A woman is looking at a water sample at sunrise.

Research

Our faculty are internationally known for their work in areas such as freshwater contaminants, biological pollutants, fisheries, invasive species, aquaculture, observation technology, climate variability, weather prediction, and water policy.

Our research teams include scientists, economists and legal experts who are advancing fundamental and strategic science and training the next generation of freshwater and climate professionals. Their work informs policy, improves management, and promotes the health and sustainability of the Earth and its ecosystems worldwide.

Investment in our research includes funding from the National Science Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Energy, state of Wisconsin and local government, as well as corporate partners, foundations and private donors.

Our researchers and students collaborate with on-site partners, and our building houses offices for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Geological Survey, Wisconsin Sea Grant, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Milwaukee Riverkeeper, Southeast Wisconsin Watershed Trust, Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin and Milwaukee’s Harbor District.

Students and a professor in a labPFAS
9On-site governmental and nonprofit collaborators
A professor and student put a fish into a net in an aquaculture labFish and Microplastics

Research Impact

  • UWM student taps into her love of bugs to fight antibiotic-resistant organisms
    Kieyarrah Dennis can wear a lot of hats. In fact, versatility has shaped her personal and academic pursuits. Her adaptability blossomed during her elementary years at a community-focused bilingual school in Milwaukee. Later, it drove her to earn a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and history as an undergraduate student at the College of Saint Benedict …
  • From Lake Malawi to Lake Michigan: A scientist’s lifelong dive into freshwater research
    Harvey Bootsma has spent more than 20 years studying the depths and complexities of Lake Michigan’s ecosystems. But the ripples of that work started halfway across the globe. In the early 1990s, after receiving a bachelor’s degree in marine biology, Bootsma accepted a job as the first director of Lake Malawi National Park. The job …
  • Center for Water Policy director featured on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel data centers panel
    Center for Water Policy Director, Professor, and Lynde B. Uihlein Endowed Chair Melissa Scanlan was a featured expert on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Town Hall February 23rd panel on water use by AI-data centers at Turner Hall Ballroom. Professor Scanlan highlighted that water demands include the water used to create electricity for the data centers …

We’re committed to advancing key research priorities

Explore freshwater systems and develop methods for their preservation and management. Study the impacts of climate change, human activity, and invasive species on the Great Lakes and Earth’s ecosystems worldwide. Improve water safety through cutting-edge research. Track the presence and sources of pathogens and determine the impacts of contaminants on human and ecosystem health. Form collaborations among scientists, engineers, and industry.

Predict weather and climate and their impacts to society. Manage, replace and restore the Great Lakes’ commercial and recreational fisheries. Drive new technologies in water research and management and fisheries management and urban aquaculture. Advance understanding of atmospheric processes on local to global scales. Link science to action and generate transformational policies from great science.