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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 17, 2008 Illinois-Indiana Sea
Grant Awards New Research Funding URBANA – Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant, a program
supporting research, education and outreach that contribute to a sustainable
environment in the two states, announces funding awards for four research
projects for 2008-2010. “These projects address some long-term concerns
facing the Great Lakes, including human health, wetland management and
restoration, and sustainable coastal development,” said Brian Miller,
IISG director. “Outcomes from these studies will inform in policy
and management decisions related to economic and environmental sustainability
in the region.” The first project addresses concerns about the rising
number of beach closings along southern Lake Michigan due to contaminated
waters. With Sea Grant funding, Kizhanipuram Vinodgopal and Julie Peller
from Indiana University Northwest will develop a fast, innovative way of
detecting sewage in swimming waters. They will establish a system to
rapidly alert managers when a problem is detected, which can result in more
timely decisions on beach closures. Nancy Tuchman of Loyola University Chicago will study the
impact of invasive plants on the ability of wetlands to filter nitrogen.
Wetlands play an important role filtering excess nutrients and other
contaminants from a watershed. The concern is that a significant change
in wetland plant species may alter that process. Tuchman will provide
science-based recommendations to managers charged with maintaining the
integrity of coastal wetlands and help them prioritize efforts to manage
invaded ones. In the Lake Calumet area, wetland restoration is the
order of the day. This region on the southeast side of Chicago and northwest
Indiana has endured decades of industry and now is in need of rehabilitation.
Yanqing Lian and George Roadcap of the Illinois State Water Survey and Ximing
Cai of the University of Illinois are developing modeling tools to assess
ecosystem restoration plans and develop restoration benchmarks for the region. Finally, IISG is funding a cutting edge project to create
computer-simulated versions of coastal cities in northern Indiana. Jie Shan of
Purdue Universities School of Civil Engineering will develop 3-D data
collection technology for urban planning. “This technology will provide
users with the capabilities to interact, modify, manipulate and demonstrate
different design scenarios,” said Shan. “The use of virtual cities
will ultimately benefit long term sustainable economic and environmental
development in the coastal areas in northern Indiana.” --30-- Irene Miles |