Oconomowoc native Sam Krueger says the term “research” can be intimidating. Participating in the Freshwater@UW Summer Research Opportunities program showed her research can be fun and accessible. It also took away the intimidation factor in applying to graduate school.
Krueger graduated from UW-Whitewater with a bachelor’s degree in geography with a minor in chemistry in 2024. She is now in her second year of graduate school at UW-Milwaukee’s School of Freshwater Sciences.
“The Freshwater@UW program nudged me toward graduate school,” she says.
She adds that participating in undergraduate research gave her more confidence working in the lab. She became more comfortable asking questions of faculty and graduate students.
Gaining practical skills and confidence is an overarching goal of Freshwater@UW, which is funded by the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Sea Grant, the UW Water Resources Institute and Water@UW-Madison. The program is currently accepting applications for the 2026 cohort.
Building a Research Foundation
Krueger participated in 2023 because she was interested in learning about hydrogeology. She was assigned to a project with Michael Cardiff, a professor at UW-Madison. She worked with Cardiff and his graduate students to create a geophysical field campaign to assess groundwater recharge rates in rural Wisconsin.
The summer project provided hands-on field experience — and solidified Krueger’s desire to work in water-related research.
“The Freshwater@UW program is a great chance for interested undergraduates to ‘get into the weeds’ of a water problem and try their hand at research,” Cardiff says. “It’s been great to see Sam’s excitement for water science continue as part of her graduate work at UW-Milwaukee.”
After catching the research bug, Krueger spent part of her senior year conducting research on the toxicity of neonicotinoids, insecticides widely used for crop protection. She worked with Elisabeth Harrahy, an associate professor at UW-Whitewater specializing in environmental toxicology and a member of the Freshwater Collaborative steering committee.
An Emerging Contaminants Researcher Emerges
Harrahy’s mentorship along with graduate school information provided during the Freshwater@UW program guided Krueger to graduate school at UW-Milwaukee. She now works in Laodong Guo’s biogeochemistry lab at the UW-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences.
Guo says Krueger demonstrated a strong foundation in collaborative and interdisciplinary research from her Freshwater@UW experience and working as an undergraduate student technician.
“She quickly learned skills to investigate the behavior of PFAS and other contaminants in aquatic ecosystems,” he says. “The program clearly helped her build confidence in her research abilities and develop comfort working through the scientific process, making her a valued member of the lab.”
As a graduate student, Krueger conducts a range of research investigating microplastics, PFAS and heavy metals in Milwaukee Harbor and Green Bay sediments. In the past year, she has presented her research at numerous conferences, including the Society for Freshwater Sciences annual meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico; the American Chemical Society Great Lakes regional meeting in Appleton, Wisc.; and the International Association for Great Lakes Research in Milwaukee.
“The program is amazing. The fields of study at the school are very diverse,” she says. “Because you are on the lake, you can see the immediate results of the research happening. You feel part of a big picture.”
Krueger has enjoyed studying emerging contaminants. She would like to work for a government agency, such as the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, when she graduates in May 2026. Her current research has also piqued her interest in drinking water treatment and wastewater monitoring.
Learn more about the Freshwater@UW Summer Research Opportunities Program. The deadline to apply is Feb. 15, 2026.
Written by Heidi Jeter, Freshwater Collaborative.
Krueger explains her research in the video below.