written by Dr. Chris Pennuto
The Great Lakes Environmental Science graduate program just turned 10 years old. In that time, we have had 43 graduate students in the program in either the thesis or internship tracks. This column is an opportunity to highlight the accomplishments of one of those students, past or present.
Mike Kalinka is a current graduate student in his final semester of work in the GLES internship track. He joined the GLES program in spring 2022 after completing his undergraduate degree in Earth Sciences at Buffalo State in 2014. Mike also had a 20-year career with the Erie County sheriff’s office, before making the leap to a different career path where he has retooled himself into a capable GIS technician, completing several courses using geographic information systems (GIS) such as remote sensing, watershed analysis, and environmental planning applications in GIS with faculty in the Geography & Planning Department (now the Department of Geosciences). He parlayed his coursework into an internship with the Erie County Planning Department in spring 2023, where he assisted the county in mapping the occurrence of an invasive insect, hemlock wooly adelgid (Adelges tsugae). That internship experience provided Mike his first exposure to regional planning and indirect outcomes of a changing climate.
In spring 2023, Mike was introduced to planning with an ecosystem perspective in GLES 535 Great Lakes Ecosystem Science, delving into a wide range of topics facing the Great Lakes watershed, including implications from climate change. This coincided with new discussions between GLC faculty and the NY Dept. of
Environmental Conservation (NY DEC) to build more avenues for collaboration. Mike was able to again leverage his academic work in the GLES program and was awarded a NY DEC internship in Climate Resiliency within the Region 9 office, to quantify Lake Erie coastal preparedness for climate change-related scenarios like heightened wave action, rising water levels, and their relationship with nearshore development, all in a GIS environment. To kick things off, Mike will be attending a meeting this month with county and regional management personnel to begin the shoreline resiliency initiative.
In reflecting on his path through the GLES program, Mike says, “Our program is top notch, and I feel it definitely prepared me for a future in environmental work. Honestly, it’s great to work with faculty that share a passion for the Great Lakes, and to be motivated by them.” We are confident Mike will represent GLES, and by extension, BSU, in exemplary fashion in this new pursuit.
Image caption: Mike Kalinka holding a rainbow trout.
