Earth, Environment, Climate, and Sustainability

Steve Ackerman

Steve Ackerman moved to Wisconsin in 1987, accepting a research scientist position in the Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC). He joined the UW-Madison faculty in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences in 1992. …

Alan Attie

Alan Attie’s research focuses on the genetics of diabetes and disorders affecting cholesterol metabolism. His lab takes advantage of natural variation in mouse strains to look for genes that affect these disease processes. He believes …

Annie Bauer

Annie Bauer is a geologist and geochronologist– she studies how the Earth became a habitable planet, from the origin and evolution of the earliest continents to the development of an oxygen-rich atmosphere. In her work, …

David Baum

David A. Baum is Professor (and former Chair) in the Botany Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he conducts research in evolutionary biology, plant genetics, and the origin and early evolution of life. He …

Timothy Baye

Tim Baye is a Professor of Business Development/Energy Finance & State Energy Specialist, University of Wisconsin. His research and educational programs serve energy industry executives, professionals and policy leaders. He has over 30 years’ experience …

Allison Bender

Allison Bender is the Outreach Coordinator for the Wisconsin Energy Institute (WEI). She has a background in environmental education and has worked as a naturalist in state parks across Wisconsin and Minnesota. After completing a …

Vicki Bier

Vicki Bier is Professor Emerita in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering and the Department of Engineering Physics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where she directed the Center for Human Performance and Risk Analysis …

Kenneth Bradbury

Kenneth Bradbury served as the Director of the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, and as Wisconsin’s State Geologist. He received a PhD in Geology from UW–Madison and has worked on groundwater issues in Wisconsin …

Markus Brauer

Markus Brauer is professor in the Department of Psychology and in the Wisconsin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Born and raised in Germany, he received his Ph.D. from the University of Colorado …

Dominique Brossard

Dominique Brossard is Professor and Chair in the Department of Life Sciences Communication at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She is on the Steering Committee of the UW–Madison Robert and Jean Holtz Center for Science and …

Gary Brown

Gary A. Brown, PLA, FASLA has been with the University of Wisconsin for 38 years before retiring in February 2023. After serving for 15 years with the UW System as a landscape architect and facilities …

Tom Bryan

Tom Bryan has worked with the GreenHouse Learning Community since 2011 and is currently the program coordinator and greenhouse manager there. He graduated from the Nelson Institute’s Environment and Resources Ph.D. program in 2019 where …

Yury Bukhman

Bioinformatician with >20 years of research experience in academia and the biotech industry. Interested in genomes, evolution, and the analysis and integration of high-throughput biological data. Earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from The Johns Hopkins …

Joshua Calhoun

Joshua Calhoun is an Associate Professor of English at the UW-Madison who specializes in Shakespeare, 16th- and 17th-century poetry, and the history of media. As a Faculty Affiliate at the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, …

Steve Carpenter

Dr. Carpenter has worked on water quality and fisheries problems of Wisconsin’s lakes since 1974. He was a co-founder of the Resilience Alliance for studies of social-ecological change. He served as a co-chair of the …

Susan Carpenter

Susan Carpenter is the Native Plant Garden curator and gardener at the University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum. Since 2003, she has worked with students and community volunteers to maintain and monitor a 4-acre garden representing the …

Eric Carson

Eric Carson is a geologist with the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey and a professor at UW-Madison. His research focuses on how landscapes evolve over geologic time and, particularly, processes associated with rivers, floods, …

Jill Casid

An artist-theorist and historian, Jill H. Casid holds the position of Professor of Visual Studies with a cross-appointment in the Departments of Art History and Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Casid …

Min Chen

Dr. Min Chen is an assistant professor of the Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is also a faculty member affiliated with the UW Data Science Institute, the Nelson …

Chuck Czuprynski

Chuck Czuprynski, is Professor and Past Chair of the Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, and Past Director of the Food Research Institute. His research focuses on the pathogenesis of bacterial pathogens, with …

Dawn Davis

Dawn Davis is an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism. She grew up in Fort Atkinson, WI. She received her BS in Biochemistry from UW–Madison. She then received …

Ankur Desai

Ankur Desai is a Professor of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at the UW–Madison. He studies how ecosystems respond to climate variability and how the climate responds to ecological patterns and processes.

