Apply to the LAKES REU Program

The 2026 LAKES REU program will run from June 7th to August 8th, 2026. We are currently accepting applications and all documents and supporting materials will be due February 1st. Please read the rest of this page before starting your application.

Students can apply to work on any of the projects listed below (or to multiple). We will have four projects for 2026, and final mentors and projects will be chosen based on our application pool.

Urban Stream Sedimentation and Stormwater BMPs (mentor Keith Gilland)

Urban streams globally suffer from a series of impairments broadly termed “urban stream syndrome” due to the compounding effects of in-stream habitat alteration and watershed land uses. This project seeks to understand the long-term impact of urbanization and the effects of ongoing stream corridor restoration and changes in street maintenance practices on Galloway Creek (an urban stream in Menomonie Wisconsin). Students will collect new data on sediment depth and characterize stream substrates to identify problematic sedimentation deposition regions, compare stream conditions in Galloway creek to reference systems using existing data, digitize existing stormwater infrastructure maps and develop a comprehensive overview of new and existing stormwater best management installations. Mentees will gain a comprehensive understanding of how urban development has altered the physical, chemical, and biological conditions of Galloway Creek, gain knowledge on the identification of critical stressors and potential restoration or mitigation strategies, and generate valuable data to support urban planning, stormwater management, and environmental policy decisions. This study will contribute to the growing body of research on urban stream syndrome and provide local decision-makers and practitioners with actionable insights that would be scalable to similar stream systems throughout the region.

Modeling Water Quality and Algal Bloom Dynamics with Machine Learning (mentor Augustine Twumasi)

This project will use machine learning to study how nutrient levels and environmental conditions influence harmful algal blooms in Lake Menomin and Lake Tainter within the Red Cedar Watershed. Students will combine EPA and Wisconsin DNR water-quality data with satellite observations to model relationships between phosphorus concentrations, temperature, and bloom intensity. Through data processing, visualization, and predictive modeling in Python, participants will gain experience in environmental analytics and remote sensing. The project contributes to ongoing regional efforts to monitor and improve water quality in western Wisconsin.

From Resource Extraction to Data Extraction: A Social History of Rural Industrial Land Use (mentor Thomas Pearson)

A recent proposal to build a largescale “data center” in Menomonie to house IT infrastructure has triggered intense community debate and backlash. Some nearby residents fear nuisance impacts like noise and light pollution, while others mourn the loss of farmland and raise questions about environmental problems related to intensive water and energy consumption. Menomonie and the broader Red Cedar Watershed, however, have a long history of rural industrial development and extractive land use, ranging from logging and sand mining to CAFOs and plastic-based product manufacturing. Using ethnographic research methods such as interviewing, oral histories, participant observations, and analysis of historical archives, this project will document the current controversy surrounding the proposed data center and examine the social history of land use at and around the proposed site. How do area residents define their sense of place and belonging in relation to certain forms of land use? Which forms of industrial infrastructure and development are perceived as compatible with the surrounding landscape? What social, cultural, and economic factors shape opposition to the data center proposal but not to other industrial activities in the area? How do residents perceive changes to the landscape and come to acknowledge or ignore potential threats to water quality associated with industrial development within the watershed? 

Psychology of Sustainable Behaviors (mentor Sarah Wood)

This project will explore multiple ways social psychological mechanisms can be used to promote attitude and behavior change within the local community related to sustainability. Student projects will focus on understanding the local community and important stakeholders, current behaviors and beliefs, and obstacles to change. Then students will apply theories of social cognition and social influence to design interventions and finally to test the efficacy of the interventions.

Mixed Methods Approach to Understand Local Environmental Decision-Making (mentor Arthur Kneeland)

This project will examine the relationship and role of personal values in local collective and personal decisions related to social, economic, and environmental sustainability. Students will use interdisciplinary methods, including interviews, surveys, and public datasets to understand the complex issues involved in local decision making.