About Me

I am an Associate Scientist at the University of Wisconsin - Madison in the Departments of Plant & Agroecosystem Sciences and Civil & Environmental Engineering. I also collaborate with the North Temperate Lakes Long-Term Ecological Research site, Center for Limnology, Wisconsin Energy Institute, and UW Arboretum. I hold a BS in Environmental Engineering from UW-Madison (2004), MS in Hydrologic Science from UC-Davis (2006), and PhD in Limnology from UW-Madison (2011).

I am broadly interested in the intersection between water, land, climate, and humans. I consider my research approach to be transdisciplinary and highly dependent on collaborating with colleagues and partners from a wide variety of disciplines both inside and outside of academia. My disciplinary background has water as a centerpiece and includes topics such as hydroecology, impacts of climate and land-use change, urban stormwater management, wetland/stream restoration, water quality, groundwater hydrology, fluvial geomorphology, environmental history, agroecology, remote sensing, and computer modeling. My methods include biophysical field monitoring (ground-, satellite-, and drone-based), biophysical modeling, decision-support tool development, and surveys/interviews.

Current and recent research projects include:

Assessing the potential of forested hillslopes to enhance stormwater infiltration and reduce flooding in the Driftless Area
Flood resilience and stream restoration in the Coon Creek and West Fork Kickapoo Watersheds (NSF-CNH2s funded project)
Flood resilience in the Coon Creek Watershed (lead advisor to the Water Resources Management Workshop)
Grassland 2.0 – Agroecological transformation to perennial grassland agriculture (USDA-NIFA-SAS)
FEWScapes - Sustaining food, energy, and water security in agricultural landscapes of the Upper Mississippi River Basin (NSF-INFEWS)
Assessing and improving policy and practice interventions to reduce nutrient runoff into the Great Lakes (Seagrant)
Assessment of the water quality impacts of the Renewable Fuels Standard - link
Exploring the impacts of groundwater pumping on calcareous fens across Wisconsin using hydroecological modeling and hyperspectral remote sensing - link
Riparian management and restoration in the Kickapoo watershed

Past projects include one funded by the Water Sustainability and Climate Program of the National Science Foundation looking at the future of water, food, and ecosystems in the Yahara River watershed as it undergoes potential changes in climate, land-use, urbanization, and agriculture. The project developed four contrasting scenarios of the future out to 2070 that have started a community-wide conversation about long-term decision-making in the region. These scenarios start off as narrative storylines and then are enriched using computer models that provide quantitative estimates of measures related to human well-being such as water quality, water supply, flooding, and agricultural production. To learn more, visit the project website at yahara2070.org.