DULUTH and ST. PAUL, Minn. – Four early-career scientists are beginning yearlong fellowships focused on some of Minnesota’s most pressing water and natural resource challenges, including drinking water contaminants, wetland management, impaired waters and groundwater sustainability.
Minnesota Sea Grant’s 2026-27 Science and Policy Fellows will work alongside professionals at the Minnesota departments of Health and Natural Resources and Anoka County, applying their scientific expertise to current policy and management needs.
“The Science and Policy Fellowship is about more than professional development. It is also about building capacity for the state of Minnesota,” said MNSG Research and Fellowship Coordinator Alex Frie. “By placing fellows with state and local agencies, we provide our partners with additional scientific expertise that can inform policy and strengthen water management.”
Fellows and their placements include:
Angela Douglass, a University of Minnesota Twin Cities master’s student in Earth and Environmental Science, will work with mentor Amy Kendig, a biometrician and wetland research scientist with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Douglass and Kendig will develop a project to improve guidance on wetland water levels.
Anu Li, a University of Minnesota Twin Cities doctoral candidate in water resources science, will work with mentor Alycia Overbo, Minnesota Department of Health, Communications and Strategic Initiatives Unit Supervisor. Li will support the Minnesota Department of Health Drinking Water Ambient Monitoring Program in assessing factors affecting the quality of drinking water sources statewide. These factors include contaminants of emerging concern, cyanotoxins from harmful algal blooms and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS.
Jared Langer, a University of Minnesota Twin Cities master’s student in Conservation Sciences, will work with mentor Rebecca Haug, environmental project manager with Anoka County. Langer will work with the Anoka County Highway Department on a research project that combines impaired waterbodies, natural resource restoration and monarch habitat.
Casey Wouters, a University of Minnesota Twin Cities doctoral candidate in chemistry, will work with mentor Pooja Kanwar, water policy consultant with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Wouters will be investigating critical current issues in water and natural resources management. Potential areas of focus include groundwater sustainability, water conservation or lake ecology and conservation.
The fellowships began July 1, 2026, and end June 30, 2027.
The MNSG Science and Policy Fellowship program places recent graduates in one-year positions where they gain real-world experience at the intersection of science, policy, and resource management. Modeled after the National Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship Program, the fellowship is part of Sea Grant’s efforts to build workforce capacity in environmental science and public service.
"Minnesota's water challenges require emerging science-based solutions,” said MNSG Director John Downing. “I am confident that our second cohort of Science and Policy Fellows will provide the fresh perspectives and rigorous analysis necessary to help state and local agencies address important water issues.”
Minnesota Sea Grant is a program of the University of Minnesota and one of 34 federal-university Sea Grant partnerships across the country supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Great Lakes and coastal states that encourage the wise stewardship of our marine resources through research, outreach, communication, education and technology transfer.
FUNDING
Funding for this project was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR).
Additional host support was provided by the Minnesota Department of Health.
This program is also supported by the Minnesota Sea Grant College Program using federal or matching funds under award NA24OARX417C0033-T1-01, project number M/2024-CROSS-OM24-Management, from the National Sea Grant College Program, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Sea Grant College Program, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or the U.S. Department of Commerce.
CONTACT:
John A. Downing, Director, Minnesota Sea Grant, University of Minnesota and University of Minnesota Duluth, [email protected].
Marie Thoms, Associate Program Director, Communications Director, Minnesota Sea Grant, University of Minnesota and University of Minnesota Duluth, [email protected].
Alex Frie, Research and Fellowship Coordinator, Minnesota Sea Grant, University of Minnesota and University of Minnesota Duluth, [email protected].
Image credit: UMPR.