On:
In: Alison Mikulyuk, aquaculture, Dong-Fang Deng, Emma Hauser, Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin, Sharon Moen, Summer Research Opportunities Program

Two new grants set to build water-related workforce development

The labor landscape in Wisconsin is closely bound to demographics and it comes down to this simple reality: shoes are not being filled.

U.S. Census data shows Wisconsinites of traditional retirement age, 65, have increased 42% since 2005. At the same time, the number of people entering the workforce is contracting because state birth rates have slowed and there are fewer young people. Another aspect of this workforce-shortage trend is that young people are bypassing Wisconsin, choosing to work and live elsewhere as they chase their American dreams.

Now, thanks to an infusion of two new grants, Wisconsin Sea Grant is positioned to facilitate the paths young people are considering as they sort through workforce choices, including where they may eventually want to find training and education, take a job and make a home.

With $592,332 in support from the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin (FWC) over two years, the Freshwater@UW Summer Research Opportunities Program will continue its work to develop Wisconsin’s next generation of freshwater scientists.

The program matches water-related mentors from throughout the University of Wisconsin System with undergraduates to guide them in an immersive research experience and acquaint them with the many graduate school opportunities in Wisconsin.

 The program just wrapped up its second summer, which attracted 31 students from across the nation to work on the system campuses at Eau Claire, Green Bay, La Crosse, Madison, Milwaukee, Oshkosh and Superior.

Closeup of a smiling person

Alison Mikulyuk is coordinating the work of summer research scholars.

Sea Grant’s Alison Mikulyuk coordinates the program which, she said, is growing freshwater research and the workforce through collaborative, cross-system programming that trains and will, ultimately, recruit, retain and diversify the next generation of water professionals.

“The program attracts talented students to the Badger State where they gain skills that are directly applicable to future work in Wisconsin,” Mikulyuk said. “Having just seen these young people through the summer, I’m incredibly inspired. The students made an impressive showing at the recent Summer Research Symposium, and so many of them have had life-altering experiences that I know will fuel their future accomplishments.”

The second two-year FWC grant will provide $207,400 for a project called “Partnering to Boost Aquaculture Workforce Development in Wisconsin.”

Sharon Moen, food-fish outreach coordinator, conducted a 2020 needs assessment of Wisconsin’s food-fish farmers and heard over and over again the need to bring young people into the industry.

“The U.S. imports more than 70% of its fish and shrimp. About half of these imports come from overseas farms. Meanwhile, consumers are calling for locally produced food that supports American jobs, and the health of themselves and their loved ones. Wisconsin aquaculture, aquaculture being another word for fish farming, is primed to meet that demand,” Moen said. “The industry just needs workers and this project will expand training opportunities, linking commercial fish farms in the state to high schools, colleges and universities to foster farm experiences and skill-building workshops.”

Close-up of smiling person

Sharon Moen will work with colleagues on aquaculture industry workforce development.

She said one such idea for that skill-building will be supporting high school teams to participate in an existing annual aquaculture competition. Students design and build a system to grow fish.

Moen will work with Sea Grant colleagues Dong-Fang Deng and Emma Hauser, both aquaculture outreach and education specialists. Deng is based at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Hauser works out of UW-Steven’s Point Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility on the Bayfield Peninsula, not too far from Lake Superior.

“With Dong-Fang’s and Emma’s connections and our collective enthusiasm for this project, we are looking forward to successfully inspiring young people to enter the aquaculture workforce. It can offer a good standard of living and a remarkable quality of life,” Moen said.

The Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin is a partnership of Wisconsin’s 13 public universities, connecting with industry partners, local communities, policymakers and advocacy groups. Its mission is to establish Wisconsin as a world leader in freshwater science, technology, entrepreneurship and economic growth. The Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin is training the next generation of scientists to solve global water resource problems through academic programs, collaborative research and career development across the UW System.

The post Filling water shoes first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Original Article

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/filling-water-shoes/

Moira Harrington

On:
In: 2023 Freshwater@UW Summer Research Scholars Program, Alison Mikulyuk, Jim Hurley, Marissa Jablonksi

When summer stretches before many college undergraduates, they make plans: Spend time outdoors. Connect with friends. Catch up on screen time.

For the 31 undergraduates participating in the 2023 Freshwater@UW Summer Research Scholars Program, those plans are the same, with slight alterations. The time outdoors is likely to be spent collecting field samples from a body of water. The friends are new ones—made from the pool of program participants who hail from California to Alabama from Virginia to Wisconsin, and points in between. The screen time isn’t about beating The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, but instead entering findings into a larger dataset to further aquatic science projects.

