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
A Comprehensive Look at Wisconsin’s Climate-Change Outlook
February 26, 2026
RISE-EARTH Lead and Headquarters Announced
February 18, 2026Guardian of the Green
November 4, 2025Science Hall: A History
October 9, 2025- Read More News
Upcoming Events
- March
- March 18Forestry and Wildlife Ecology SeminarDr. David Brundage — From Pixels to Pathogens: A Multimodal Deep Learning Pipeline for Wildlife Health1:30 PM, 216 Russell Laboratories
- March 19Weston RoundtableStewarding Wisconsin’s Water Resources: Going Beyond the Watershed with a Relational Approach4:15 PM, 1163 Mechanical Engineering Building
- March 21Ecological Restoration Work PartyArboretum Wingra Woods9:00 AM, Meet at Wingra Springs parking lot (at top of hill on Arboretum Dr., NE of Arboretum Visitor Center)
- March 22
- March 24Climate, People, and the Environment Program (CPEP)Perennial Grasses, Carbon, Water and Nitrogen12:30 PM, 811 Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences Building
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.