A native of Kansas City, Mo., Emily Valentine hadn’t considered a career in water until she went to UW-Madison.
“I loved that the campus was on Lake Mendota,” she says.
She enrolled as a chemistry major and after getting involved in sustainability organizations her first semester, she added environmental sciences and quickly learned how much she liked working with water.
The summer before her junior year, Valentine began researching per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Christy Remucal’s Aquatic Chemistry Lab at UW-Madison. One of Valentine’s graduate student mentors suggested she apply to the Freshwater@UW Summer Research Opportunities Program. The program, funded in part by the Freshwater Collaborative, provides opportunities for undergraduates to work on research at a university other than the one they are enrolled at.
“I thought it would be cool to see what other labs are like,” Valentine says. “I chose Dr. [Joseph] Mondloch’s lab because it involved water and PFAS. I liked how environmental science and chemistry are merged in his lab.”
Her work in the Remucal lab focused on quantitative analysis, while her summer research as a Freshwater@UW Scholar looked at PFAS remediation technology. In Mondloch’s lab, she worked entirely with other undergraduates, which was a new experience she enjoyed. Valentine says one of her biggest challenges was identifying a research project she could tackle during two busy summer months.
“The more you learn about a topic, the more questions you have!” she says. “My eyes were opened to the vast possibilities and endless inquiries regarding this research.”
Having graduated in December 2025, Valentine plans to work for a year or so to gain real-world experience. Then she will apply to doctoral programs to earn her PhD in a field related to environmental chemistry or water chemistry.
“Wherever the future may take me, I want to continue learning about water, whether it be a part of my job or on my own time,” Valentine says. “I am deeply grateful for this experience, and I cannot wait to see what the future holds!”
Funding for the Freshwater@UW Summer Research Opportunities Program is provided by the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Sea Grant, the UW Water Resources Institute and Water@UW-Madison. This is the fifth year of the program.
Written by Heidi Jeter, Freshwater Collaborative