Clarkson University Professor Michael Twiss recently received the Anderson-Everett Award from the International Association for Great Lakes Research for his work organizing IAGLR activities.

Twiss has studied the Great Lakes for more than 25 years and says people often don't realize the vital role that this water system plays in the North Country.

"We forget that the St. Lawrence River is an essential part of the Great Lakes system, and it's an economic driver in our region through energy and transport and recreation," said Twiss, the director of the Great Rivers Center at Clarkson. "We need to protect it."

He has been involved in projects such as the annual IAGLR scholarship fundraising hockey game, where teams from the U.S. and Canada compete for the "IAGLR Defy Cup," and he served as the 2015 IAGLR conference program committee chair.

The Anderson-Everett Award recognizes important and continued contributions to the association over a period of years and honors the efforts of David Anderson and Margaret Everett for their significant early contributions to the association and the Great Lakes.

Twiss, who first became a member of IAGLR in 1989, also was named a new member of the IAGLR board of directors.

The international association has been active for six decades, supporting research and facilitating bi-national cooperation on the Great Lakes, which are important resources to both Canada and the U.S., according to a press release from Clarkson.

"One of the things I want to do is help students get involved with the organization because that's the future of IAGLR," he said.

Twiss strives to help solve Great Lakes problems as a member of the Massena Area of Concern Remedial Action Committee and as an appointed member of both the International Joint Commission Science Advisory Board's Research Coordination Committee and the U.S. EPA Great Lakes Advisory Board’s Science and Information Subcommittee.

In addition, he has been accepted into the Fulbright Specialist Program as a Fulbright Specialist Roster candidate, which allows him to share his expertise in international resource water management with countries worldwide.