Study here.
Change the world.
We’re confronting environmental challenges through transformative research, by bridging classrooms and communities, and forging partnerships locally and globally.
Training Tomorrow's Environmental Leaders
The Nelson Institute values and is committed to a liberal arts and professional education, built on the premise that complex environmental issues can best be understood through familiarity with diverse perspectives, and integration of the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities.
Research for a Better Future
Research drives the social and technological innovation needed to confront the challenges of a rapidly changing global environment. The Nelson Institute is a catalyst of imaginative research that combines skills and knowledge from the humanities, engineering, business, and law to the biological, physical, health, and social sciences.
Nelson News and Events
Latest News
Science Hall: A History
October 9, 2025
Energy Analysis and Policy Looks to Future, Celebrates Legacy
September 30, 2025Tracey Holloway Elected as an American Geophysical Union Fellow
September 24, 2025The Transdisciplinarian
September 15, 2025- Read More News
Upcoming Events
- October
- October 23Weston Roundtable Turning the Tide on Plastic Pollution and Other Ocean Threats: A Science-Based Campaign Approach4:15 PM, 1163 Mechanical Engineering Building
- October 25Ecological Restoration Work PartyArboretum Core Area and Curtis Prairie9:00 AM, Meet at Visitor Center, UW–Madison Arboretum
- October 25
- October 25Class: Mindfulness in Nature – Body Movement and AwarenessArboretum1:00 PM, Meet at Visitor Center, UW–Madison Arboretum
- October 25Bat Acoustic Walkin partnership with the 2025 Wisconsin Science Festival6:15 PM, Picnic Point entrance kiosk, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2000 University Bay Drive, Madison WI 53705
Support the Nelson Institute
The Nelson Institute welcomes and is grateful for various forms of support – discretionary funds for our many programs, internships and mentoring opportunities for students, and introductions to new networks that can help advance our reach and build partnerships around Wisconsin and the world.