These are just a few of the many research projects we are supporting. Check back as we add project profiles, and be sure to sign up for our quarterly newsletter to keep in touch on the latest updates! Want a taste? Check out our previous newsletters:
Research
A Collaborative Summer at ERIC
An FCW grant helped give students from six UW campuses the opportunity to train at one of ERIC’s three locationsWhen Amanda Stickney learned about chemistry in sixth grade, her love of math and science clicked. “In high school, I went to a semester boarding school that focused on environmental science and stewardship,” says the recent graduate of UW-Stevens Point’s chemistry program. “That’s when I knew…
First UW-Green Bay Water Science Undergraduate Heads to Graduate School at UWM
Kunze’s path exemplifies how undergraduate research opportunities and mentoring can lead to more water scientistsTyler Kunze never anticipated a career as a water scientist. Yet in May, he became the first student to earn a bachelor’s degree in water science from UW-Green Bay. He’s now a graduate student in UW-Milwaukee’s School of Freshwater Sciences…
Communications Hub Supports Water Policy Network
Strong interdisciplinary connections will equal stronger water policy for WisconsinStrong water policy based on rigorous research results in clean water people use for swimming, boating, fishing, growing food and manufacturing. Water is tied to all aspects of our lives, but scientists and their research, which could help inform water policy, are not always connected to those who make water policy for…
The Economics of Water
UW-Stout associate professor analyzes cost-benefit of water quality trading programs in WisconsinZach Raff, assistant professor of economics at UW-Stout, has spent his career looking at how policies stemming from the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act can be both economically sound and environmentally friendly. This year, he received a…
Something Fishy About Pesticides
UW-La Crosse and UW-Whitewater toxicologists and students investigate off-target effects of popular pest control chemicals“Neonics.” It’s a cute-sounding nickname for chemicals that are anything but adorable. Neonicotinoids have been used in commercial agriculture for more than two decades as potent insecticides. As their use has spread, so have some unintended consequences. “The pesticides are…
Fantastic Filters and Where to Find Them
A UW-Green Bay team searches for the perfect solution to excess phosphorus runoff“It’s pretty much a Brita filter,” says University of Wisconsin-Green Bay assistant professor Michael Holly. Make that a very big Brita filter: “We’re trying to clean up the water in northeastern Wisconsin.” The material Holly hopes to identify one day,…
A Double Dose of Hands-On Learning
UW-Oshkosh's ERIC prepares students in both lab and fieldOn the banks of the Fox River, just a short stroll from Lake Winnebago, a nondescript building houses one of the state’s most important research and training hubs for environmental health and safety. Since opening in 2008, the Environmental Research…
Serious Mussel Power
UW-Platteville and Trout Lake Station team up to study Wisconsin’s secret superheroesMussels sometimes get a bad rap, thanks to destructive invasive species. While these unwelcome outsiders stir up trouble, dozens of native mussel species are quietly going about their business, cleaning our water and serving as sentinels for the health of…
A Great Lake’s Unwanted “Diamonds”
A statewide team digs deep into the persistent problem of microplastics“Plastics can be like diamonds: forever,” says Lorena Rios Mendoza. The UW-Superior environmental chemist studies how the nonbiodegradable synthetic materials get into Lake Superior and the problems they can cause as they fragment or absorb toxic chemicals also present in…