2024 Meeting Highlights

47th Annual Meeting
Meeting Info
April 25-26, 2024, at the Paper Valley Hilton in Appleton
Download the Conference Program

The 2024 Annual meeting was held at the Paper Valley Hilton in Appleton, where over 150 attendees watched 51 talks, 3 lightning talks, and 21 posters on subjects ranging from nutrients, water quality, modeling, climate change, PFAs, green infrastructure, management, and more. The lunchtime session included an in-depth update on strategic planning efforts the Board had been conducting the prior year. This strategic planning effort found that most members were quite happy with AWRA, but there was room for improvement on making the conference more welcoming and engaging for everyone, and there was a desire to lower the barrier of entry for service to the organization. Members voted on a new Board structure, with duties that were better understood to the general membership before asking for volunteering, plus less expectation of a long multi-year commitment. The new board organization will go into effect at the 48th annual meeting. Marissa Jablonski also gave an updated from the Freshwater Collaborative, and how that team can help breakdown silos to address water challenges across the state.
During the evening session, AWRA Board Members Matt Diebel and Meg Haserodt held a free-flowing conversation with NY Times bestselling author on water policy, the role of communications in science, and his history with Wisconsin’s waters.

Board elections took place at the business meeting, where Madeline Gotkowitz was elected Director-at-Large, Brent Brown was elected Secretary, Matt Diebel was elected President-Elect, and Mike Cardiff was elected Vice President.

Dave Hart of the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey earned the Distinguished Service Award. Dave’s efforts on understanding the hydrogeology of the state utilizing novel and groundbreaking geophysical techniques have furthered our understanding of Wisconsin’s waters, and his ability to do it with a smile on his face is even more commendable.

Student Awards for the year were:
Samuel Brockschmidt, “Enhancing and Quantifying Groundwater Recharge: Insights from Field Experiments and Infiltration Modeling”
Eimienwanlan Ibhagui, “Long-Term Assessment of the Impacts of Age, Fine Sediments, and Vegetation on Infiltration Rates in Green Stormwater Infrastructures”
Vy Le, “Exploring the influences on temporal variation in phosphorus transport and release in the hyporheic zone of the Wisconsin River”
Sarah Peterson, “Enhancing and Quantifying Groundwater Recharge: Insights from Field Experiments and Infiltration Modeling”