“I looked at many summer REU (research experiences for undergraduates) opportunities,” Sofia Mota Chichy, chemistry major from the University of Michigan, said. “This one at Madison had the most in water chemistry and that’s what I am interested in. I’ve never worked in a chemistry lab before and it’s even better that it is an aquatic one.” Mota Chichy will be a part of University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Christine Remucal’s lab studying magnesium oxide.

Jessica Alcorn is an undergraduate who will join a water research lab at UW-Madison this summer. Contributed photo.

A second young woman also expressed her attraction to this opportunity because of its emphasis on water. Plus, said Jessica Alcorn a student at Northwest Missouri State, “I want to go to graduate school here in Madison.” She’ll work under UW-Madison’s Matt Ginder-Vogel, who does both surface and groundwater research.

These springboards from research to a new path in life were celebrated by an enthusiastic Marissa Jablonski at a recent orientation session for the students. “Life will form you without you trying. You’re on your way. You’ve shown up. You’re leaning in.”

Jablonski is the executive director of the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin, one of the funding entities for the summer program, about which, the University of Wisconsin Water Resources Institute Director Jim Hurley said, “It’s been really positive to be able to expand our program because of support from the Freshwater Collaborative. Last year, we were a fledgling program of nine students.” Hurley secured a nearly $358,300 grant from the collaborative, resulting in this year’s larger cohort.

No matter the size of the group, though, Hurley said the goal remains unchanged, “The overall goal is to provide immersive student research experiences to enhance workforce development skills and allow undergraduates to consider the option of graduate studies in Wisconsin. Research experience as an undergraduate is an important component of a successful application for graduate school. In the job market, it also sets apart recent undergraduates who have addressed the changing needs of water-related fields.”

Group of people standing in a grassy area.
Summer research scholars had many orientation activities before heading to their assignments across the state. Photo by Alison Mikulyuk

Expanding the number of participating students is one thing, another is the broadened involvement from professors, graduate students and others at organizations that are acting as mentors for the students. There are 48 in all, including people on University of Wisconsin System campuses in Eau Claire, Green Bay, La Crosse, Madison, Milwaukee and Oshkosh. Also providing formative experiences will be mentors from the U.S. Geological Survey, the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve, Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary and Wisconsin Maritime Museum.

In application materials, students this summer expressed interest in pursuing research into topics such as pollution, climate change, molecular structures of water, public health and more. The projects will deliver on that skill-building, spawning a new generation of water leaders. While the students will disperse across the state for these labs and field sites, they have a standing invitation to gather each Thursday virtually—and in-person if they are in Madison—for weekly professional development sessions on topics like science communication, navigating graduate school and proposal writing.

They will add these skills to their already prodigious ones in other areas that demonstrate well-rounded natures. At the orientation session, Alison Mikulyuk, summer research opportunity program coordinator, called out fun facts when she said among the group there was a proficient loon caller, a mushroom finder, dancers, an aspiring author, someone who graduated from high school as a 14-year-old, a boxer, world-medalist baton twirler, two twins, competitive swimmers, a multi-instrumentalist, many who play instruments and several who speak more than one language.

Mikulyuk urged the undergraduates to enjoy those skills of others, and also capitalize on the people who possess them, “Learn from each other. Care for each other…Take advantage of personal and professional connections.” She continued, “I hope you will have a life-changing experience that propels you forward in your next decades.”

The program will run until Aug. 5, culminating in a poster session where students will present their summer’s worth of findings.

In addition to the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin and the Water Resources Institute, the summer program has support from Wisconsin Sea Grant, Water@UW Madison and the UW-Madison Graduate School.

The post Summer loving and the research is fine first appeared on WRI.

Original Article

News Release | WRI

News Release | WRI

https://www.wri.wisc.edu/news/summer-loving-and-the-research-is-fine/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=summer-loving-and-the-research-is-fine

Moira Harrington

On:
In: 2023 Freshwater@UW Summer Research Scholars Program, Alison Mikulyuk, enthusiastic Marissa Jablonski, Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin, Jim Hurley, Sofia Mota Chichy, Water@UW-Madison

When summer stretches before many college undergraduates, they make plans: Spend time outdoors. Connect with friends. Catch up on screen time.

For the 31 undergraduates participating in the 2023 Freshwater@UW Summer Research Scholars Program, those plans are the same, with slight alterations. The time outdoors is likely to be spent collecting field samples from a body of water. The friends are new ones—made from the pool of program participants who hail from California to Alabama from Virginia to Wisconsin, and points in between. The screen time isn’t about beating The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, but instead entering findings into a larger dataset to further aquatic science projects.

