WISER 2026 at UW Milwaukee

The WiSER conference is an opportunity for Wisconsin & regional scientists at all career levels to disseminate their work, collaborate, network, and generally experience what a scientific conference is all about.

Appropriate fields of research include: Biological Sciences, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Geology, Mathematical & Data Sciences, Neuroscience, Physics & Astronomy, plus Biomedical Sciences & Biomedical Engineering.

Who should attend: We welcome scientists at all career levels, including undergraduates, grad students, postdoctoral fellows, faculty, and industry professionals from related fields of science.

Registration now open!

Registration dates & deadlines:

August - Registration for students and qualified free attendees will open

September 13th - Early bird registration closes

October 1st - Abstract submission closes; you must register by this date to submit an abstract for poster or presentation

October 18th - Final deadline to register (conference attendance only)

Cost to register:

Students (undergrad or graduate students) & early-career scientists within 3.5 years of completion of bachelor’s degree: REGISTRATION IS FREE! *non-local undergraduate students who submit an abstract, can indicate in the registration survey that they would like to be considered for subsidized hotel rooms.

Faculty, industry professionals, staff, and others: $100 (early bird through Sept 13); $150 (regular rate until registration close date, Oct 18)

Register Here!

*paid registration is only open at this time.

Students and qualified free attendees, please come back and register in August!

Questions? Please contact: wiser-2026-inquiries@uwm.edu

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Dr. Michael Dairyko, PhD

Senior Director of Business Strategy & Analytics at the Milwaukee Bucks

Dr. Dairyko received his Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from Pomona College and his PhD in Applied Mathematics from Iowa State University. He has served as both a STEM and Business Educator at multiple institutions before joining the sports industry, where he leverages data science and applied mathematics to inform business decisions. Dr. Dairyko has supported both the Milwaukee Brewers and Milwaukee Bucks organizations.

Talk title

Where Science Meets Strategy: Using Data to Drive Decisions

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Friday, November 6

12 PM: Arrival and Check-in

1-4 PM: Career and Educational Fair (register for a booth below)

5-6 PM: Welcome & Keynote Address

6-8 PM: Poster Session I & Reception, with refreshments provided

Saturday, November 7

8:30-10 AM: Poster Session II

10-11:45 AM: Parallel sessions by discipline (selected from abstracts)

11:45-12:45 PM: Lunch with Experts

1-5 PM: Parallel sessions by discipline (selected from abstracts)

Enjoy dinner on your own in Milwaukee

Sunday, November 8

8:30-10 AM: Parallel sessions by discipline (selected from abstracts)

10:15-11 AM: Invited talks

11-12 PM: Awards ceremony and closing

HOTEL & ACCOMMODATIONS

We are currently working on fundraising in hopes of providing free or heavily subsidized shared lodging for (non-local) undergraduate students who are presenting talks or posters. If you would like to support our efforts please check out our sponsor information below.

Our primary conference hotel will be "The Marc Hotel". Run by the Marcus Hotels & Resorts company, which runs other successful hotels such as Milwaukee's The Pfister, as well as St Kate - The Arts Hotel, and the Grand Geneva Resort and Spa at Lake Geneva, it's a newly opened (Jan 2026) renovation of the west wing of the Hilton Milwaukee. The Marc is located in downtown Milwaukee, near many dining and entertainment options. There is a connected, covered parking garage structure.

Our group rate is $140/night.

We have a block of rooms reserved for Friday and Saturday nights, check-in 11/6, check-out 11/8.
For those wishing to arrive early or stay late, the group rate in fact will extend for 3 days pre- or post- block.
The group block qualifies you for complimentary wireless internet and discounted overnight parking at $25/vehicle per day.
Rooms feature mini-fridge, coffee & tea makers.

Our block is held until October 16, 2026, but we strongly encourage reservations to be made well in advance of that, for many reasons including:

(1) The nice hotels in Milwaukee do fill up on weekends!

(2) There are no hotels within walking distance of campus, so, it's more convenient for ride-share etc if most participants of the conference stay at 1-2 hotels.

(3) The rooms are "run of house" so you may request whatever you like (1 king, 2 queens, etc), which they will fulfill pending availability. Most rooms are 2 doubles so if you want a King, book early. (Milwaukee is a fun place to visit! We encourage faculty to come and bring partners to explore the town!)

(4) If you want to arrive before Fri or stay past Sun, you should also book early to have access to a room pre or post the block.

Finally - We will be assigning students to this hotel, and possibly to a nearby hotel we have in reserve in case this fills and we have students remaining who need rooms. If a faculty member is driving students from their institution and wants their students assigned to the Marc, please mention this in your registration survey in the final "additional comments " section and we will do our best to accommodate the request.

Book the Marc as part of our discounted block here

CAREER & EDUCATION FAIR

Friday, November 6th, 1 - 4 PM

Booth registration NOW OPEN (handshake)

The Annual WiSER Career and Education Fair is an opportunity for employers and academic programs offering advanced degrees in relevant STEM disciplines to connect with recruits looking to launch or advance their careers. Attendees will include students pursuing or completing their bachelor’s degrees in STEM concentrations, Master’s and PhD student researchers, and postdoctoral fellows.

Cost to staff a table is $212 for educational institutions, non-profits and government employers. Cost for regular industry/employment recruiting tables is $312. Table registration is via Handshake and includes a table with 2 chairs, and 1 parking pass for the day. Fair to be located in central UWM campus - exact location TBD in summer.

Handshake Registration is optional for students! Students may register in Handshake to view the list of exhibitors and other information such as which majors the exhibitors indicated interest in! Student link will come in August. Note - registering in Handshake for the career and educational fair is NOT a substitute for conference registration, you must complete that as well!