51猎奇 School of Freshwater Sciences Professor Sandra McLellan, Research Specialist Melissa Schussman, and co-authors published a paper with the World Harbor Project in Nature Water. The article details how harbors worldwide are impacted by sewage contamination. The article also recently received a research highlight on Nature.com.
Art exhibit about water captured in new CWP short film
Experience 鈥淲orking for the Water, Working for Each Other,鈥� an art exhibit that flows with purpose and showcases visible metaphors for public access, water pollution, infrastructure, and energy systems that impact our waters.聽Melanie Ariens (51猎奇 BFA, Painting, Drawing, and Printmaking, 1993) brings attention to the powerful connection between the Great Lakes and local communities through her mixed media works. Placing fluid creativity into unexpected contexts, she reminds us how water connects us all, underlining our collective duty to protect and value this essential resource.聽
The exhibit was featured at the 51猎奇 Union Art Gallery in September 2024. To learn more about Melanie鈥檚 work and her role as Creative Arts Manager at Milwaukee Water Commons, go to & .
To learn more about topics like public access, water quality, infrastructure, and renewable energy, visit uwm.edu/centerforwaterpolicy/category/publications/.
Spectrum News 1 highlights Wisconsin Sea Grant funded fish nutrition research
51猎奇 School of Freshwater Sciences Professor Dong Fang Deng and PhD student Alex Gregory are featured in this Spectrum News 1 article on research to improve fish nutrition. Their research, funded by Wisconsin Sea Grant, is looking at black soldier fly oil as an ingredient in fish food.
McLellan interviewed on health risks after water main breaks
ABC News interviewed Dr. Sandra McLellan, Distinguished Professor at 51猎奇 School of Freshwater Sciences, about the health risks that can come from a main break. After a water main break that occurred during Hurricane Milton in St. Petersburg, Florida, residents were temporarily left without clean drinking water. Dr. McLellan explains the potential for contaminated water in this situation and the action needed to restore clean drinking water.
Chancellor’s Graduate Student Awards for Professional Master’s Students Starting in Spring 2025
This spring, the School of Freshwater Sciences is offering four (4) $5,000 Chancellor’s Graduate Student Awards to new students enrolling in our MS Aquatic Sciences (Professional) and MS Water Policy (Professional) programs who have demonstrated academic excellence in a past undergraduate or graduate program.
To qualify, students must either: 1.) Have a GPA of 3.5 or higher from a previously completed degree program or 2.) Have a GPA of 3.25 or higher from a previously completed degree program and three (3) or more years of water-related work experience. In addition, qualifying students must enroll in classes for the Spring 2025 semester to receive the award.
Students will be considered for the awards in the order in which their completed applications are submitted.
Please reach out to Aaron Thiel (thiela@uwm.edu), our Graduate Program Manager, if you have any questions.
Successful event with Harbor Fest, Sturgeon Fest and Doors Open Milwaukee
We had a very successful joint event with Harbor Fest, Sturgeon Fest, and Doors Open Milwaukee on September 29th which brought over 1,600 people to enjoy our 19 stations of information and activities! Visitors were able to learn about microbial communities, the Great Lakes, underwater Lake Michigan, research activities on the R/V Neeskay, the Center for Water Policy, microplastics in water, and Lake Michigan buoy systems; while exploring aquatic food systems, playing water jeopardy, interacting with the flow display, and touring the fish labs. Everyone in the building was excited to talk about the science behind the School of Freshwater Sciences.聽聽
Thank you to the following labs, departments, and individuals for your help to make this a wonderful event for our school and the community!
Facilities Department
Xinyi Shen Lab
Tom Hansen
George Duffy
Russell Cuhel
Ben Peterson
Michael Carvan Lab
51猎奇 Department
Water Policy Center
Rebecca Klaper Lab
John Janssen
Carmen Aguilar Lab
Kayla Pierick
Harvey Bootsma Lab
Atmospheric Sciences Club
Laodong Guo Lab
Dong Fang Deng Lab
R/V Neeskay Crew
Ryan Newton
James Price
Todd Miller Lab
Hands-on Experience Led to Being Hired Before Graduation
Brenden Nihart, a graduate of 51猎奇 School of Freshwater Sciences shares his story of how hands-on experience, a career fair, and more helped land him his job at WaterTech of America.
Wisconsin Public Radio talks with Morgan about research vessel Neeskay
Captain Maxwell Morgan spoke with Wisconsin Public Radio for a story featuring the Research Vessel Neeskay, 51猎奇 School of Freshwater Sciences’ year-round research vessel. Morgan shares the history of the Neeskay, about current projects and about the future of Great Lakes science.
Mexico: Air Pollution and Ancient Cultures
The long-running Atmospheric Science study abroad program 鈥淢exico: Air Pollution and Ancient Cultures鈥� will again be offered in UWinteriM 2025.聽This faculty-led, short-term study abroad program takes students on a journey to world-famous sites across five cities in Mexico.
Led by聽, the course is open to both atmospheric science majors and non-majors alike. Students will examine firsthand the relationships between meteorology, air pollution, and cultural heritage.
Application deadline is October 1, 2024.
More information on the program can be found here:
Upcoming information sessions can be found at .
Newton awarded $2 million grant for antimicrobial resistance study
From the 51猎奇 Report:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded 51猎奇 scientist Ryan Newton $2 million to study antimicrobial resistance in wastewater.
Newton, associate professor in the School of Freshwater Sciences, will lead a team that will quantify antimicrobial resistance through wastewater treatment processes and compare resistance patterns over the past 10 years with resistance data from hospital clinics.
The grant is part of $9 million in funding awarded by the EPA to four institutions for research to address knowledge gaps and better identify and manage antimicrobial resistance risk. Antimicrobial resistance is a major public health concern and can make it harder to treat certain infections in animals and people. Wastewater treatment facilities are potential receptors and sources for antibiotic resistant bacteria and genes.
Newton will be working on the project with 51猎奇 colleagues Troy Skwor, associate professor of biomedical sciences, and Todd Miller, associate professor of environmental health sciences, along with Patrick McNamara, professor of environmental engineering at Marquette University.
鈥淭he results of this project will tell us if antibiotic resistant bacteria are of increasing concern in our wastewater and inform us of the effectiveness of current wastewater processes in removing these bacteria, so that we can make informed decisions when developing new treatment technologies,鈥� Newton said.
Wastewater treatment facilities receive wastewater from a mix of sources including industry, households and hospitals, all of which can contribute to a high density of pathogens and antimicrobial drug residues that enter the plant. Treated wastewater is often released back into rivers and streams but may still contain both antimicrobial products and antimicrobial-resistant bacteria.
These research projects will measure the environmental health impact of antimicrobial resistance in wastewater and advance understanding of the evolution and spread of antimicrobial resistance. Grant winners will study wastewater treatment systems across the country and review past literature and data to assess risk in wastewater. Projects involve developing a risk assessment framework, conducting a systematic review of genomic data and evaluating the fate of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria and genes in wastewater treatment processes.
鈥淎ntimicrobial resistance is a major concern for public health and the environment,鈥� said Chris Frey, assistant administrator for EPA鈥檚 Office of Research and Development. 鈥淭he research conducted by these grantees will inform how wastewater treatment plants can help manage this risk as we work together to protect our water resources and public health.鈥�
Other grant recipients are the University of Nebraska, the Water Research Foundation in Denver, Colorado, and Oregon State University.