Minnesota Ground Water Association

MGWA Gil Gabanski Scholarship Recipient – Grace Halstead

Photograph of Grace Halstead. Grace is wearing a black shirt and earrings. Her brown hair is pulled back.

I am a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison earning degrees in Geoscience and Environmental Science. For the past year I have been working under Dr. Zahaksy in the Subsurface Hydrophysics lab within the Geology Department. During this time, I have helped graduate students studying PFAS transport through groundwater systems and recently, I have begun helping a PhD student characterize phosphorus interactions in near shore river sediments. Last summer, I conducted my own research on PFAS in the aqueous phase that will give us better parameters to measure sorption and transport of these contaminants in unsaturated flow. I was lucky enough to be able to present my findings to the water-science community in the Madison area.

After graduation this spring, I plan to move to Colorado to work for WSP, an engineering and environmental consulting firm. I’m very excited to start my career and attribute my early success to the wonderful professors in the department who have imparted so much knowledge onto me, the graduate students who have been great teachers and mentors, and to the faculty who have always been helpful, kind, and created a wonderful environment within the department. I am eager to learn more about modeling and mapping of various contaminants within our environment and I am happy my education has led me to this path.


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