You’re invited to the February Twin Ports Freshwater Folk event on February 5, 2025, from 11:30 to 1:00 p.m CT. This month's speaker is Catherine O'Reilly, Ph.D., newly appointed director of the Large Lakes Observatory at the University of Minnesota Duluth.
In-person attendees are invited to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) Conference Room for networking, sandwiches, and plenty of fresh water at 11:30 a.m. The online and in-person presentation will begin at noon. Sadly, the Zoom option is sandwich-free.
This event is free and open to the public.
Location:
Duluth MPCA Conference Room
525 Lake Ave. S., Suite 400
Duluth, MN 55802
Registration:
- In-person registration
- Virtual registration (Begins at noon; no virtual discussion)
Event schedule:
- 11:30 a.m. Lunch and networking (in-person only)
- 12:00 p.m. Attendee announcements
- 12:05 p.m. Seminar(s)
- 12:45 p.m. Moderated question and answer session
- Adjourning by 1 p.m. at latest.
Presenter Bio:
Catherine O’Reilly, Ph.D., is the director of the Large Lakes Observatory and a professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Minnesota Duluth. She comes to Duluth from Illinois State University, and the U.S. National Science Foundation, where she was a program director for two years in the Division of Environmental Biology and for the Convergence Accelerator Program in the new Directorate - Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP). Her research focuses on freshwater environments, with an interest in how lakes and rivers are impacted by human activities and climate change.
She has been involved with and led several large-scale collaborative projects, which had her spending several decades of research on Lake Tanganyika, East Africa with U.S., Danish, and Tanzanian colleagues. O'Reilly has been engaged with the Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network (GLEON), serving on several GLEON committees. Her work has been widely reported in media such as BBC, New York Times, and National Geographic. O’Reilly has a B.A. from Carleton College and a Ph.D. from the University of Arizona.
Presentation Abstract:
Freshwater is fundamental for an equitable and sustainable civilization. We assessed both the challenges and solutions for freshwater resources through an open global survey. The highly interconnected nature of the threats highlights the complexity of the top challenges of water quality, biodiversity, climate change, water quantity, and management. The most common solutions include increased broader engagement, stronger policy and public support, and better communication. Implementing the proposed solution sets requires a shift in the way we do science. Our study illuminates a misalignment between actions the freshwater community identifies as needed to make progress on our pressing challenges and what most academic researchers are expected to spend time doing. We provide some suggestions for a road map towards greater progress in the next few decades.
About TPFF:
Twin Ports Freshwater Folk (TPFF) is an informal gathering of people from the Twin Ports who are engaged in freshwater research, policy, or regulation issues. Meetings take place on the first Wednesday of every month and include networking, informal discussion, and a seminar.
Event sponsors:
- Minnesota Sea Grant
- Great Lakes Toxicology and Ecology Division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
- Large Lakes Observatory at the University of Minnesota Duluth
- Natural Resources Research Institute at the University of Minnesota Duluth
Subscribe:
Sign up to receive notifications about upcoming TPFF events.
Contact:
Alex Frie, research and fellowship coordinator, Minnesota Sea Grant, University of Minnesota and University of Minnesota Duluth.
Image credit: Catherine O'Reilly/UMD LLO.