Since it first opened to students in 2011, the Nelson Institute’s environmental studies undergraduate major has seen rapid growth — after just one year, the number of declared students nearly doubled.
Students
An Interdisciplinary Education
The world is Hailey Kuhn’s oyster — and she knows it.
Building a Sustainable Community
Imagine a community where people work together to preserve natural resources, protect their watershed, and learn about the importance of conservation.
Connecting Water, Connecting People
For Heidi Putnam, water resource conservation is less about understanding the hard sciences than it is about understanding the communities relying on those water resources.
A Bird’s-Eye View of Conservation
Soumika Gaddameedi’s passion for the environment began at a young age, stemming from childhood memories of hiking and surrounding herself with nature.
A Full-Course Meal
Ashley Cheung’s life has always been intertwined with the environment.
Industry Revolution
Making copies, sorting files, delivering documents. These are tasks one might associate with your standard internship, but they’re nowhere to be found in the lineup of duties for students participating in UW–Madison’s Corporate Sustainability Internship Program.
The Psychology of Sustainable Farming
Nelson Institute environment and resources PhD student Sophia Winkler-Schor has spent most of her life fascinated with both the environment and Latin America.
Alpha Advocate
As a kid, Francisco Santiago-Ávila had a plan to become a priest.
Continuing a Legacy
Being out in nature and working with the land is within graduate student Jesse Eddinger’s genes.
Taking Stock of the United Nations Paris Agreement
Nova Tebbe, a PhD student in the Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment, exemplifies the interdisciplinary research of the Nelson Institute.
Mitigating Wildlife Conflict in Botswana
From the age of three, Nelson Institute environment and resources PhD student Gabi Fleury wanted to travel to Africa and be a conservationist.
The Reward of Research
As a recent runner-up for the Center for Climatic Research’s Reid Bryson Scholarship poster session, undergraduate senior Sean Bertalot never expected such a distinction just a few short years ago.
Bikepacking for Credit
Imagine biking 50 miles up a mountain carrying nearly 100 pounds of gear with only peanut butter, tortillas, and applesauce to keep you going.
Back in Bangladesh, EC Alumna Uses New Skills
Traveling from the opposite side of the world, Sumaiya Firoze came to the Nelson Institute determined to grow her conservation knowledge and skills to help her home country of Bangladesh.
Environmental Advocacy in Action
“Madison in the summer is beautiful,” says undergraduate Kendi Aaron. “That’s the one thing I will die on a hill for.”
EOI Student Works to Preserve Wildlife at Home in Kenya
Graduate student Grace Cheptoo moved across the world to begin the Environmental Observation Informatics program at the Nelson Institute in May of 2021.
CCR graduate student awarded NCAR Fellowship
Rudradutt Thaker, research assistant with Nelson Institute’s Center for Climatic Research (CCR) and the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, has been awarded a fellowship through the National Center for Atmospheric Research’s (NCAR) Graduate Visitor Program.
Nelson Institute students and faculty earn top spot in global XPRIZE challenge
Nelson Institute faculty and students are part of the University of Wisconsin–Madison team Earth RepAIR and among the top 60 groups, and one of only 21 teams focusing on direct air capture, in the XPRIZE competition, a $100 million global challenge funded by Elon Musk and the Musk Foundation.
Nelson Institute students participate in global study on urban environmental change and adaptation
Nelson Institute students and researchers participated in a global study investigating the impact of urbanization on biological evolution.
Nelson Institute students and faculty win XPRIZE for Carbon Removal Student Competition
Nelson Institute Energy Analysis and Policy (EAP) faculty and students were among the University of Wisconsin–Madison team members who received a top award from the $5 million XPRIZE for Carbon Removal Student Competition.
Two Nelson Institute students awarded as Global Health Institute Planetary Scholars
The Global Health Institute (GHI) Planetary Scholars program has chosen a cohort of five students as scholarship recipients for the ’21-’22 school year, two of which are Nelson Institute students.
Environmental Conservation program helps student to spread his wings
While growing up in San Diego, California Pharaoh Graham begged his parents to take him to the zoo.
CCR and Geoscience students awarded post-doctoral positions
The Nelson Institute Center for Climatic Research (CCR) is proud to announce that two students have been awarded postdoctoral positions. Cameron Batchelor, a PhD student in the Department of Geoscience, under the advisement of assistant …
Nelson grad student among planetary health scholars
The spring 2020 University of Wisconsin-Madison Planetary Health Scholars, which include Nelson Institute and Cultural Anthropology graduate student Pearly Wong, recently completed five-minute, virtual mini lectures describing their projects and their goals. Each video is …