Students learn field skills to measure ­climate change

UW–Madison students spent a week in the Apostle Islands in July, conducting field work as part of an eight-week interdisciplinary class investigating the impacts of climate change on the Great Lakes.

UW Sea Grant Coastal Engineering Specialist Gene Clark, along with Civil and Environmental Engineering Professors Chin Wu, Dante Fratta, and Trina McMahon, led students in conducting water, geological, and environmental assessments on the nearshore area of Lake Superior.

Bates awarded Weston fellowship

Jeremy Bates of Brule, Wis., has been awarded the 2008 Carl J. Weston Memorial Scholarship. Bates is an undergraduate assistant in the UW Sea Grant/Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources-supported “Clean Boats, Clean Water” project under the supervision of Sea Grant Invasive Species Specialist Phil Moy. Bates is one of six watercraft inspectors who work at key boat launches to increase awareness of problems caused by invasive species and teach boaters how to inspect and clean their watercraft to avoid transporting hitchhikers to other lakes.

Bates, an Iraq war veteran and member of the Wisconsin National Guard, is an undergraduate student at UW-Superior, where he is majoring in biology with minors in chemistry, geographic systems, and criminal justice. He is interested in a career in natural resources management of Lake Superior.

Established in 1995, the Weston Memorial Scholarship supports undergraduate students interested in Great Lakes and ocean issues. If you would like to make a tax-deductible contribution to the UW Sea Grant Undergraduate Scholarship Fund, please contact Mary Lou Reeb at mlreeb@aqua.wisc.edu or (608) 263-3296.