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Source: Phillip E. Pope, (765) 494-3573 
Contact: Debra Levey Larson 
Media/Communications Specialist Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant College Program (217)333-8055

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 10, 2001

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant Graduate Fellowships

URBANA- Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant has awarded two graduate fellowships to begin in the fall of this year. “Amy Dahl and John M. Drake were selected because of their outstanding academic records and because the focus of their individual research projects directly relates to environmental issues which are of concern to Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant. Dahl is doing research in the area of water quality and Drake’s research is in invasive species, both of which are major areas of interest to Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant,” said Phillip E. Pope, Director of the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant College Program.

Amy Dahl is a graduate student in Civil Engineering at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, working with Jean-Francois Gaillard. She is currently working on a project to assess the toxicity of metal contaminants, primarily cadmium, in water, sediments and microorganisms.

John M. Drake is a graduate student in the Department of Biological Science at University of Notre Dame in Indiana. Drake is working with Dr. David Lodge on a project which will identify potential invasive species, analyze how and why some nonindigenous species establish themselves in a new environment, and predict future invasions.

Three other students are in the second year of their graduate fellowship funding, having received fellowships last spring. --Brian Graeb, a graduate student in the Department of Natural Resources at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is investigating the possible reasons for the declining yellow perch population in Lake Michigan. --Glenn Sandiford, a Ph.D. candidate in the Urban and Regional Planning Department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is studying the history of the introduction of the German Carp. --Erin Argyilan, a Master’s degree candidate at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, is studying the effects of climate and land-use on the fluctuating levels of Lake Michigan-Huron since the year 1860.

For more information on fellowship, please visit the IISG Fellowship page.

The Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant College Program is one of 30 National Sea Grant College Programs. Created by Congress in 1966, Sea Grant combines university, government, business and industry expertise to address coastal and Great Lakes needs. Funding is provided by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U. S. Department of Commerce, Purdue University at West Lafayette, Indiana, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Irene Miles
Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant
376 NSRC
1101 W. Peabody Dr.
Urbana, Il 61801
Phone:  217-333-8055
Fax:  217-333-8046
miles@illinois.edu