Keynote Speaker

From Student to Scientist: Water Quality Research in the Midwest

Kendra Markland is a Physical Scientist in the Water Quality and Environmental Health Section at the U.S. Geological Survey's Central Midwest Water Science Center. She conducts water quality sampling at multiple sites in Iowa, operates and maintains real-time water quality monitoring equipment on the Cedar and Mississippi Rivers, and collects data on emerging contaminants, including PFAS, avian influenza virus and antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In addition, Kendra contributes to water quality modeling projects that estimate the concentrations and loads of contaminants of interest using surrogates. She collaborates with other federal agencies to monitor and report on water quality in highly contaminated Superfund sites. Before joining the U.S. Geological Survey, Kendra worked in private consulting for environmental assessments and was actively involved in local government environmental compliance efforts.

Kendra is a 2016 graduate of Coe College, where she majored in Biology and Environmental Science. During her time at Coe, she worked in the Writing Center, the Coe Water Quality Lab and the Coe Alumni House Garden. She was a manuscript reviewer for Colere and participated in a May Term at the Wilderness Field Station. Her thesis was on the blue-spotted salamander population and water quality at Behrens Ponds and Woodland Preserve. After graduating from Coe, she received her master’s degree in Environmental Science from the University of Iowa in 2018.