I’m writing to ask you to encourage your students to apply for the LAKES Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Stout. The application deadline is February 1st for the summer 2026 program. I will be supervising ethnographic research related to AI data center development and am hoping to recruit promising undergraduate students from the social sciences.
The LAKES REU is funded by the National Science Foundation and the Department of Defense ASSURE program and we are currently recruiting our 10th cohort. The program aims to better understand the root causes of water pollution and develop solutions to the problem, while providing students with interdisciplinary research experience led by mentors in biology, psychology, anthropology, political science, economics, and computer science. In addition to research, students will have the opportunity to work closely with our community and governmental partners, local citizens, and policy makers. Students will present their work at the end of the summer and will get to see their research directly impact the community around them.
This summer’s session will run from June 7th to August 8th, 2026, and we are recruiting 8 students from the fields listed above or closely related fields. Housing, stipends, and funds for food will be provided to accepted students. We also provide funding for students to present their research at a national conference in the year following their summer research. Students should be available for the entire duration of the summer program and should not be working or taking classes during that time.
More information about the program, past research, and the application process can be found on our website: www.uwstout.edu/lakes. A link to the application is posted there on the “how to apply” page.
For my part, I will be leading ethnographic research on local conflicts over place and rural industrial land use, with a focus on controversial data center development in the regional watershed. You can read more about it here: Apply to the LAKES REU Program | University of Wisconsin - Stout
-Tom Pearson
University of Wisconsin-Stout
Social Science Department
Menomonie, WI
pearsont@uwstout.edu