Ohio State to launch quantum MS/PhD program with funding from the National Science Foundation
Writing Christina Dierkes Writing Christina Dierkes

Ohio State to launch quantum MS/PhD program with funding from the National Science Foundation

An interdisciplinary team at The Ohio State University has received $3M from the National Science Foundation to support the launch of a new graduate program in quantum information science and engineering (QISE). Faculty leaders from the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering are involved in the program, which is one of a few in the U.S. that is not housed in a single academic department.

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Ohio Sea Grant Extension Educator Receives NOAA/NAAEE Grant to Enhance Aquaculture Literacy

Ohio Sea Grant Extension educator Nicole Wright has received one of ten mini-grants from the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) to support programming that educates Ohioans about aquaculture opportunities in their state. Wright will lead the creation of “The Story of Yellow Perch: Understanding Ohio’s Wild and Farmed Fisheries.”

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Ohio Sea Grant Announces 2021 Knauss Fellowship Finalists

Ohio Sea Grant is proud to announce that five Ohio finalists have been selected as part of the 42nd class of the prestigious John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship, a year-long program that places highly qualified graduate students in host offices in the legislative and executive branches of U.S. government.

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Ohio Sea Grant and the NOAA Marine Debris Program Organize PSA Challenge for Ohio Students
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Ohio Sea Grant and the NOAA Marine Debris Program Organize PSA Challenge for Ohio Students

Ohio Sea Grant and the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s Great Lakes office invite students in grades 9-12 from the Lake Erie region of Ohio to participate in the 2018 Ohio Marine Debris Challenge “Communicating for a Clean Future.” Student groups will create public service announcement (PSA) videos that focus on inspiring others to address marine debris.

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Ohio Sea Grant Researcher Receives NOAA Grant to Study When Algal Blooms Become Harmful

Dr. Justin Chaffin, research scientist for The Ohio State University’s Stone Lab and Ohio Sea Grant, along with partners across Ohio and Michigan, has received funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to study what causes Lake Erie algal blooms to become toxic. The study, which will incorporate both computer modeling and hands-on laboratory experiments, is focused on providing more guidance to water utilities on when they should plan to treat drinking water for algal toxins.

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Ohio Sea Grant Research Continues Development of Sediment Cleanup Technique Using Ultrasound

Ohio Sea Grant researchers are continuing to work on a method to remove contamination from Lake Erie rivers and streams, using ultrasound and chemical agents that bind to contaminants and render them inactive on the river bottom. The eventual goal is to treat contaminated sediments right where they are, instead of having to dredge them up for treatment or disposal. Dr. Linda Weavers and her team at The Ohio State University have built a basic model of a river cross-section in their lab, and are moving from experiments where the contaminated sediment samples are mixed into water to one where the sediment has settled into the bottom of a glass column, closer to how they would find contamination in an actual river or lake.

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Ohio Sea Grant Researchers Track Algal Toxins in Lake Erie Fish and Ohio Produce
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Ohio Sea Grant Researchers Track Algal Toxins in Lake Erie Fish and Ohio Produce

Researchers funded by Ohio Sea Grant and the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE) Harmful Algal Bloom Research Initiative (HABRI) are tracing contamination from harmful algal bloom toxins in food, specifically fish caught in Lake Erie and vegetables watered with lake water. They have so far found some toxin in their samples, but emphasize that amounts are too low to raise immediate concerns. Drs. Stuart Ludsin, Jiyoung Lee and Jay Martin at The Ohio State University are developing and refining methods to test for microcystin, a major toxin produced by harmful algal blooms, in fish and produce.

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Ohio Sea Grant Hosts An Evening with Stone Lab to Benefit Ohio State’s Island Campus

Ohio Sea Grant and the Friends of Stone Laboratory (FOSL) will be hosting the 19th Annual Winter Program and Silent Auction from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. February 7, 2017, at The Ohio State University’s Longaberger Alumni House (2200 Olentangy River Road, Columbus, Ohio). Learn about Stone Lab and Ohio Sea Grant, meet former students, and bid in the silent auction to support scholarships for future Stone Lab summer sessions! High school and college students can also win a Stone Lab scholarship covering room and board for a one-week course.

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Ohio Sea Grant Research to Determine How Algal Blooms Impact Fish’s Vision and Hunting Behavior

Researchers at The Ohio State University are studying how well fish can see both prey and predators underwater, and how that ability is influenced by changes in water clarity. They hope that the research will help Lake Erie fisheries adapt to algal blooms that reduce underwater visibility, which is important to visual hunters such as walleye. Fish tend to follow a rotating stripe pattern that can be set up around a round tank in the lab. This allows researchers to study how well fish can see in various water conditions – no movement means the water is too murky for them.

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NOAA and Partners Issue 2016 Seasonal Harmful Algal Bloom Forecast from Ohio State’s Stone Lab
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NOAA and Partners Issue 2016 Seasonal Harmful Algal Bloom Forecast from Ohio State’s Stone Lab

The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science issued its fifth seasonal harmful algal bloom (HAB) forecast for western Lake Erie at an all-day press event at The Ohio State University’s Stone Laboratory on July 7, 2016. The forecast predicts a moderate bloom for this summer, comparable to conditions seen in 2008-2010.

The 2016 HAB is expected to measure 5.5 on the severity index introduced in 2014. The index runs from a 10, which is equivalent to the bloom observed in 2011, down to zero. The 2015 bloom was rated at 10.5, Lake Erie’s most severe bloom to date, while 2013’s bloom received a final score of 8.7. Any score above 5 is considered to be of concern.

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Ohio Sea Grant Releases Summary of First Year of ODHE Harmful Algal Bloom Research Initiative

Ohio Sea Grant, on behalf of The Ohio State University, the University of Toledo and the Ohio Department of Higher Education, has released the annual report for the first year of funding for the Harmful Algal Bloom Research Initiative (HABRI), which seeks solutions for harmful algal blooms in Ohio.

The first 18 projects funded under this initiative have already provided needed answers that have helped water treatment operators, regulators, farmers and legislators deal with harmful algal blooms, predict future scenarios and lay a foundation for long-term bloom mitigation and prevention.

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