Great Lakes research association honors 2 NOAA GLERL employees with top awards

For IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 20, 2021

Contact: Francine McCarthy, Awards Committee Co-Chair, [email protected]

Hank Vanderploeg receives IAGLR Lifetime Achievement Award, Margaret Lansing receives John R. Vallentyne Award for outreach

ANN ARBOR, MI — Two long-time colleagues at NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) in Ann Arbor received top honors from the International Association for Great Lakes Research. The awards were presented online early today at IAGLR’s 64th annual Conference on Great Lakes Research.

Henry (“Hank”) Vanderploeg, chief of GLERL’s Ecosystems Dynamics Branch, received the IAGLR Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognizes important and continued contributions to Great Lakes research over a period of 20 years or more.

"Dr. Vanderploeg’s research has addressed nearly all major concerns that have impacted the Great Lakes over the past 50 years," notes GLERL Director Deborah Lee. These include the effects of toxic contaminants, cultural eutrophication, harmful algal blooms, invasive species, and sustainability of native fish species.

“His research not only has informed the collective understanding of these issues, but rather, his research has changed the conversation,” notes Hunter Carrick, professor of aquatic ecosystems ecology at Central Michigan University. Vanderploeg did this by combining field work, lab experiments, and modeling, and by readily adopting new technologies. For example, in his early work, he was one of just two people worldwide to use micro-cinematography.

His novel approach led to the discovery that zebra mussels selectively feed on more edible, non-toxic species of algae while rejecting harmful algal species, which gives the latter an advantage in the competition for nutrients. This research helped to explain the unexpected changes happening in Lake Erie at the time, with more frequent harmful algal blooms occurring despite lower nutrient concentrations. “This was never observed before and had implications for lakes and coastal zones worldwide,” notes Carrick.

The John R. (Jack) Vallentyne Award went to Margaret Lansing, GLERL's chief of information services. Lansing is considered the "go-to person for NOAA, who delivers effective and strategic science communication about a wide range of Great Lakes research," according to Monica Allen, director of public affairs with NOAA's Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. "She has been instrumental in raising national and international understanding of the key role the Great Lakes play in the environmental, economic, and cultural well-being of our nation, Canada and beyond."

The sheer breadth of Lansing’s engagement is one of the impressive facets of her career, according to Thomas Johengen, acting director of the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research. “Her efforts to support student education include activities with kindergartners through graduate students,” he notes, “while she is equally adept at hosting Congressional representatives.”

The Vallentyne award recognizes important and sustained efforts to inform and educate the public and policymakers on large lakes issues, thereby raising awareness and support for their protection and restoration. Its namesake is long-time IAGLR member and environmental scientist and educator, John R. (Jack) Vallentyne, aka “Johnny Biosphere.”

“Margaret has been a career-long champion of communicating large lake research, with an impact that honors the memory and efforts of Jack Vallentyne,” GLERL Director Lee notes.