Come onboard one of the region’s premier experimental aquatic technology centers with the Marine Engineering and Technology research team.
Researchers at the Great Lakes Research Center use their superior location to their advantage. Standing on the shore of the Keweenaw Waterway—just a short sail from the waters of Lake Superior—the Center provides the perfect hub for full-scale field research in experimental coastal hydrodynamics. Our activities encompass a wide variety of research programs, ranging from long-term coastal erosion monitoring to assessment of offshore wind energy potential.
Our host of analytical tools, sub-surface vehicles, and fleet of surface research and survey vessels also play an important role in our research.
- Professor Emeritus, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering
Links of Interest
Teaching Interests
- Surface water quality engineering
Research Interests
- Limnology
- Engineering approaches to lake and river management
- Mathematical modeling of surface water quality
- Professor, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering
- barkdoll@mtu.edu
- 906-487-1981
- Dow 807
Links of Interest
Research Interests
- Dam Decommissioning
- Environmental Engineering
- Hydraulic Structures
- River Mechanics
- Sediment Transport
- Stream Rehabilitation
- Sustainability
- Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
- Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
- ljbohman@mtu.edu
- 906-487-2005
- M&M 703
Areas of Interest
- Electric power systems analysis
- Utility applications of power electronics (HVDC, SVC, FACTS)
- Power system dynamics
- Power system transients
- Renewable energy generation and integration in power systems
- Student retention and success
- Emeritus Research Professor, Biological Sciences
- Adjunct Professor, Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences
- wkerfoot@mtu.edu
- 906-487-2769
- GLRC 305, office
Links of Interest
Research Interests
- Aquatic Ecology
- Paleoecology
- Adjunct Associate Professor, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering
Research Interests
- Integrated geospatial technologies for sustainable development
- Mobile mapping platforms for geographical and environmental studies
- SAR- and LIDAR-based remote sensing and GIS
- Geosensorics, real-time networks of geosensors
- Human-computer symbiosis for knowledge extraction and expertise transfer
- Visual perception in remote sensing and GIS
- 3-D geospatial visualization and augmented reality
- Visual and automated feature extraction in multispectral and hyperspectral image interpretation
- Geospatial-sensor modeling and calibration
- Image processing and automated feature extraction from aerial and satellite imagery
- Automated systems for vision-based autonomous navigation and control of manned/unmanned robotic platforms
- Image fusion and analysis
- Photogrammetry of aerial and high-resolution satellite imagery
Teaching Interests
- Earth observation systems
- Geodesy
- Photogrammetry
- Geospatial technologies, data, and systems
- Global positioning systems
- Remote sensing
- LIDAR-, SAR-/InSAR-based remote sensing
- Geospatial 3-D visualization
- Geospatial imaging: perception and interpretation
- Introductory and advanced GIS
- Spatial analysis and modeling
- Spatial decision support
- Cartography and cybercartography
- Professor Emeritus, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering
Teaching Interests
- Groundwater flow and transport and subsurface remediation
Research Interests
- Numerical and Experimental Investigations of Contaminant Transport in Groundwater Vadose Zones
- Mathematical Optimization of Groundwater Remediation Systems: Multi-Objective and Uncertainty Problems
- Surfactant-Enhanced Dissolution of Nonaqueous Phase Liquids in Subsurface Systems
- Groundwater Flow in a Fault Zone in the Vicinity of Desert Hot Springs, California
- Simulation of Saltwater Intrusion in the Guaymas Valley, Sonora, Mexico California
- Director, Marine Engineering Laboratory
- Robbins Professor of Sustainable Marine Engineering
- Research Professor, Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
- gmeadows@mtu.edu
- 906-487-1106
- GLRC 303
Research Interests
- Large scale field experimentation in the Inland Seas of the Great Lakes and coastal oceans
- Nearshore hydrodynamics and prediction
- Autonomous and semi-autonomous environmental monitoring platforms (surface and sub-surface)
- Underwater acoustic remote sensing
- Marine engineering
- Associate Professor, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering
- Affiliated Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry
- Affiliated Associate Professor, Department of Physics
- dminakat@mtu.edu
- 906-487-1830
- Dow 801
Links of Interest
Teaching Interests
- Physical-Chemical Treatment Processes
- Environmental Process and Design
- Computational Environmental Engineering and Chemistry
Research Interests
- Sustainable water and wastewater treatment and management
- Development of assessing and predicting tools for water treatment technologies
- Innovative water and wastewater treatment technologies for energy saving and harvesting
- Systematic and integrated understanding of water and wastewater reuse
- Application of computational chemistry and molecular modeling
- Professor, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering
- jperl@mtu.edu
- 906-487-3641
- Dow 863
Links of Interest
Teaching Interests
- Environmental Engineering
- Transport & Transformation of Organic Chemicals
- Boundary Layer Meteorology
- Sustainability
Research Interests
- Air and Water Quality
- Atmosphere-biosphere Exchange of Chemicals
- Micrometeorology
- Environmental Analytical Chemistry
- Sustainability
- Founding Institute Co-Director (retired)
- Senior Fellow, Michigan Tech Research Institute (MTRI)
- Research Professor, Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences
- shuchman@mtu.edu
- Cell: 734-649-0937
- Ann Arbor, Michigan
Areas of Expertise
- Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Applications
- Multispectral and Hyperspectral Remote Sensing
- Applied Photo Imaging
- Sea and Lake Ice
- Environmental in situ Sensing
Research Interests
- Great Lakes Remote Sensing
- Ocean Optics
- High Latitude Oceanography
- Dynamic Decision Support Systems
- Water Quality of Inland Lakes
- Professor, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering
- nurban@mtu.edu
- 906-487-3640
- 306 GLRC
Links of Interest
Research Interests
- Environmental cycles of major and trace elements
- Sediment diagenesis and stratigraphy
- Chemistry of natural organic matter
- Wetland biogeochemistry
- Environmental impact and fate of pollutants
- Influence of organisms on the chemical environment
- Role of chemical environment in controlling populations
- Distinguished Professor, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering
- dwatkins@mtu.edu
- 906-487-1640
- Dow 806
Links of Interest
Teaching Interests
- Water resources planning and management
- Environmental systems analysis
- Hydrologic and hydraulic engineering
- Optimization methods
- Learning through service
Research Interests
- Integrated water resources planning
- Hydrologic modeling and forecasting
- Flood risk management
- Climate change mitigation and adaptation planning
- Food-Energy-Water Nexus
- Systems optimization under uncertainty
- Sustainable development engineering
- Associate Director, Great Lakes Research Center
- Associate Professor, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering
- Director, Numerical Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, Great Lakes Research Center
- pexue@mtu.edu
- 906-487-1837
- GLRC 208
Links of Interest
Teaching Interests
- Introductory Geophysical Fluid Dynamics
- Hydrodynamic Modeling
- Water Resources Engineering
- Ecosystem Dynamics Modeling
Research Interests
- Hydrodynamic modeling
- Regional climate modeling
- Coupled ocean-atmosphere dynamics
- Data assimilation and machine learning
- Biophysical processes in the Great Lakes
- Estuary and coastal ocean processes
Lucille Zelazny
- Research Assistant, Biological Sciences
- lzelazny@mtu.edu
- 906-487-2791
- GLRC 206