Timothy Donohue

Timothy Donohue directs Great Lakes Bioenergy, a Department of Energy funded grant that seeks to produce green diesel and other fuels plus chemicals from non-food plant material. Success in this activity can develop new uses …

Hilary Dugan

Dr. Dugan is a limnologist who studies how terrestrial and atmospheric changes, such as warming air temperatures or land use patterns, alter biogeochemical fluxes and aquatic processes in lakes. Her research sites span from Wisconsin …

Tom Eggert

Tom has been at the forefront of business and sustainability for the last twenty-five years, both teaching classes in sustainability at the University of Wisconsin and founding and serving as the Executive Director of the …

Zach Feiner

Dr. Zach Feiner is a fisheries ecologist who studies fish populations in inland lakes, rivers, and the Great Lakes across the Upper Midwest. His research focuses on the dynamics and management of recreational fisheries, including …

Alyson Fleming

Aly Fleming is a research faculty at the University of Wisconsin Madison. Her research focuses on cetacean ecology and climate change biology. Previously, she worked with the National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Department …

Simon Gilroy

Dr. Simon Gilroy is a professor in the Botany Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research is on how plants sense and respond to their environment. He works extensively with NASA on understanding how …

Tony Goldberg

Tony Goldberg focuses on the ecology, epidemiology and evolution of infectious disease. He endeavors to understand how pathogens in dynamic ecosystems are transmitted among hosts, across landscapes, and over time. Tony is involved in a …

Robert Hamers

Robert Hamer’s research is aimed at achieving a true atomic-level understanding of structure, bonding, and reactivity at solid surfaces, and using this ability to develop new materials with novel functionality. He does research aimed at …

Moira Harrington

Moira Harrington is thrilled to work for two programs–Sea Grant and the University of Wisconsin Water Resources Institute–that promote the sustainable use of Wisconsin’s water resources, with a special focus on groundwater and the Great …

John Hawks

John Hawks has traveled across Africa, Europe and Asia in his research into our origins and evolution. He helped to show that our evolution has rapidly accelerated during the last 10,000 years, and is now …

Brad Herrick

Brad Herrick holds a B.A. in Biology from Luther College and an M.S. in Ecosystems Studies from UW-Green Bay. Brad Herrick is the Ecologist and Research Program Manager at the UW-Madison Arboretum and a PhD …

Leslie Holland

Leslie Holland is an Assistant Professor & Extension Specialist in the department of Plant Pathology at UW-Madison. She received her Ph.D. and M.S. in Plant Pathology at UC Davis and Washington State University, respectively. The …

Leah Horowitz

Leah S. Horowitz is a professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has a long-standing interest in grassroots environmental governance and particularly in supporting Indigenous rights to protect their land and water …

Randy Jackson

Randy Jackson and his grassland ecology group study how carbon and nutrients flow into, within, and out of grassland ecosystems. Randy grew up in southern California, played baseball and earned a BS in Environmental Science …

Olaf Jensen

Prof. Jensen is an Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin – Madison’s Center for Limnology. His research focuses on understanding the combination of human and ecological factors that contribute to sustainability of marine and …

Lisa Johnson

Lisa has a bachelor’s degree in Horticulture from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a master’s degree in Life Sciences Communication. Prior to that, she worked in the horticulture industry for eight years. She has been …

Allison Jonjak

Allison grew up on a cranberry marsh founded by her grandfather in 1939. Studying ag engineering and soil chemistry, she worked with row crop farmers until the University of Wisconsin created a Cranberry Outreach Specialist position. This …

