The Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin has awarded the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee $970,120 in funding to expand hands-on research opportunities for high school and undergraduate students, address emerging contaminants like perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, and strengthen career pathways in water-related fields.
The collaborative’s awards are part of $4.2 million in grants the organization has provided to Universities of Wisconsin institutions statewide to fund 19 inter-campus projects for the fiscal years of 2026 and 2027.
The programs expand student freshwater research at UW campuses, offer summer programs for high school students to educate them about careers in the water industry, and further university-led research that helps fulfill community and government agency needs for water quality monitoring.
2 UWM-led projects
One UWM-led project will address contamination by PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” found in high levels in drinking water throughout the state and linked to significant health issues. This project will address a growing concern about an emerging type of PFAS, bis-perfluoroalkyl sulfonimides, which have been widely used in the production of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.
Another UWM-led project is related to workforce development in aquaculture. It includes experiential learning opportunities for students, cross-campus collaborative courses, and recruitment of high school and undergraduate students into the pipeline for jobs. This project also builds upon the Freshwater Collaborative Water Policy Network as a community of practice around water policy issues.
“The most exciting thing about this latest round of funding is seeing how programs are becoming more interconnected,” said Marissa Jablonski, executive director for the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin. “We can really see how these connections are building a pipeline from college recruitment to jobs in freshwater in Wisconsin.”
The Freshwater Collaborative is a statewide initiative, backed by the Wisconsin Legislature, to support curriculum development, career development and field training experiences for students interested in studying water-related fields at the 13 universities in the UW System.
The UWM projects are:
“Programmatic Funding Building Capacity for Water Careers, Education, and Freshwater Policy Connections”
- Collaborating Institutions: UW-Milwaukee, UW-La Crosse, UW-Whitewater
- UWM project lead: Rebecca Klaper, dean of the School of Freshwater Sciences
- Biennial Funding: $776,210
“Engaging Undergraduate Students in Cutting-Edge Research on the Use of Earth Materials for the Removal of Contaminants including Per- and Polyfluorinated Substances (PFAS)”
- Collaborating Institutions: UW-Milwaukee, UW-Parkside
- UWM project lead: Shangping Xu, geosciences associate professor
- Biennial funding: $193,910
