Students

	Paulina Letelier grew up in Punta Arenas, Chile, the southernmost regional capital city of the world. Paulina earned her Veterinary degree in 2014 from Universidad Mayor, where she got actively involved in lactating dairy cows research. Paulina joined Dr. Wattiaux’s lab group as a master’s student in 2016 to evaluate methods to assess the environmental impact of Dual-purpose cattle systems in Costa Rica. Because of her growing interest on dairy cow nutrition and its effect on production performance and the environment, Paulina is currently pursuing a Ph.D degree focusing on dietary nitrogen utilization efficiency during lactation. In her spare time, Paulina enjoys camping, kayaking, and fishing with her boyfriend and family..
	MaryGrace Erickson joined Dr. Wattiaux’s lab group as a Ph.D. student in 2019 after earning a B.S. and M.S. from Purdue University. In addition to researching protein and nitrogen metabolism in lactating dairy cows, MaryGrace is interested in educational psychology and discipline-based educational research—more specifically, the development of critical constructivist science teaching modalities and assessment methods. She has a special place in her heart for dairy goats and English Shepherd dogs. She aspires to a productive academic career that harmonizes natural and social science research paradigms to promote more comprehensive understanding of agricultural systems. MaryGrace Erickson - Google Scholar.
	Dante Pizarro Paz was born in Lima, Peru. He obtained his DVM degree at Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (UPCH) and his MS degree in Animal Science at Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina (UNALM). While he was working as a research associate at the Livestock and Climate Change Center of UNALM, Dante was awarded with the 2018 Borlaug Fellowship to work with Dr. Valentin Picasso at the Agronomy Department (UW-Madison). Two years after, Dante joined Dr. Wattiaux’s lab and started his PhD in Dairy Science. He is developing his research under the project “Improving sustainability and resilience of Peruvian Amazon systems through silvopastoralism,” funded by the National Academy of Sciences in collaboration with UNALM and the U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center. Dante Pizarro - Google Scholar.
	Kate Wells joined the Wattiaux lab in 2018 as an undergraduate and continued on in the lab pursuing a master’s degree after earning a B.S. in Dairy Science and Russian Language and Literature in 2020. Kate is currently working on a project with heifers looking at using stockpiled pastures as a strategy to extend the grazing season in Wisconsin as well as the greenhouse gas impact of these heifers. Kate is interested in international agriculture, dairy calves, and different languages. In her spare time she enjoys visiting Lake Michigan and listening to music.
	Haden Hartwig is currently a Sophomore pursuing an Undecided Major and joined the lab group in Spring 2021. Although he is not sure what he’d like to major in, his Dairy Science interests include Nutrition and Reproduction. Additionally, he is interested in how Dairy Science topics can apply to Human Health. In Summer 2021, he was able to begin an Undergraduate Research project studying various storage methods of dairy cattle urine and feces.