Betul Kacar

Dr. Betül Kaçar is a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she leads a NASA-funded astrobiology research center and her own molecular paleobiology laboratory. Across research endeavors, Kaçar explores fundamental questions about how life …

Shawn Kelly

Approaching 30 years at the University, over 30 years in the Professional Practice of Landscape Architecture. Author of the Practice Act for Landscape Architects in Wisconsin. Past National President of the American Society of Landscape …

Bret Larget

Bret Larget is Professor in the Departments of Statistics and of Botany at UW–Madison. His research interests include collaborations with biologists from many fields and, in particular, the development of statistical methods to better understand …

James Lattis

Jim Lattis holds a Ph.D. in History of Science from UW–Madison and is the author of many publications in that field. He helped create UW Space Place, the outreach and public education center of the …

Matthew Lazzara

Matthew A. Lazzara is an Associate Scientist and Research Meteorologist at the Antarctic Meteorological Research Center (AMRC), Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC), UW–Madison. He is presently the Principal Investigator of the Antarctic Automatic Weather …

Edna Ledesma

Dr. Ledesma is an assistant professor in the Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The corpus of her research, teaching, and mentoring focuses on understanding the development of the smart, …

Nan Li

Li’s research focuses on the dynamics of the science-society-policy interface. Centering around socio-scientific issues related to food, energy, and climate, she examines the evolving nature of media discourse and public opinion. She also studies visual …

Patrick Liesch

Patrick (PJ) Liesch is a statewide entomology specialist and director of the University of Wisconsin Insect Diagnostic Lab (IDL). Every year, the IDL handles over 2,400 insect identification requests from Wisconsin’s farmers, private industry, university …

Sanjay Limaye

Sanjay Limaye is a Distinguished Scientist at the Space Science and Engineering Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Since obtaining his Ph.D. with Prof. Verner Suomi in 1977, he has conducted research on atmospheres of Venus, Earth, …

Richard (Rick) Lindroth

Rick Lindroth is Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor and former Associate Dean for Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is a broadly trained ecologist, with expertise in global change ecology (including climate change), biodiversity, plant-insect …

David Lovelace

Dave Lovelace is a vertebrate paleontologist specializing in Triassic-aged rocks of the Rocky Mountain West (252-201 million years ago). He joined the UW Geology Museum team as a research scientist after completing his PhD at …

Reba Luiken

Dr. Reba Luiken is an architect of encounters with plants in her role as Executive Director of Allen Centennial Garden. She has a Ph.D. in the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine, a B.S. in …

Gavin Luter

In his role as Managing Director of the UniverCity Alliance, Gavin leads and leverages a network of faculty, staff, and students at University of Wisconsin-Madison who are interested in making local governments stronger and cities …

John J. Magnuson

John J. Magnuson is an aquatic ecologist and limnologist with a special interest in fish and fisheries ecology. His training is in fish and wildlife management, zoology, and oceanography. Current interests include: long-term ecological research …

Jonathan Martin

Professor Jonathan Martin joined the faculty in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at UW–Madison in 1994 after completing his Ph.D. in atmospheric sciences at the University of Washington. Professor Martin has received numerous …

Kevin Masarik

Kevin Masarik is a groundwater education specialist with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. He has assisted tens of thousands of well owners through locally organized well water …

Katherine McMahon

Katherine McMahon has earned a BS/MS in Civil and Environmental Engineering at University of Illinois Urbana Champaign and received her PhD at University of California Berkeley. She arrived in Madison 2003 and will never leave, …

David Mickelson

David M. Mickelson is Emeritus Professor of Geoscience, Geological Engineering, and Water Resources Management at UW–Madison and has taught glacial geology, intro geomorphology, coastal geomorphology, air photo interpretation and Geology of the National Parks at …

James Edward Mills

James Edward Mills is a freelance journalist and National Geographic Explorer who specializes in telling stories about outdoor recreation, environmental conservation, acts of charitable giving, and practices of sustainable living. He has worked in the …

