UW-Madison is the birthplace of the discipline of limnology in North America. This lecture will give a broad overview of limnology at UW-Madison. We will cover the importance of water to the state of Wisconsin, the historical roots of limnology at UW-Madison, and recent research, education, and outreach activities at the Center for Limnology. We will draw links to the concept of the Wisconsin Idea along the way.

Jake Vander Zanden (left) is the Wayland E. Noland Distinguished Chair and Director of the Center for Limnology, and Professor in the Department of Integrative Biology at University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is a co-founder of Water@UW-Madison, and serves as the outgoing chair of the Water@UW-Madison Executive Committee.

His research focuses both on how lake ecosystems function, and the many threats to the health of lake ecosystems – ranging from invasive species to climate change. He works in a lake in Wisconsin and around the world. He has trained dozens of graduate students and postdocs.

Jake is a fourth-generation Wisconsinite from the Fox River Valley and graduated from Neenah High School. He did his undergraduate and PhD work at McGill University and held a David H. Smith Postdoctoral Fellowship at University of California –Davis. He has been at UW-Madison since 2001.