You may have noticed the new title to our quarterly email newsletter. Our goal is to keep in touch and connect you with interesting and relevant research, stories and content happening in the world of marine and freshwater research and monitoring. This time of year we are especially grateful for our FlowCam friends and family. We hope you enjoy a peaceful holiday and joyful new year.
Best Regards,
Cybele Brooks
Marketing Manager
Collage of the Quarter
Pictured above are plankton images collected from Orange Beach, Alabama during the 10th US Symposium on Harmful Algae in November. No HABs here! These were imaged by the FlowCam 8100, with a 10x objective.
On Board with the BLOOM Educators Program
For six days every spring, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences hosts 16 high school students (one from each Maine county) in East Boothbay, Maine, as part of the Keller BLOOM educational program. Students get a chance to work alongside research scientists studying marine life in the field and in the laboratory. In recent years, Bigelow has expanded the BLOOM program to include a second session in August - this time for Middle and High School educators.
Using the FlowCam to Study Harmful Algal Blooms Around Sanibel Island, Florida
It's hard to imagine a more picturesque location from which to perform one's research than Sanibel Island, Florida. However, as can be seen in the picture at the right, our most beautiful places are not exempt from the effects of climate change. Pictured here is what is commonly known as "red tide", but to Dr. Eric Milbrandt and the researchers at the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF) is known to be an algal bloom caused by the phytoplankton Karenina brevis.
Hrycik et. al. Publish Paper Comparing FlowCam and Microscope Biovolume Measurements of Freshwater Phytoplankton
In a recent paper published in the Journal of Plankton Research, a team at the University of Vermont compared FlowCam data with data obtained through traditional microscopy in order to determine biovolume of a freshwater phytoplankton community from Lake Champlain. It was determined that "with careful calibration to the phytoplankton community in question, FlowCam can be a powerful tool for rapid phytoplankton processing and may be valuable for research programs limited by personnel or time... Close relationships between microscope and FlowCam biovolumes demonstrate that results can be calibrated from one method to the other if a similar comparison is completed for the system in question. Both methods were highly reproducible... [and] FlowCam has the added reproducibility benefit that classified images are automatically saved and can be revisited later."
Educating the Drinking Water Community: Workshops at the AWWA Water Quality and Technology Conference
This year's AWWA Water Quality and Technology Conference in Dallas, Texas, kicked off with a pre-conference workshop focused on tracking, identifying, and predicting treatments for algae and cyanobacteria blooms. Despite the fact that the workshop was on a Sunday (and an hour from the conference location in Dallas), there was a fantastic turnout from drinking water utilities across the country and beyond.
Utility managers and operators came from as far as California, Virginia, Canada, and American Samoa to learn strategies for avoiding cyanobacteria and taste and odor events in their municipalities, and to see the FlowCam in action.
Please welcome the newest members of the FIT Family: Savannah Judge and Gina Angelo.
Savannah Judge joins our team as the new Sales Coordinator for Aquatics. She holds a BS in Environmental Science with a concentration in Marine Science from Colby College, where she was first exposed to the power of the FlowCam! Before coming to FIT, Savannah worked at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute teaching middle school students about marine science and organizing fisheries workshops. Prior to that, Savannah worked at an association in Connecticut doing research on water quality and fish passage in the Housatonic River watershed. Savannah is excited to be putting her experience to use supporting research and monitoring efforts using the FlowCam. Outside work, she loves biking to the beach, baking chocolate chip cookies, and exploring new hikes in and around Maine.
Gina Angelo is our new Technical Customer Support Intern. She hails from South Sudan and is currently a senior at the University of Southern Maine, majoring in health science. She plans to continue her studies in the healthcare field following graduation. While studying, Gina is also working as a Wellness Associate at the Landing at Cape Elizabeth, an assisted living facility. In her free time she enjoys volunteer work, South Sudan traditional dancing, and helping out in her community. Gina comes from a very large family with 8 sisters and 3 brothers!
To learn more about a career at Fluid Imaging Technologies, visit our Careers page.
One of the Ten Best Small Companies in Maine
Pictured (from left to right): Ilmars Labrencis (Director of Operations), Cybele Brooks (Marketing Manager), Nicole Gill (Laboratory Supervisor), Kent Peterson (President/CEO), Chris Sieracki (Founder/Chairman), Margot Sieracki (FlowCam Enthusiast), Harry Nelson (Vice President of Aquatic Markets), Dominic Benfatta (Customer Care Associate)
In October, our team attended a dinner and awards presentation for winners of the 2019 "Best Places to Work in Maine" Awards. Fluid Imaging was named as one of the top ten small companies! The Best Places to Work in Maine program exists to identify and honor the state's best employers based on direct feedback from their employees. We are incredibly proud to work for a company that fosters a sense of belonging, inclusiveness, and employee agency.
We want to hear from you. What content is relevant to you - what topics or FlowCam applications would you like to hear more about? Click below to send us an email and let us know! (Email may be truncated for Gmail users - click the link on bottom left to read the rest of this email)
Wow - 2020 is almost here! Will you be attending one of the following conferences? Our appearances below are in the books, but we're sure to be adding more events to our schedule. Bring a sample to one of our booths for a hands-on, live demonstration of the FlowCam and VisualSpreadsheet. Or, simply visit us to say "hi" and ask us any questions. We'll be happy to see you!
