This is a great opportunity to:

Present your research through a poster or oral presentation Compete for student presentation awardsTake advantage of $25 student registrationApply for a $150 student/postdoc travel awardNetwork with researchers and industry professionals across the Great LakesWhether you're working with Optical Microscopy, Confocal, AFM, SEM, TEM, STEM, EDS, or other characterization techniques, GLMS is a great way to showcase your work and connect beyond MTU.

Learn more: 2026 GLMS Meeting

https://greatlakes.microscopy.org/2026-GLMS-Meeting

If you're interested in presenting or attending, check out the meeting page!

Abstract submissions are due September 9th.

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Catherine A. Peters, Ph.D., George J. Magee Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Princeton University

Abstract:

An overarching grand challenge is to enable a sustainable future in which our world's energy needs are met while protecting natural resources. This calls for a transformative use of the subsurface environment. In this century we will vastly expand underground activities that mitigate climate change – for energy storage, permanent disposal of greenhouse gases, and sustainable energy production. These activities require extensive understanding of fluids like hydrogen (H2) and carbon dioxide (CO2), and their reactivity with minerals in porous media. In this talk, you will hear about advancements in geochemistry and mineralogy, which have led to novel strategies for CO2 sequestration, reliable containment of fluids, and H2 generation. Synchrotron X-ray spectroscopic imaging reveals complexity in mineral reactions at scales down to the nanometer. Paired with geochemical and reactive transport modeling, we have gained new insights on how mineral reactions can either hinder or actively advance strategic decarbonization.

Bio:

Dr. Catherine A. Peters is the George J. Magee Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Princeton University.

Dr. Peters is an expert in environmental geochemistry, known for her leadership at the frontier of science and engineering for energy decarbonization. In recognition of groundbreaking contributions on understanding mineralogical processes in porous media, she was selected as Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU), Fellow of the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP), and 2024 recipient of the AEESP Award for Outstanding Contributions to Environmental Engineering & Science. She was President of AEESP in 2002 and she served as Editor-in-Chief of AEESP's official journal, Environmental Engineering Science.

This program/lecture is partially funded/sponsored by the Visiting Professor Program, which is funded by a grant to the Office of the Provost from the State of Michigan's Martin Luther King Jr., Dolores Huerta-Morris Hood Jr., Rosa Parks Initiative program.

Michigan Technological University is an Equal Opportunity Educational Institution/Equal Opportunity Employer that provides equal opportunity for all, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.

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Dr. Zhao Yang, an Earth Scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, will give a talk on Monday, October 12th. The title of the talk is "Surface–Atmosphere Interaction Beyond the Local Perspective."

Abstract: Surface–atmosphere interactions are traditionally examined from a local perspective, focusing on how surface conditions influence the overlying boundary layer, clouds, and precipitation. However, surface impacts can extend far beyond the source region through atmospheric transport. In this talk, I will present a non-local perspective on surface–atmosphere interaction through two physical pathways: the transport of moisture from source to sink regions and circulation changes induced by surface heating and moisture anomalies. Using examples from South America, I will show how terrestrial evaporation from the Amazon contributes to downstream precipitation, while land-surface conditions can also modify regional circulation and moisture transport. I will then introduce ongoing work using a Lagrangian framework to track air-mass history, lake exposure and to quantify how influences of the Great Lakes propagate into surrounding land regions. Together, these studies highlight the importance of viewing surface–atmosphere coupling as a source-transport-receptor process and provide a framework for understanding the spatial extent and persistence of surface influences beyond the local scale.

Bio: Dr. Zhao Yang is an Earth Scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. He has co-authored more than 40 peer-reviewed publications and received two journal editor awards for scientific service. His research focuses on regional hydroclimate, atmospheric moisture transport, and the role of land-surface processes in regional earth system. He uses regional earth system models and process-based diagnostics to study vegetation, irrigation, convection, and lake effects. Zhao received his Ph.D. in Hydrometeorology from the University of Arizona, his M.S. from UCLA, and his B.S. from Hohai University in China.

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