Finger Lakes Research Conference
November 15, 2013

Please plan to attend the 2013 Finger Lakes Research Conference that will highlight panelists discussing land use, invasive species, and nutrient management within the Finger Lakes region of New York. In addition, a number of research posters will be displayed.

Keynote Speaker

Katherine Bunting-Howarth, J.D. Ph.D.
Associate Director of New York Sea Grant Institute

Katherine E. Bunting-Howarth became the Associate Director for New York Sea Grant and Assistant Director for Cornell Cooperative Extension in April of 2011.  There she leads ten talented Extension Associates located in five offices along the many diverse coastal areas of New York State.  She also in is a member of the New York Sea Grant Institute’s management team where she assists in developing policy direction for the organization’s communication, extension and research programs.  She provides national leadership in Sea Grant as an elected member of the Assembly of Sea Grant Program Leader’s Board.  In New York, she serves on the Faculty Steering Committees for the New York Water Resource Institutes and the Cornell Biological Field Station as well as an Ex Officio member of the Great Lakes Basin Advisory Council.  Most recently, she was appointed a Faculty Fellow for the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future at Cornell University.  Kathy’s interests include coastal policy and integrating social science in coastal research and extension efforts. 

Prior to joining New York Sea Grant, Kathy was Director of the Division of Water Resources in the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.  As Director, she oversaw multiple federal Clean Water Act programs and State water quality programs.  Kathy also served as an alternate Commissioner, and Chair, of the Delaware River Basin Commission, a member of the Executive Implementation Council of the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, a Board alternate for the Center for the Inland Bays, a member of the Principal Staff Committee of the Chesapeake Bay Program, and Chair of the Water Supply Coordinating Council.  In addition, she served as the Region 3 representative on the Board of the Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators.

Kathy’s Ph.D. is in Marine Policy from the University of Delaware’s Graduate College of Marine Studies; she holds a Juris Doctorate with a Certificate in Environmental and Natural Resource Law from the University of Oregon School of Law; and has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Biology and International Relations from the University of Delaware. Kathy and her husband, David, have two sons, Davin and Aidan, and reside in Ithaca, NY.

Agenda (subject to change)

11:00 am Registration, Participant Set Up
11:45 - 12:30 pm Welcome Address, Lunch
-Dr. John Halfman

12:30 - 1:00 pm Keynote Speaker
-Dr. Katherine Bunting- Howarth, NY SeaGrant
-introduced by Dr. Lisa Cleckner

1:00 - 2:00 pm Panel Discussion - Land Use
Moderator: Edith Davey, Ontario County Soil and Water Conservation District
Panelists:
-Kristen Brubaker, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies
-Bob Brower, Institute for the Application of Geospatial Technology, Chairman, CEO and Treasurer
-Kevin Olvany, Canandaigua Lake Watershed Council, Watershed Program Manager

2:00 - 2:30 pm Break/ Poster Session

2:30 - 3:30 pm Panel Discussion - Nutrients
Moderator: Dr. John Halfman, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Professor of Geoscience
Panelists:
-Dr. Dave Matthews, Upstate Freshwater Institute, Technical Director, Senior Research Scientist
-John Fraser, Cayuga County Soil and Water Conservation District, Nutrient Management Specialist
-John Santos, Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards, Vineyard Manager

3:30 - 4:00 pm Break/ Poster Session

4:00 - 5:00 pm Panel Discussion - Invasive Species
Moderator: Dr. Bruce Gilman, Finger Lakes Community College, Professor of Environmental Conservation
Panelists:
- Richard Morse, Ph.D., New York State Museum, Collections Manager of  Ichthyology and Decapod Collection
-James Balyszak, Hydrilla Task Force of the Cayuga Lake Watershed, Hydrilla Program Manager
-Nicole Landers, Yates County Cornell Cooperative Extension, Executive Director

5:00 pm Closing Remarks
-Dr. Lisa Cleckner, Finger Lakes Institute

Poster Session

The poster session will be an opportunity for attendees to learn about research and projects (active or proposed) pertaining to the Finger Lakes environment. The poster session is open to all to participate – students, citizen scientists, researchers, community leaders, etc. Throughout the conference, STUDENT posters will be viewed by attendees and judged by a select group of experts. A $100 prize will be awarded to recognize the best undergraduate and graduate student poster presentations. Each poster should measure no larger than 3’h x 4’w. Poster templates are available. Please encourage your students to participate! All poster session participants will need to provide a very short bio and project abstract to smeyer@hws.edu by November 5^th. If this deadline is missed, you may still participate in the conference with a poster, however, it will not be listed and described in the printed abstract.

Registration

Advance registration is required for all attendees including students. Abstracts and a program will be available online, and a limited number of copies will be printed and available at the event. The early registration fee of $25 per person is available through November 5^th, and late registration ($35 per person) is available November 6th - 11th.

Getting Here/Parking

Driving directions are available. Plug in 300 Pulteney St., Geneva, NY 14456 into your GPS unit. The Hobart and William Smith Colleges Scandling Center is across the street from the Medbery Parking Lot located on Pulteney Street. Enter the Scandling Center and take the stairs to the second floor to locate the Vandervort Room. Signs will be posted as well.

Free parking is available in the Medbery Parking Lot adjacent to Pulteney St. (#23 on the Parking Map). To avoid ticketing, obtain a visitor parking pass in the HWS security office located on the north side of Medbery Parking Lot.

Register Now!