College of Sciences Newsletter

Edition 12

May 1, 2002

Graduate Student Exchange Program

between
Department of Biological Sciences, Old Dominion University and
Department of Hydrobiology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland

Since June 1991, the two departments have enjoyed a graduate student summer exchange program where annually 1 to 2 students from each department spends 4 -5 weeks at the other institution. The program is under the supervision of Professor Harold Marshall of the ODU Biological Sciences Department and Professor Lubomira Burchardt at Adam Mickiewicz University. These professors met at a professional meeting in Lublin, Poland in 1989 and discussed the advantages of a student exchange program where the students would be able to gain additional instructional exposure and research experiences that would be of benefit to them in their academic programs. These plans came to fruition in 1991.

In Poznan, research emphasis is directed mainly to limnological studies involving regional lake habitats and their eutrophication, whereas, in Norfolk the research emphasis is placed on estuarine and oceanic studies. Both Professors Burchardt and Marshall are phytoplankton specialists, with their laboratories emphasizing research associated with phytoplankton studies, so their students already have much in common. The success of the program was recognized by the President and Rector of both institutions, so that a formal Cooperative Agreement between the two institutions came about in 1995. Support for these exchanges have come from Marshall’s grants and from Professor Burchardt’s department.

In addition to the Student Exchange Program, both Marshall and Burchardt are involved in numerous research projects, have jointly published several research articles and made presentations at numerous professional meetings. Their work has emphasized the phytoplankton community studies relationships in tidal freshwater-estuarine habitats, plus lakes in Poland and Virginia.

Presently, a doctoral student, Mikolaj Kokocinski has been a visiting scholar with Dr. Marshall since May 2001. He is conducting studies of the toxic dinoflagellate Pfiesteria piscicida. This work involves establishing cultures of this species and other similar taxa to study and identify different life stages of the organisms. His other major emphasis is the study of these organisms using scanning electron microscopy. Results of his work will be presented this year at scientific meetings in the United States and in Poland. When Mikolaj completes his year of study here May 2002, another Polish student will come to continue this work for another year. In addition, in May, Todd Egerton, a graduate student in Marshall’s laboratory will travel to Poland to participate in activities there for a four-week period. Upon Egerton’s return, he will be accompanied by another Polish student, who will visit Marshall’s laboratory for the following four weeks.

In addition to the academic advantages gained in this international interaction, students visiting each country have been able to experience much of the culture and interesting sites (both historical and ecological) of the host country. In all aspects, great benefits have been gained and shared during this exchange program.