology, Geology, Remote Sensing, and Environmental Law. Students contributed to the goals of the Lake Erie Center while finishing projects including the development of a wetland inventory from Landsat 7 imagery, water quality analysis of the Maumee River watershed and Lake Erie, testing plants for potential in phytoremediation, and agricultural field analysis from satellite imagery. Students focus on a different aspect of this environmental puzzle READ THE PROPOSAL (PDF)

Where are they now???

Summer 2000 Students Where they are currently Susan Dunham Graduate Student at Soutwest Texas State Laura Poulos Works for an environmental engineering firm Katrina Schutte Works for the City of Los Angeles in planning Ariel Terranova-Webb Graduate student at the University of Kentucky Natalie Gottschall Graduate student at Carleton University Sarah Fuller Works for a county planning office Andrew Hoskens Graduate Student at the University of Toledo Summer 2001 Students Mike Edwards Hancock County Auditors Office GIS Matthew Do Works for an environmental engineering firm, plans for graduate school Kelly Ketchum Graduate student at Ohio State University Sarah Fuller Works for a county planning office. Andrew Hoskens Graduate student at the University of Toledo

Faculty for REU

Sam Attoh – Geography and Planning(GEPL)  – Urban Geography Kevin Czajkowski – GEPL - Remote Sensing and Watershed Modeling Jiquan Chen – Earth, Ecological and Environmental Sciences (EEES) - Ecological Modeling Daryl Dwyer – EEES – Phytoremediation Patrick Lawrence – GEPL – Environmental Geography Jamie Martin-Heyden – EEES – Groundwater Hydrology Deb Neher – EEES – Microinvertibrates Daryl Moorhead – EEES – Biogeochemical Cycles Alison Spongberg – EEES – Soil Science Donald Stierman – EEES – Geology, Stratigraphy Elliot Tramer – EEES - Biology Sandra Zellmer – Environmental Law

The Gallery

Webpage Design by JIM

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 9988038. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation