Research fuels social and technological innovation that is essential for an environmentally sustainable future. Cutting-edge, solution-driven research is a major enterprise in the Nelson Institute.
The Nelson Institute conducts research on countless topics. Dozens of grant-supported projects are under way at any given time. Most are conducted through our research centers.
The Center for Climatic Research (CCR) conducts disciplinary and interdisciplinary research using observations and earth-system models; integrates knowledge of past, present, and future climates to create a holistic understanding of the climate system; and studies physical, ecological, and societal impacts of climatic variations and climate change.
The Center for Culture, History, and Environment (CHE), established in 2007, studies environmental and cultural change over the full sweep of human history from many perspectives. Its participants, drawn from such disparate fields as anthropology, botany, forestry, geography, history, history of science, landscape architecture, law, literature, and rural sociology, seek to understand human-environment interactions over time and their consequences in public policy, public health, social justice, and other cultural realms.
The Land Tenure Center (LTC) studies links between resource access, poverty and environmental sustainability; identifies governance systems, land planning processes, and institutional arrangements favoring sustainability; tests innovative, pro-poor biodiversity conservation strategies; and informs and influences the work of policymakers and practitioners. Established at UW-Madison in 1962, the center became part of the Nelson Institute in 2004.
The Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment (SAGE) brings together researchers from the natural, health, and social sciences; engineering; and other fields to study regional and global problems stemming from interactions between environmental systems, natural resources, and human activity. SAGE also spearheads a National Science Foundation-funded Integrated Graduate Education, Research, and Training (IGERT) program in environmental vulnerability and sustainability.Nelson Institute faculty and staff members and students also conduct research outside the purview of our four centers, such as the Chronic Wasting Disease White-Tailed Deer Research Project and the Wisconsin Buffer Initiative.