Randy Fuller, Russell Colgate Distinguished University Professor of biology and environmental studies, has received the 2019 Distinguished Service Award from the Society for Freshwater Science (SFS).
The honor is awarded annually to one SFS member who has made a genuine and lasting contribution to the betterment of the society.
Fuller attended his first SFS meeting in 1976, six years before he arrived at Colgate. During the course of more than four decades, he has served on the society’s Board of Directors and numerous committees — including the Executive Committee and the Education and Diversity Committee, which he chaired for five years. From 2013 to 2014, Fuller was society president. He is currently SFS representative to the Consortium of Aquatic Science Societies.
At Colgate, Fuller teaches classroom and fieldwork-centered courses on environmental processes, ecology, and invertebrate zoology, introducing students to ecological concepts, leading them on an exploration of the ways in which stream communities respond to various perturbations — including frequent flooding events as well as recovery from acid deposition. Along the way, undergraduates learn how to sample different aquatic environments, conduct different water chemistry analyses, and to analyze and interpret data.
Fuller’s recent research has focused on frequent reservoir water releases that support a whitewater rafting industry and the impact these frequent flooding events have on riverine communities. In collaboration with colleagues from Cornell, SUNY-ESF, Syracuse University, and the United States Geological Survey, he is also examining the consequences of long-term acid deposition on Adirondack forests and streams and the effects of calcium carbonate amendments as a mitigation tool to restore some sites with high conservation value.
Read more about Fuller’s work in Colgate Research.