Water Science Research
Straight from the Source
Get hands-on research opportunities throughout northeast Wisconsin.
Our faculty features an impressive team of professors and research scientists, each specializing in unique aspects of water science. This diversity ensures you gain firsthand learning experiences across a broad spectrum of subjects, from the Green Bay estuary and Lake Michigan to the Fox River, the intricate chemistry of various aquifers, distinctive fisheries and coastal wetlands, among others. More faculty means more opportunities for you to engage in meaningful research projects.
Why Research?
Research is about leveling up from just learning stuff to actually making new discoveries—it's how we go beyond the classroom to producing real-world, game-changing results.
Contribute to Positive Change
From our local region to the world at large, you'll propel communities forward and improve people's lives.
Expand Your Network
Work with professors, fellow students and other local experts as you conduct research throughout Wisconsin.
Gain Professional Development
Put your skills to the test and become an expert in concepts need to succeed as a professional in the field.
University Research
Because water science requires collaboration between scientists of all kinds, our students and faculty work on a variety of research. Past projects include:
- Groundwater Pumping and the Potential for Arsenic Release
- Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Leaching in the Vadose Zone
- Phosphorus Storage and Transport in Streambank Sediments
- A regional groundwater isoscape for δ2H and δ18O in the Silurian Aquifer of Northeastern Wisconsin
- Development of physical groundwater flow models for karst systems
- Fluid-inclusion microthermometry in minerals
- Mapping the potentiometric surface for the Confined Sandstone Aquifer in the Northeast Groundwater Management Area of Wisconsin
- Monitoring the effects of drawdown on an anthropogenic reservoir on the Ahnapee River
Get Your Feet Wet
With our fleet of boats.
A fleet of boats (plus the vehicles to pull them) allow us to explore offshore, facilitating research projects across the Bay. Through this resource, we can conduct research at places like Cat Island or Long Island Point, studying everything from sturgeon to zooplankton to the water itself.
Work with Experts
Explore our faculty pages to see what research they're working on. Take Professor John Luczaj, whose research focuses on the intersection between groundwater and rocks and spans from right here in Wisconsin all the way to south China.