Radium and Strontium Researchers Take a Seat at the Table

Episode 38, 11/2/21

Radium and Strontium Researchers Take a Seat at the Table

You take a seat at the table for a meal in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and may have a glass of water to accompany the entrée.

If you are University of Wisconsin-Madison Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Matt Ginder-Vogel and graduate student Amy Plechacek, each with your tumbler full of water, you are turning to a different kind of table than a dinner table. You are at the periodic table of elements. You want to understand what’s in your glass; how the interactions between water and rock in Fond du Lac County might result in naturally occurring contamination of public drinking water wells and nearby private wells.

As part of a currently funded project through the University of Wisconsin Water Resources Institute, the pair has looked at municipal and well drinking water pumped from the Cambrian-Ordovician Aquifer System underlying parts of the Midwest, including this region of Wisconsin.

Matthew Ginder-Vogel. Image credit: UW-Madison College of Engineering, Dept. of Civil Environmental Engineering

Amy Plechacek. Image credit: Submitted photo

Thanks to our guests

Matt Ginder-Vogel, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Amy Plechacek, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Credits

Marie Zhuikov | Host

Senior Science Communicator

What I do at Sea Grant

Marie writes about Great Lakes water issues, Sea Grant activities and research. She also works on podcasts, oversees the Wisconsin Sea Grant blog, and takes photos. She works in collaboration with program scientists, outreach specialists and institute staff to build water science literacy. Prior to joining Wisconsin Sea Grant in 2012, Marie worked for Minnesota Sea Grant for 15 years.