Dale Mohr

Professor Mohr was born in the North-shore of Milwaukee, attended University Wisconsin-Milwaukee for BA in History and Political Science and a MUP In Urban Planning. Professor Mohr has been employed in sector of land use …

Anne Moser

Anne Moser is senior special librarian at the Wisconsin Water Library at the UW–Madison. She provides STEM storytimes to libraries around Wisconsin and provides education and outreach in support of Wisconsin Sea Grant and Wisconsin …

Maureen Muldoon

Maureen started her career with the WGNHS in 1987. In 1998 she moved to UW-Oshkosh for 21 years where she was a professor of Geology. She has recently returned to the WGNHS where she conducts …

Jordan Murray

Jordan Murray is a Harmful Algal Bloom Epidemiologist stationed at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Division of Public Health, where she manages the Harmful Algal Blooms Program. Her work entails prevention and control of …

Kevin Myers

Kevin Myers is an Assistant Scientist at the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He obtained his PhD in microbiology studying anaerobic growth of bacteria at UW-Madison and performed post-doctoral research …

Gregory Nemet

Gregory Nemet is a Professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the La Follette School of Public Affairs. He teaches courses in policy analysis, energy systems, and international environmental policy. Nemet’s research focuses on understanding …

Missy Nergard

Missy Nergard is the Director of Sustainability for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In this enterprise level role, she integrates sustainability as a cross-sector, transdisciplinary platform in research and academics, public-private partnerships, and the built environment. …

Larry Nesper

Larry Nesper received his PhD from the University of Chicago in 1994. He wrote a book on the Chippewa spearfishing conflict in Wisconsin in the 1980s and 90s. He is also a consultant for the …

Todd Newman

Todd P. Newman is an assistant professor in the Department of Life Sciences Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an affiliate of the Robert F. and Jean E. Holtz Center for Science & Technology …

Julia Noordyk

Julia Noordyk has over 10 years of experience in community engagement on issues related to coastal resilience and water quality. Julia found her way to Northeast Wisconsin by way of Madison and Maine to be …

Michael Notaro

Dr. Michael Notaro is the Associate Director and Senior Scientist of the Nelson Institute Center for Climatic Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He received a PhD in Atmospheric Science at the State University of …

Karen Oberhauser

Karen Oberhauser is the Director of the UW-Madison Arboretum. Along with dozens of students and colleagues, she has conducted research on several aspects of monarch butterfly ecology. In 1996, she started a nationwide Citizen Science …

Brian Ohm

Brian is a Professor in the Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture at UW-Madison. He holds a joint appointment as the state specialist in land use planning law with the Division of Extension. He is …

Angela Pakes

Angela Pakes earned her BS in Geological Engineering with a BS in Geology/Geophysics at UW-Madison in 1996, and her MSE in Civil & Environmental Engineering from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor in 1997. She joined …

Daniel Phaneuf

Prof. Phaneuf is the Henry C. Taylor Professor of Applied Economics at UW-Madison. His teaching and research are in the area of environmental economics, with emphasis on measuring the economic benefits of improved environmental outcomes. …

Warren Porter

Warren Porter has a deep Wisconsin heritage, since he was born in Madison two blocks from where he works. His parents came from Green Bay in the north and from a farm that had land bought …

Gary Radloff

Gary Radloff is a researcher and director of Midwest Energy Policy Analysis with the Wisconsin Energy Institute. He served as the Interm Director of the Wisconsin Bioenergy Initiative and is a Fellow with the Nelson …

Kaitlin Reinl

Dr. Kaitlin Reinl is a limnologist with a broad focus on how the synergistic effects of climate and watershed influence impacts inland water quality. Her most recent work has focused on cyanobacterial blooms in Lake …

Lauren Riters

Lauren Riters is a Professor in the area of Behavioral Neuroscience in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Wisconsin Madison. She received a PhD in Psychology in the Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience …

Paul Robbins

Paul Robbins, a native of Denver Colorado and UW–Madison alumnus, holds a bachelor’s degree in anthropology, along with a master’s degree and doctorate in geography, both from Clark University. As director of the Nelson Institute for Environmental …

