Joseph Atkinson, professor of civil, structural and environmental engineering, serves as director of the Great Lakes Program.

What is the mission of the Great Lakes Program?

According to our literature, the mission of the Great Lakes Program is to "develop, evaluate and synthesize scientific and technical knowledge on the Great Lakes ecosystem in support of public education and policy formation." This translates into three major focus areas: research, outreach (or technology transfer) and education. Our aim is to facilitate and carry out multidisciplinary research on the lakes, see that results of research, both ours and that of others, is available in a format easily accessible for all stakeholders, and present educational programs for teachers and students.

Why is it important for UB to be involved in the study of the Great Lakes?

There are a number of reasons for UB to be involved in the study of the Great Lakes. First, and obviously, the Great Lakes are a very significant physical presence for New York, as well as several other states and Canadian provinces. The Great Lakes system contains nearly 20 percent of the freshwater reserve of the world; only the polar ice caps contain more freshwater than the lakes. About one third of New York's entire border is formed by components of the Great Lakes system-Lake Erie, the Niagara River, Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence Seaway. Although once largely taken for granted, the availability of usable water is becoming a critical issue for development and even survival in some parts of the world, and we are fortunate to be "water-rich" here. The lakes provide shipping access to otherwise inland areas and have played a significant role in the development of many cities, including Buffalo. In addition, the lakes provide for recreation and tourism, as well as sport and commercial fishing. However, despite their size, the Great Lakes are-and have been-susceptible to changes induced by human activity. The economic impact of the lakes, alone, argues for the need to better understand and manage the resources available, and this is a primary motivation for studying the lakes. It also is completely consistent with the university's mission that UB should maintain a leadership role in research on the lakes. There is a wealth of research topics available, from hydrodynamics to human health, and many of these topics are best addressed within a multidisciplinary framework. UB can and should provide leadership to facilitate research and coordination of efforts in each of these areas.

How has the focus of the program evolved over the years?

The program was founded in 1985 as a project of then-New York State Sen. John B Sheffer II and Assemblyman William B. Hoyt, who believed that the future environmental, socioeconomic, industrial and recreational development of the Western New York region was tied to the resources of the Great Lakes. Joining with then-UB Provost William R. Greiner, they planned the development of a Western New York Center for Great Lakes Resources, which became the Great Lakes Program. The original purpose of the center was to function as a clearinghouse and resource center for information related to the Great Lakes. Public outreach and education have remained an integral part of the program, and these activities are largely carried out by the program's associate director, Helen Domske, who also holds an appointment as a New York Sea Grant education specialist. However, the program also has gained much more of a research focus, largely through the efforts of former directors Ralph Rumer (1985-91) and, especially, Joseph DePinto (1991-2000). Specifically, the Great Lakes Program began to add multidisciplinary and ecosystem-based Great Lakes research facilitation and direction to its role within the university and to carve out a new niche within the Great Lakes community. Currently, the three mission areas of research, education and outreach are considered to be of equal importance.

What types of activities is the program involved in?

The program oversees efforts in all three mission areas. Examples of current research topics include modeling the fate and transport of toxic substances in Lake Ontario and contaminated-sediment modeling and evaluation of dissolved oxygen dynamics in several Great Lakes tributaries. The program co-sponsors and organizes the environmental engineering seminar series and helps organize the annual Great Lakes Beach Sweep and Science Exploration Days on campus. The program also publishes a regular newsletter, "Perspectives," and co-publishes the Great Lakes Research Review, along with the Great Lakes Research Consortium. This publication provides a means of reporting research results on a given topic to legislators and the general public. Primarily through the efforts of the associate director, the program recently produced a New York Coalition of Lower Great Lakes Legislators Data Base, which serves as a reference tool for legislators to easily access information to assist them in understanding the players and policies that influence Great Lakes management issues. Domske also is involved in numerous teaching activities.

What is your vision for the future of the program? What are your plans?

Having only recently taken over the directorship, my vision for the program is still taking shape. However, I agree largely with the current vision statement, which is ".to become one of the top three Great Lakes research and education academic centers in the basin (and) to be perceived as a primary source of knowledge necessary to support the ecosystem approach and sustainable development concepts for stewardship of the Great Lakes." We are examining possible collaborative efforts with other SUNY schools to develop a major research institute for studies on the lower Great Lakes (Lakes Erie and Ontario). I also am looking into possible ways of involving faculty affiliates more directly in the program, including development of a stronger research portfolio. I believe that if the program is to survive and grow, there needs to be a stronger base of external support, and that needs to be done through further research development.

What question do you wish I had asked, and how would you have answered it?

I would just like to conclude by saying that I hope people do not think of the Great Lakes as being "great" simply because of their size. They are physically beautiful, complex ecosystems that require proper stewardship to maintain their health and presence as an incomparable resource for the region and for New York in particular. Given our location, it is natural to expect that UB should play a lead role for studies related to the lakes.