Michael Fraker (PhD ’07), of Ann Arbor, died on April 23. He was 44. A well-respected researcher, Fraker was a research program manager at Michigan Sea Grant (MISG) and an assistant research scientist at SEAS. His expertise in ecological modeling contributed to improved insight and management of Great Lakes fisheries. He joined MISG in 2021, where he led projects on critical Great Lakes issues, such as sustainable fisheries, healthy coastal ecosystems and climate change adaptation. Prior to joining MISG, Fraker served as an assistant research scientist at the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research, where he studied various issues in aquatic ecology, including harmful algal blooms, fisheries and ecosystem responses to multiple stressors. He previously held postdoctoral research positions at U-M, Oklahoma State University and The Ohio State University. Fraker earned his PhD in ecology and environmental biology at U-M in 2007. The Michael Fraker Student Research Memorial Fund has been established in his honor and will be used to support Michigan Sea Grant student activities. To donate, contact the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability Development and Alumni Relations office at [email protected].
Robert M. Owen
Robert M. (Bob) Owen, director of the Program in the Environment from 2005 to 2010, died on June 10 at age 77 in Ann Arbor. He earned a PhD in oceanography and limnology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1975, then began a 37-year career at U-M, first as an assistant professor and later as a professor of marine geochemistry with tenure. He received the prestigious Arthur F. Thurnau Professorship for excellence in teaching in 2004. In addition to the PitE directorship, he served as the director of U-M’s Camp Davis (Geology Field Camp) in the mountains of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, from 1990 to 1999. He also was the associate dean for undergraduate education in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts from 1998 to 2004.
JoAnn Valenti
JoAnn Myer Valenti (PhD ’83), 78, of Tampa, Florida, died on July 23. A renowned expert in environmental communications, she earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in communications and journalism from the University of Florida and a PhD in environmental communication from SEAS. Valenti served on the faculties at U-M, the University of Tampa, the University of Florida and Brigham Young University. Once retired, she taught classes at Westminster University in Utah. Her research on environmental risk, media ethics, communicating sustainability and women in communications appeared in peer-reviewed and special interest media. Her publication, “Environmental Reporters in the 21st Century” (2010), reflects much of her research about environmental communications. She was an elected fellow and officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, served on the boards of Science Communication and Applied Environmental Education and Communication, cofounded the National Tropical Garden Environmental Journalism Program in Hawaii, and was a founding academic member of The Society of Environmental Journalism, where she served as chair of the Rachel Carson Book Award jury.
Tibbetts Brook, a long-buried stream in New York City that flows from Yonkers to the Bronx, soon will be resurfaced above ground as part of an ambitious daylighting project that will reduce the city’s combined sewer overflow into the Harlem River. SEAS grad Amy Motzny (MLA ’15) is serving as the Tibbetts Brook project manager.
Most rural Malawians lack access to sustainable and affordable modern energy services and products. SEAS Professor Pam Jagger, a political economist, and Professors Charles Jumbe and Thabbie Chilongo, development economists at the Center for Agricultural Research and Development at the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources in Malawi, are working on several studies focused on energy access. Their collaboration produces research that is used to inform policy and program development in Malawi.
