BGSU Zoom News

Monday, March 26, 2018

Davis, Bullerjahn and McKay active in Lake Erie research | Addison creates board game in support of bipolar awareness

Studying water samples are (left to right) Timothy Davis, George Bullerjahn and graduate student Taylor Tuttle.

BGSU CONTRIBUTIONS INFORM DECISION TO DESIGNATE LAKE ERIE IMPAIRED

Michael McKay

Ohio’s Environmental Protection Agency and Gov. John Kasich have designated the western basin of Lake Erie – from Toledo to Marblehead – as an impaired waterway due to toxic algae. This designation comes after consultation with experts from Bowling Green State University, among other organizations.

“This is a great first step, a recognition of the fact that these blooms are impairing Lake Erie,” said Dr. Timothy Davis, BGSU associate professor of biological sciences. “This is clearly the right decision.”

Davis and Drs. George Bullerjahn, Professor of Research Excellence, and Michael McKay, Ryan Endowed Professor, all in the Department of Biological Sciences, were part of the team that developed the criteria used to declare the open waters of the western basin of Lake Erie impaired. This included determining what metrics should be used and how they should be used.

“We’ve known for a while that these blooms have been a major issue to the region, and this is really a formal acknowledgment of that issue,” Davis said. “It gives us a benchmark to work toward to delist it.”

Faculty inform decision to declare Lake Erie impaired – The Blade
‘Così fan tutte’ - BG Independent News
Northwest Ohio colleges and universities enter compact – Van Wert Independent

Mike Addison with his Space Princess game

SPACE PRINCESS
BGSU STAFF MEMBER CREATES BOARD GAME IN SUPPORT OF BIPOLAR AWARENESS

While his “elegant strategy game for two” involves a lot of decisions, it wasn’t hard for Bowling Green State University Applications Developer Mike Addison to decide to make a board game in support of bipolar awareness. Inspired by Carrie Fisher, Space Princess is fully funded on Indiegogo, with a portion of each pledge going to the International Bipolar Foundation (IBDF).

“Carrie Fisher meant a lot to me as a hero,” said Addison, a 1999 BGSU alumnus. “She was representative of my childhood. My way of processing my feelings about her death was to design a game. We are releasing it to honor her memory and inspire new heroes to follow in her footsteps.”

Not only did Fisher, who had bipolar disorder, support bipolar awareness and the IBPF, members of the Space Princess team, including Addison, have family members who have struggled with bipolar disorder.

“Carrie Fisher was and still is very relevant to a lot of things our society is struggling with,” Addison said. “She was a strong woman in genre fiction in the ‘70s, which was rare. It is important that women and girls, as well as men, have good female role models.”

William Butcher (left) is congratulated by President Rogers.

EMPLOYEES’ YEARS OF DEDICATION TO BGSU HONORED

Ronny Woodruff (left) is greeted by President Rogers.

The University honored 350 employees and recent retirees at the annual Faculty and Staff Years of Service Ceremony on March 15, recognizing their service in five-year increments from five to 50 (among the retirees from 2017).

Addressing the gathering, President Rodney Rogers said, “Belong. Stand out. Go far. We often associate those phrases with our students, but I think they apply to our faculty and staff as well. Belong — the individuals seated all around you today represent 5,301 years of service to this institution and all areas of the University community.

“Although that number is impressive, numbers alone can’t reveal the tremendous effort, professionalism, creativity, dedication and care that our faculty, classified and administrative staff show in their work every day. We belong to a special community of teachers and learners.”

Topping the longevity list of current employees were geology department Lab Manager William Butcher, and Distinguished Research Professor Ronny Woodruff.

“Still serving BGSU after more than 40 years,” Rogers said, “we have Bill Butcher, without whom the geology department simply could not have functioned all these years, as faculty and generations of students will tell you; and Dr. Ronny Woodruff in biology, a nationally known researcher and also a tremendous role model and supporter of students who has launched many on their careers.”

IN BRIEF

The rise of illnesses caused by bacteria that are resistant to traditional treatments has scientists around the world racing to keep up with the demand for new antibiotics. The third annual Public Health Symposium at BGSU will address this topic with expert speakers and research presentations, and the Ned Baker Lecture titled “Superbugs! Antibiotic Resistance Matters.”

Get details In Brief