Smiling person standing in a grassy, wooded area.

Sofia Mota Chichy will research magnesium oxide. Contributed photo.

“I looked at many summer REU (research experiences for undergraduates) opportunities,” Sofia Mota Chichy, chemistry major from the University of Michigan, said. “This one at Madison had the most in water chemistry and that’s what I am interested in. I’ve never worked in a chemistry lab before and it’s even better that it is an aquatic one.” Mota Chichy will be a part of University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Christine Remucal’s lab studying magnesium oxide.

A second young woman also expressed her attraction to this opportunity because of its emphasis on water. Plus, said Jessica Alcorn a student at Northwest Missouri State, “I want to go to graduate school here in Madison.” She’ll work under UW-Madison’s Matt Ginder-Vogel, who does both surface and groundwater research.

These springboards from research to a new path in life were celebrated by an enthusiastic Marissa Jablonski at a recent orientation session for the students. “Life will form you without you trying. You’re on your way. You’ve shown up. You’re leaning in.”

Jablonski is the executive director of the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin, one of the funding entities for the summer program, about which, Sea Grant Director Jim Hurley said, “It’s been really positive to be able to expand our program because of support from the Freshwater Collaborative. Last year, we were a fledgling program of nine students.” Hurley secured a nearly $358,300 grant from the collaborative, resulting in this year’s larger cohort.

No matter the size of the group, though, Hurley said the goal remains unchanged, “The overall goal is to provide immersive student research experiences to enhance workforce development skills and allow undergraduates to consider the option of graduate studies in Wisconsin. Research experience as an undergraduate is an important component of a successful application for graduate school. In the job market, it also sets apart recent undergraduates who have addressed the changing needs of water-related fields.”

Large group of people in a grassy area.

The 2023 cohort of summer research scholars undertook various orientation activities, including a tour of the UW-Madison Arboretum. Photo: Alison Mikulyuk

Expanding the number of participating students is one thing, another is the broadened involvement from professors, graduate students and others at organizations that are acting as mentors for the students. There are 48 in all, including people on University of Wisconsin System campuses in Eau Claire, Green Bay, La Crosse, Madison, Milwaukee and Oshkosh. Also providing formative experiences will be mentors from the U.S. Geological Survey, the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve, Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary and Wisconsin Maritime Museum.

In application materials, students this summer expressed interest in pursuing research into topics such as pollution, climate change, molecular structures of water, public health and more. The projects will deliver on that skill-building, spawning a new generation of water leaders. While the students will disperse across the state for these labs and field sites, they have a standing invitation to gather each Thursday virtually—and in-person if they are in Madison—for weekly professional development sessions on topics like science communication, navigating graduate school and proposal writing.

They will add these skills to their already prodigious ones in other areas that demonstrate well-rounded natures. At the orientation session, Alison Mikulyuk, summer research opportunity program coordinator, called out fun facts when she said among the group there was a proficient loon caller, a mushroom finder, dancers, an aspiring author, someone who graduated from high school as a 14-year-old, a boxer, world-medalist baton twirler, two twins, competitive swimmers, a multi-instrumentalist, many who play instruments and several who speak more than one language.

Mikulyuk urged the undergraduates to enjoy those skills of others, and also capitalize on the people who possess them, “Learn from each other. Care for each other…Take advantage of personal and professional connections.” She continued, “I hope you will have a life-changing experience that propels you forward in your next decades.”

The program will run until Aug. 5, culminating in a poster session where students will present their summer’s worth of findings.

In addition to the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin and Sea Grant, the summer program has support from the University of Wisconsin Water Resources Institute, Water@UW Madison and the UW-Madison Graduate School.

 

The post Summer loving and the research is fine first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Original Article

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/summer-loving-and-the-research-is-fine/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=summer-loving-and-the-research-is-fine

Moira Harrington

On:
In: Ali Mikulyuk, Alison Mikulyuk, Water@UW-Madison

In the late 1800s, the field of limnology (the study of lakes) had its birth in North America when what is now the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for Limnology began its formative years.

Zoologists Edward Birge and Chancey Juday offered vision and leadership for this take on water science. They went heavy on field work and produced dozens of papers expounding lakes’ chemistry, biology and geology. They were committed to fostering student experiences and learning.

A thread of connection to those early days of freshwater study and student support carries through to today with the arrival at the Water Resources Institute (WRI)  and Sea Grant of Alison Mikulyuk, herself a graduate of that very same limnology program. She is the first-ever coordinator of Water@UW-Madison.