Cameron Roberts

I apply the history of technology to present-day and future questions about low-carbon transitions. At UW Madison, I am using historical research on the chemical industry, hydroelectricity, soil amendments, pipelines, and mining to investigate the …

Andrew Ruis

Andrew Ruis is a research scientist in the Wisconsin Center for Education Research and a fellow in the Department of Medical History and Bioethics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He is a historian, quantitative ethnographer, …

Majid Sarmadi

He received his MS and PhD from Virginia Tech and has served on Faculty of UW Madison for 37 years. He has received many awards for his research on sustainability and Plasma treatment of Polymeric …

Titus Seilheimer

Titus Seilheimer has been a fisheries specialist with Wisconsin Sea Grant since 2012 where he leads research, outreach, and education activities focused on Great Lakes fisheries and ecosystems. He has a B.A. in Biology from …

Christine Seroogy

Christine Seroogy is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics. Christine grew up in Green Bay and received a BS in Microbiology from UW–Madison. She completed her medical education at the University of Minnesota, …

Kurt Sladky

Kurt K. Sladky, MS, DVM, Dipl. ACZM: Received his MS and DVM from UW–Madison and completed a Residency in Zoological Medicine at North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine. He is a Diplomate of …

Claudia Solis-Lemus

Claudia Solis-Lemus grew up in Mexico City, where she completed her undergraduate work at the Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico in Actuarial Sciences and Applied Mathematics. Claudia received her Ph.D. in Statistics at the University …

Edgar Spalding

Edgar Spalding grew up in rural Nova Scotia and became deeply interested in nature, and a life-long birder (including photography). But, in college he became interested less in nature and more in the physical and …

Glen Stanosz

Glen prefers in-person talks. Glen Stanosz is a Wisconsin native and Professor of Tree and Forest Health at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His research group studies the biology and management of tree diseases caused by …

Esther Stewart

Esther K. Stewart is a geologist with the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey where she uses geologic mapping to address questions about the rocks that underlie Wisconsin. Prior to joining the state survey, she …

Paul Stoy

Paul Stoy studies the interaction between land management and climate and is increasingly interested in regional climate processes. He obtained his undergraduate degrees from the UW-Madison and graduate degree from Duke University and was a …

Karen Strier

Strier is an international authority in primate behavioral ecology and conservation. Her ongoing field study on the critically endangered muriqui monkeys of Brazil spans 38 years and is the longest field study of this species …

Andrea Strzelec

Dr. Andrea Strzelec is the Program Director for the Master of Engineering in Engine Systems and Polymer Engineering programs as well as the Capstone Certificates in Engine Design, Powertrain Electrification, and Polymer Processing & Manufacturing …

Eric Sundquist

Eric Sundquist (PhD in city and regional planning, Georgia Tech; MS in public policy, Georgia Tech; MH in humanities, University of Richmond; BA in English, Miami University) is Director of the State Smart Transportation Initiative. …

Sue Swanson

Susan Swanson, Ph.D., is the Director of the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey (WGNHS) and State Geologist. She leads the staff at the WGNHS and connects with communities and partners across the state to …

Cathy Techtmann

Cathy is a Professor of Community Resource Development and an Environmental Outreach State Specialist for the University of Wisconsin-Extension. She specializes in environmental interpretation, communication, and leadership development that make environmental issues “come alive” for …

Stanley Temple

Stanley (Stan) Temple is the Beers-Bascom Professor Emeritus in Conservation in the Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology and former Chairman of the Conservation Biology and Sustainable Development Program in the Gaylord Nelson Institute for …

James Tinjum

James Tinjum’s overall consulting background and research/teaching interests are inter-disciplinary, covering facets of geotechnical, environmental, transportation, geological, and energy engineering. From a broad perspective, he conducts research in energy geotechnics, the beneficial reuse of industrial …