Meet the Mentors

Rebecca Abler, Ph.D. & Richard Hein, Ph.D.

Professors of Biology

StreamTeam: Manitowoc County Stream Sampling. Freshwater Scholars in this project will investigate water quality in southern Manitowoc County streams that flow into Lake Michigan.  Students will work on two driving research questions: what impact do large-scale stream restoration projects have on water quality, and  what impact do land use and environmental contributions have on stream water quality?  Freshwater Scholars will learn to collect measurements of pH, temperature, flow, turbidity, conductivity, dissolved oxygen in the field, and bring samples to the lab for ammonia, phosphorus and E. coli  analyses.  They will work on a team with undergraduate research students, and will spend about half their time performing field sampling and the other half in the lab analyzing samples.  After learning protocols and experiencing the streams, students will also develop a research question they will work to answer during the summer.

Patrick Forsythe, Ph.D.

Professor of Biology

A detailed understanding of fish behavior, community dynamics and trends in population abundance is essential for the design and implementation of management and conservation practices. The student research assistant will join a team of UW-Green Bay undergraduate/graduate students to explore downstream dispersal of juvenile lake sturgeon on the Menominee River, sample fish communities of Dutchman/Ashwaubenon Creeks, track the movement of northern pike in Lower Green Bay and monitor the population of invasive round goby in the Fox River. Research assistants will have the opportunity to explore fish husbandry within our dedicated stream side research facility, become proficient in the deployment of methods used to sample fish populations including backpack electrofishing and understand the basics of how to track animals via advanced acoustic telemetry techniques. Students will be given the opportunity to collect data, conduct a simple analysis and present this information to the group at the end of the experience.  

Mike Holly, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Environmental Engineering

Season depletion of dissolved oxygen in Green Bay, as a result of excessive algal production, has a detrimental effect on fish. Agricultural runoff results in excessive nutrients in the Great Lakes is a significant driver of algal blooms. Constructed wetlands and reactive media have the potential to remove phosphorus from agricultural runoff, improving water quality. As student research assistant, your responsibilities will include: measuring nutrients in water quality from constructed wetlands and reactive media. Specific tasks include sampling flow through columns, assisting in water quality measurements using state of the art technology, and facilitating the fabrication of reactive media, and organization and analysis of data. Students will be incorporated into a team of undergraduate, graduate, and postdoc researchers studying environmental engineering technology, chemistry, and environmental science. At the completion of the summer you will present the results for a media you worked on to staff and students.

Titus Seilheimer, Ph.D.

Fish Specialist with Wisconsin Sea Grant, Partnering Organization in the Manitowoc area

Join Wisconsin Sea Grant’s Fisheries Specialist Titus Seilheimer for a summer of field experiences in streams and wetlands. Based out of Manitowoc, the project team will conduct stream monitoring in Two Rivers and Port Washington in order to assess conditions before restoration projects. There will also be opportunities to work on western Green Bay coastal wetlands to collect fish and monitor wild rice. Work will be mainly in and on the water, with some lab and remote work.

Erin Berns-Herrboldt, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Water Science

1. Evaluating arsenic release from groundwater aquifer sediments: The intern will support a graduate student conducting experiments of metals leaching from aquifer sediments. The work includes lab scale batch experiments and some field work for groundwater sampling, well sediment collection, and water level data analysis.
2. Determining phosphorus cycling in streambank sediments: The intern will conduct preliminary experiments evaluating the role of oxygen in phosphorus sorption experiments. The work includes both lab scale batch experiments and field work on the Wisconsin River collecting streambank porewater samples and sediments in collaboration with other researchers.

John Luczaj, Ph.D.

Professor of Water Science

Dr. Luczaj's main research focus is on the analysis of fluid inclusions in minerals. Fluid inclusions are trapped when minerals grow from aqueous solutions (groundwater) and they can tell us the temperatures and salinities of the fluids present when the mineral formed.  This is used a lot to infer everything from how ore deposits form to paleoclimate research.  I have my own fluid inclusion microthermometry equipment in my lab. Students will learn how to prepare microscope slides to view the inclusions using a fluid inclusion micothermometry equipment and can participate in the measurements of the inclusions.

Students may also do some field work to sample wells as part of our regional geochemistry project in northeastern Wisconsin’s aquifers.

Jessica Warwick, Ph.D.

Assistant Teaching Professor of Biology

Artificially constructed freshwater environments, like retaining ponds, are often thought of as low-quality, species-poor habitats as compared to natural wetlands, but are understudied in Wisconsin. This project would compare the aquatic invertebrate communities of adjacent natural-occurring and artificially constructed wetlands near Kaukauna, WI to learn more about the species that inhabit these two environments. Students would gain experience in the field work, as they learn how to sample invertebrates and measure various water quality characteristics, and in the laboratory, as they learn how to identify invertebrates. Students would also gain experience working around and with the graduate and undergraduate students of the Holly environmental engineering lab as they are learning about the chemistry of the same system. Learn more

Atlas Science Center

Partnering site in the Appleton Area

Interns at the Atlas Science Center will gain a deep understanding of science communication during their tenure. They will be mentored by two PhD's with 17 combined years of academic research experience, peer-reviewed publication and patent writing and professional and education talks. We have 3 Science Live! Stage Shows they would learn and execute this summer along with teaching the Paper Science Lab. The Atlas Science Center is beginning their journey to restore their Outdoor Learning Center so interns would be tasked with developing outdoor educational content for guests to enjoy as well as designing Citizen Design experiments where the Centers' guests can collect data and come inside to log it in an exhibit setting.