2024 has been an especially eventful year at the Center for Limnology (CFL). A key highlight was the Trout Lake Station 100-year anniversary celebration in early June. Nearly 150 Trout Lake Station friends and alumni ‘came home’ for the event – a full weekend of talks, receptions, and activities to celebrate the legacy of our beloved field station. It was a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with old friends, and to make new friends as well. For me, the event highlighted the profound impact that Trout Lake has had on the careers and lives of those who have worked and lived there. It was also an opportunity to look forward as Trout Lake Station charts a path for expanding its research capabilities and its engagement with local communities in Wisconsin’s Northwoods.
Immediately following the Trout Lake event, Madison played host to the annual meeting of the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO). Associate professor Grace Wilkinson and I served as co-chairs of the meeting. We were delighted to able to host roughly 800 aquatic scientists from 38 countries for a diverse and exciting scientific program. And CFLers were exceedingly well represented in the program. In addition to all of the talks given and posters presented by current faculty and students, dozens of CFL alumni made it back to Madison for the meeting, and many were able to swing by the reception we hosted at the Hasler Lab. Two of the invited plenary speakers were CFL alumni (Stephanie Quinn-Davidson and Elena Bennett). The CFL was also well represented in the ASLO awards- associate professor Hilary Dugan won the Yentsch-Schindler Award, while research professor Paul Hanson was recipient of the Martin Award. Congrats to Hilary and Paul!
So many other things are going on – fortunately we have a whole newsletter to cover it! We are grateful for your support and engagement, and we look forward to hearing from you in the coming year and seeing what 2025 brings!
Jake Vander Zanden
Wayland Noland Distinguished Chair
Director, Center for Limnology
University of Wisconsin-Madison