The Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH) and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will be holding a hybrid in-person and virtual Environmental Science Day on February 26, 2026 at the WSLH’s lab facility at 2601 Agriculture Drive, Madison.
Staff from the WSLH, DNR, Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS), UW Extension, and Local and Tribal Health Departments are invited to attend online or in-person.
Microsoft Teams link to stream the event live will be posted in early February
If you plan to attend in-person, please register via this Qualtrics survey (in-person seating is limited to 25).
For more information on the event, please contact Jake Balczewski (WSLH) or Becca Fahney (DNR)
Tentative Agenda (as of 12/19/25 – agenda subject to change)
| Time (approximate) | Presentation Title | Speaker |
| 9:00 AM | Welcome to 2026 Environmental Science Day | Rudy Johnson, WSLH Director |
| 9:15 AM | KEYNOTE: Contaminants in the Ecosystem: PFAS Bioaccumulation in Traditional and Ecological Food Resources Across the Ceded Territory | Gavin Dehnert, UW Sea Grant, Emerging Contaminants Scientist |
| 10:00 AM | Monitoring PFAS in Maple Sap and Syrup | Eve Milusich, UW Sea Grant, Graduate Student |
| 10:15 AM | Updates and accomplishments related to PFAS in the surface waters of WI | Pat Gorski, DNR, Research Scientist |
| 10:30 AM | BREAK | |
| 10:45 AM | WellTap – One Year On | Jordan Murray, DHS, Groundwater Toxicologist |
| 11:00 AM | Wildfire Impacts to PM2.5 Data | Pam Foy Gilmore, DNR, Air Monitoring Quality Assurance Coordinator |
| 11:15 AM | Metals in Groundwater at Small C&D Landfills | Nathan Coller, DNR, Hydrogeologist |
| 11:30 AM | Building an accessible lead isotope database for resolving childhood lead poisoning cases | Arika Hawkins, WSLH APHL Fellow / Chemist, and Meagan Ankney, WSLH Scientist |
| 11:45 AM | Wisconsin State Biomonitoring Program: Assessing Disproportionate Exposure to Environmental Chemicals among Rural Communities | Rick Burke, DHS, Epidemiologist |
| 12:00 PM | LUNCH BREAK (on your own) | |
| 1:00 PM | KEYNOTE: Making the Case: Environmental Samples in Enforcement | Andrea Gruen, DNR, Environmental Enforcement Specialist |
| 1:45 PM | Large Volume Sampling – A tool for investigating origins of fecal contamination in water | Libby Whelan, WSLH Microbiologist |
| 2:00 PM | Wastewater Disease Surveillance at the 2025 NFL Draft | Oliver Long, WSLH Microbiologist |
| 2:15 PM | Lake Superior Nearshore Monitoring | Ellen Coffman, DNR, Lake Superior Sediment and Monitoring Coordinator |
| 2:30 PM | BEOH and SLH: Stories from the Field | Wendy Fall, DHS, Public Health Educator |
| 2:45 PM | Wait, what? The CER? How the Chemical Emergency Response Section can support your mission | Mason Shields, WSLH, Chemical Emergency Response Chemist |
| 3:00 PM | Closing and Wrap-Up of 2026 Environmental Science Day and transition to Lab Tours | Becca Fahney, DNR Lab Coordinator |