From BGSU OFFICE OF MARKETING & BRAND STRATEGY
When it comes to protecting the valuable resources tied to the Great Lakes, the new director of the Bowling Green State University Center for Great Lakes and Watershed Studies is focused on collaboration.
Since starting earlier this year, Dr. Sarah Emery has focused her time on advancing the center’s mission of promoting deeper understanding of the Great Lakes through multi-disciplinary and collaborative research, both on campus and in the community.
“Lake Erie is so big that it requires collaboration to solve problems,” Emery said. “It takes those of us who have the direct connection to Lake Erie to work together to understand what’s going on in this huge, important system.”
For years, BGSU researchers have led and collaborated on Great Lakes-related projects that include examining the role of wetlands in mitigating harmful algal blooms and studying similar water quality issues in Lake Victoria.
Seventeen BGSU faculty members are already part of the center, and further connecting researchers from different disciplines – within sciences and beyond – is a key focus of Emery’s efforts as director.
“By focusing on the watershed, I think the center is great at connecting the researchers we already have here, whether that’s studying land use, communities or the water itself,” Emery said. “It was enticing for me to come here because there are so many strengths in aquatic ecology, but we also have a lot of strengths in agricultural research, urban ecology and other areas where we can approach the problem from multiple angles.”
Emery, who comes to BGSU after nearly two decades at the University of Louisville, has studied the Great Lakes for most of her career. As a plant ecologist, Emery has focused much of her research on sand dune ecosystems in Great Lakes watersheds.
In her new role, Emery said she hopes to further engage the learning community in the center, which she said is not just for physical science faculty and students.
“I was a double major in college in biology and art, so multi-disciplinary efforts have always been exciting to me,” she said. “I think BGSU really values those multi-disciplinary interactions, and there are a lot of researchers here whose strengths are aquatic ecology as it relates to the Great Lakes. The idea with the center is that collaboration can be a little bit more intentional across units in the future.”
In her short time as director, Emery said she has been impressed by the research ongoing at BGSU, both in terms of scope and connection between disciplines.
With so many BGSU experts already working in tandem on key issues for the Great Lakes, Emery said she’s looking forward to the future of the center.
“I’ve been here two months and I’ve already been involved in so many big, collaborative projects,” Emery said. “It feels really exciting and energetic to be here at BGSU.”
