51ÁÔÆæ Center for Water Policy Director Melissa Scanlan was interviewed by Ìý²¹²Ô»åÌý to discuss how the Great Lakes Compact can be a model for approaching water management and control among states interested in pursuing a Mississippi River Compact.
Partnering with WSCNMS to Expand its Buoy Observation Network
The Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary (WSCNMS) has partnered with the School of Freshwater Sciences to engineer and deploy a bigger, more traditional type of observing buoy. The Sanctuary is expanding its observing network as they continue to research and conduct scientific projects in Lake Michigan.
Center for Water Policy Welcomes Three New Staff
The Center for Water Policy enters an exciting phase as it welcomes three new staff: Cora SutherlandÌý²¹²Ô»åÌýRajpreet Grewal, the third cohort of postdoctoral water policy specialists through the UW Sea Grant Water Science-Policy Fellows Program, alongside the appointment of Erin Cross as the Center’s inaugural full-time Assistant Director.
Wisconsin Sea Grant Article Features Aquaculture Specialist Deng
School of Freshwater Sciences Professor and Sea Grant Aquaculture Outreach and Extension Specialist Dong-Fang Deng shares where her love for fish began. This article looks at how her research info fish food is helping fisheries while also creating a unique learning experience for students.
Dive into Hands-On Learning
Freshwater science students and an alumnus share how the hands-on coursework prepares undergraduates for the workforce.
Bootsma Featured in 620 WTMJ Story on Disappearing Shipwrecks
Dr. Harvey Bootsma, Professor and Researcher at 51ÁÔÆæ School of Freshwater Sciences explains why the future of shipwrecks in the Great Lakes is in peril. Dr. Bootsma shares how the quagga mussel, an invasive species, is destroying many underwater vessels.
CBS News Interviews Bootsma about Invasive Mussels
51ÁÔÆæ School of Freshwater Professor and Researcher Harvey Bootsma is interviewed in an article about shipwrecks, downed planes and the invasive quagga mussel.
Atmospheric Science Alumnus Lands Prestigious NCAR Fellowship
UW-Milwaukee alumnus Austin Harris has wanted to be a meteorologist since age 8. Originally from Oklahoma City, his doctoral and postdoctoral work with 51ÁÔÆæ’s Atmospheric Science Distinguished Professor Paul Roebber helped him land a prestigious ASP Postdoctoral Fellowship at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo.
What interested you in studying atmospheric science?
Though I was always interested in weather growing up, my interest solidified at the age of 8, when an EF5 tornado missed my home by less than one mile. From that point on, I was dead set on being a meteorologist and going to the University of Oklahoma [where he earned his undergraduate degree in meteorology].
Why did you choose 51ÁÔÆæ for your MS and PhD?
51ÁÔÆæ’s Atmospheric Science program is distinct from other universities in several ways. First, the atmospheric science group is small and friendly. As a result, students get plenty of 1-1 time with professors.
Second, the group is operationally focused and contains a wonderful internship program, Innovative Weather, which provides graduate students the opportunity to gain critical real-world forecasting experience to complement the classroom.
My experience at Innovative Weather – and my MS degree from 51ÁÔÆæ – led to a short career with the National Weather Service. There, I trained forecasters on when and how to issue severe thunderstorm, tornado, and flash flood warnings. After this period, I was drawn toward hurricane research and returned to 51ÁÔÆæ for a PhD with Dr. Paul Roebber.
What was your experience at 51ÁÔÆæ like and what skills did you learn that helped you to get the NCAR Postdoctoral Fellowship?
My experience at 51ÁÔÆæ was excellent, and I attribute that to a tight-knit atmospheric science program that is intentional about building a strong sense of community and creating a comfortable space to ask questions. Professors Paul Roebber, Jon Kahl, Sergey Kravtsov, and Clark Evans provided key mentorship and support for my growth as a young scientist. That includes developing my writing, presentation and speaking skills, curiosity, critical thinking, research methods, and confidence.
What does your fellowship entail?
The ASP Fellowship is a two-year program at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). There I will essentially continue my PhD research, which is on developing new methods of modeling hurricane evacuations. NCAR provides a unique opportunity to collaborate with meteorologists, climatologists, social scientists, economists, and computer scientists, all of which are essential to modeling this multidisciplinary phenomenon and advancing this type of work for the meteorological community. It’s a wonderful next step for my career!
What are your future career goals?
To be a research meteorologist, leader and mentor, and a scientific educator. I hope to help make weather warnings more meaningful, accessible, and actionable, and occupy interesting interdisciplinary spaces in meteorology!
What’s the Neeskay Up To?
The R/V Neeksay is the only year-round research vessel on the Great Lakes, and it’s been a busy season far with 60 expeditions so far.
The first expedition took place January 18, with the Cuhel/Aguilar labs collecting samples for their ongoing project that monitors the rivers, harbor and near Milwaukee offshore. They also led a new hands-on summer course, in collaboration with UW-River Falls, that got undergraduate students from multiple campuses conducting research on Lake Michigan.
Additional expeditions included launching research buoys in Racine, Green Bay and Milwaukee (Atwater and Bradford Beaches). The Bootsma lab provided the opportunity to launch never-before tested equipment dubbed the mussel masher because it weighs in at about 1,500 pounds.
Jim Waples and two students made multiple trips to gather samples of radioactive atoms for their research on tracking particle transport in water. Clark Evans and the Atmospheric Science crew launched what may be the first-ever weather balloons from the Neeskay.
The Neeskay crew also welcomed middle and high school students for 51ÁÔÆæ’s College for Teens summer camp and began working with the WDNR to surveys the nearshore from Kenosha to the tip of the Door County Peninsula and Green Bay.
This fall, the crew and faculty will be taking graduate students on multiple expeditions. It’s shaping up to be one of the busiest years yet for the Neeksay. Soon it will be time to bring in the buoys and slow things down.
W51ÁÔÆæ Discusses the Innovative Weather Center
51ÁÔÆæ’s Innovative Weather Center, which gives student meteorologists real-world experience, is closing. Innovative Weather has been in operation for 17 years and is a completely unique program where students can learn how to forecast.