Closeup of smiling young woman with short dark hair.

“I’m excited to join the team at the Aquatic Sciences Center.” Mikulyuk continued, “I want to build and support a caring and connected network of water researchers, one that encourages exchange and innovation. I envision a healthy and productive collaborative group, where we work together across disciplines, across agencies and with communities to find new ways of asking and answering the questions that matter for fresh water.”

Water@UW-Madison had its own beginnings more than a decade ago when a handful of water scientists—including Jake Vander Zanden, the current director of the Center for Limnology—formed an organization to foster connections among students, staff and faculty with water interests and studies. The goal at the time, Vander Zanden said, was to facilitate greater interdisciplinary collaboration and exploration.

Water@UW-Madison sponsors a fall poster session, spring symposium, student mentoring, a summer undergraduate research experience and art and freshwater science collaborations. It hosts an informative website and during the academic year publishes a weekly newsletter. In sum, it pulls together and amplifies the water expertise of more than 130 faculty and staff across more than 40 departments and programs on the Madison campus.

It further strives to broaden its reach to other campuses in the University of Wisconsin System, along with private colleges, government agencies, non-governmental organizations and civil society in Wisconsin and beyond.

Mikulyuk will also support the WRI and Sea Grant research enterprise and the programs’ robust fellowship initiatives that place post-graduates in settings with state agencies, offering cutting-edge skills and knowledge to the agencies, along with mentoring, networking opportunities and experience for the fellows.

Additionally, she will also oversee the Freshwater@UW Summer Research Scholars Program, which pairs undergraduates with research mentors. The program is in its second year and 2023 opportunities are now available for application until Feb. 15.

The post Alison Mikulyuk will assist with WRI research competition first appeared on WRI.

Original Article

News Release | WRI

News Release | WRI

https://www.wri.wisc.edu/news/alison-mikulyuk-will-assist-with-wri-research-competition/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=alison-mikulyuk-will-assist-with-wri-research-competition

Moira Harrington

On:
In: Ali Mikulyuk, Alison Mikulyuk, Water@UW-Madison

In the late 1800s, the field of limnology (the study of lakes) had its birth in North America when what is now the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for Limnology began its formative years.

Zoologists Edward Birge and Chancey Juday offered vision and leadership for this take on water science. They went heavy on field work and produced dozens of papers expounding lakes’ chemistry, biology and geology. They were committed to fostering student experiences and learning.

A thread of connection to those early days of freshwater study and student support carries through to today with the arrival at Sea Grant and the Water Resources Institute (WRI) of Alison Mikulyuk, herself a graduate of that very same limnology program. She is the first-ever coordinator of Water@UW-Madison.

Closeup of smiling young woman with short dark hair.

“I’m excited to join the team at the Aquatic Sciences Center.” Mikulyuk continued, “I want to build and support a caring and connected network of water researchers, one that encourages exchange and innovation. I envision a healthy and productive collaborative group, where we work together across disciplines, across agencies and with communities to find new ways of asking and answering the questions that matter for fresh water.”

Water@UW-Madison had its own beginnings more than a decade ago when a handful of water scientists—including Jake Vander Zanden, the current director of the Center for Limnology—formed an organization to foster connections among students, staff and faculty with water interests and studies. The goal at the time, Vander Zanden said, was to facilitate greater interdisciplinary collaboration and exploration.

Water@UW-Madison sponsors a fall poster session, spring symposium, student mentoring, a summer undergraduate research experience and art and freshwater science collaborations. It hosts an informative website and during the academic year publishes a weekly newsletter. In sum, it pulls together and amplifies the water expertise of more than 130 faculty and staff across more than 40 departments and programs on the Madison campus.

It further strives to broaden its reach to other campuses in the University of Wisconsin System, along with private colleges, government agencies, non-governmental organizations and civil society in Wisconsin and beyond.

Mikulyuk will also support the WRI and Sea Grant research enterprise and the programs’ robust fellowship initiatives that place post-graduates in settings with state agencies, offering cutting-edge skills and knowledge to the agencies, along with mentoring, networking opportunities and experience for the fellows.

Additionally, she will also oversee the Freshwater@UW Summer Research Scholars Program, which pairs undergraduates with research mentors. The program is in its second year and 2023 opportunities are now available for application until Feb. 15.

 

The post New hire Alison Mikulyuk part of a connective thread of water first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Original Article

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/new-hire-alison-mikulyuk-part-of-a-connective-thread-of-water/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=new-hire-alison-mikulyuk-part-of-a-connective-thread-of-water

Moira Harrington