Jake Vander Zanden studies the factors that degrade freshwater ecosystems. He has authored >150 scientific studies on a wide range of topics including lake food webs, limnology, water quality, invasive species, climate change impacts, and fisheries. In addition to Wisconsin lakes, he has worked in Mongolia, Denmark, Iceland, Canada, New Zealand, Switzerland, and Mexico. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses at UW-Madison.
Jake is the Wayland Noland Distinguished Chair in Limnology, Director of the Center for Limnology, and Professor of Integrative Biology at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Geography (1994) and PhD in Biology (1999) from McGill University in Montreal. He was a David H. Smith Postdoctoral Fellow, A Leopold Leadership Fellow, and recipient of many awards and honors including the IRPE Prize in Limnetic Ecology, The J.C. Stevenson Memorial Award, A Fulbright Fellowship, and the UW-Madison Chancellor’s Teaching Award. He has given invited plenary talks at conferences worldwide. Jake is a fourth generation Wisconsinite.