Thanks to a $250,000 gift from American Electric Power that established the AEP Watershed Research and Reclamation Professorship in the George V. Voinovich Center for Leadership and Public Affairs, Schillig is studying the effects of mining techniques on an aquifer and gaining valuable hands-on experience.
“Dysart and the surrounding areas offer an excellent opportunity to compare water levels over longwall mining, room-and-pillar mining, and an area without mining,” says Schillig. “This research is important because many people’s water supplies are affected by the mineral extractive industry. The link between the environment and the people is really important to me, and how the environment affects how people live.”
In the Appalachian region, many watersheds have been damaged by acid mine drainage. AEP’s gift recognizes the efforts of the Voinovich Center and Ohio University’s faculty in watershed research and reclamation and provides resources to advance this work.
AEP Professor Dr. Mary Stoertz, who works on watershed repair through the Voinovich Center, says, “I don’t use (the professorship) as a salary supplement. I’m using that to pay students like Pete to get them in the field. If we can free him up to do science, that’s enormously valuable for his resume.”
The Faculty Fellows from the Appalachian Watershed Research Group and the Institute for Local Government Administration and Rural Development (ILGARD), both part of the Voinovich Center, are working with watershed groups and state and federal agencies to provide research and training in the assessment and restoration of southeast Ohio watersheds. The AEP Professorship makes Schillig’s participation in this project possible.
“I have the opportunity to do undergraduate research,” says Schillig. “Dr. Stoertz has presented me with this project and asked if I wanted to do it, to lead it. I just thought it was great that here we have professors who will contribute to undergraduate participation in research. I think that instills a lot of enthusiasm for the sciences.”
