The Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies is confronting global environmental challenges through imaginative research that transcends disciplinary boundaries, hands-on education that bridges classrooms and communities, and public programs that foster environmental conversations among people from business, government, academia, and advocacy.
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 That's Changing the World
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.
We Are the Wisconsin Idea
At the Nelson Institute, we strive to create sustainable communities across complex institutional landscapes for enhancing the quality of life and the environment in Wisconsin and the world.
It all starts with people and communities, and we are deeply committed to fostering and sustaining community partnerships in education, research, and service, both locally and internationally.
Nelson News and Events
Latest News
STEM, Sustainability, and Scholarship
December 2, 2022Everyone’s Earth lecture discusses enslaved people’s mobility
November 11, 2022
Back in Bangladesh, EC Alumna Uses New Skills
November 11, 2022Environmental Advocacy in Action
November 10, 2022The Best Laid Plans
November 9, 2022- Read More News
Upcoming Events
- December
- December 4
- December 5Biofuels and Land Use: Opportunities, challenges, and insights for sustainabilitySustainable Energy Seminar Series3:30 PM, 1115 Wisconsin Energy Institute
Also offered online - December 6CPEP Seminar:Designing FLUXNET-CH42.0: Methane flux data and community to advance global methane cycle scienceSpeaker: Gavin McNicol, Assistant Professor, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois4:00 PM, 811 Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences Building
- December 8Weston Roundtable: Deep Mitigation Pathways Underlying the Science-Policy Interface of Climate ChangeSpeaker: Matt Gidden, Senior Research Scholar, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Energy, Climate, and Environment Program4:15 PM, 1163 Mechanical Engineering Building
- December 10Ecological Restoration Work PartyArboretum Core Area and Curtis Prairie9:00 AM, Meet at Visitor Center, UW–Madison Arboretum