Poster Submissions

The 19th annual Iowa Water Conference will be held on September 9-10, 2025, at FFA Enrichment Center in Ankeny, Iowa.

Our overarching conference theme is “Life Depends on Water. Water Depends on You.” As the Iowa Water Center celebrates its 60-year anniversary, we contemplate the progress made, as well as the goals that have been so far, out of reach. As water professionals and community members, we all play a part in protecting our waters. Creating a resilient water cycle is critical and relies on a systems approach, recognizing the connection between water, soil, and all living things.

The Iowa Water Conference and our conference planning partners invite individuals and groups to submit conference abstracts addressing how individuals and communities evaluate and protect Iowa’s precious natural water sources.

Focus areas for the 2025 conference:

  • Water and Agriculture
  • Water and Health
  • Stormwater/Urban Water
  • Water and Toxins
  • Water Quantity
  • Water Science Communication

The Iowa Water Conference is a unique opportunity for water, climate, urban, agriculture, and natural resource professionals to collaborate and exchange ideas. We welcome submissions from researchers, practitioners, and advocates who actively contribute to advancing water solutions in Iowa and around the Midwest.

Join us in Ankeny in September 2025 as we explore one of Iowa’s most valuable natural resources.

Eligibility
The general poster session is for researchers, water professionals, and students to showcase projects to conference attendees.

Dates
Poster Submission deadline is August 22, 2025.
Conference dates: September 9-10, 2025.

Topics
The Iowa Water Conference Planning Committee is specifically interested in posters that address the theme of this year’s conference. Posters that do not directly relate will be considered by the committee if they address innovative ideas or emphasize interdisciplinary teams at work.

Accepted posters include at least one of the following:

  • Emphasize diversity of science and members of society (institution, geography, gender, ethnicity, subject)
  • Timely water topics that address real-time needs of Iowans
  • Exemplify success stories, ground-breaking data, or interesting research approaches
  • Address policy discussions on water resources that are data-driven and informed by scientific discovery.

Primary Subject Areas (Identify one)

  • Water and Agriculture
  • Water and Health
  • Stormwater/Urban Water
  • Water and Toxins
  • Water Quantity
  • Water Science Communication

Secondary Subject Area (Identify all that apply)

  • Community engagement and education
  • Rural Water
  • Sociological/behavioral
  • Urban Stormwater
  • Water and Agriculture
  • Water and Ecosystem Health (soil, streams/rivers, wildlife, etc.)
  • Water and Human Health (drinking water, recreation, food toxicity, etc.)
  • Water Insecurity in Iowa (rural, underserved communities, agriculture, etc.)
  • Watershed Management
  • Water Policy
  • Water Professional Training
  • Water Research and Innovation
  • Water Toxins (PFAS, HABs, etc.)

Conference Attendance
Poster presenters must attend the Iowa Water Conference. Registration for the conference can be accessed in July 2025.

Student Poster Presenters
Students entered in the Poster Contest will be expected to present their poster. The schedule will be provided to participants prior to the conference.

Students are encouraged to review the poster evaluation form prior to submission to understand the contest criteria (end of this document).

Poster Displays
Posters will be displayed digitally only with a lightning round for the student poster contest. NO printed posters will be displayed.

Communication
To receive notification and updates, please make sure emails from frescoln@iastate.edu and messages from Microsoft Conference Management Toolkit are not blocked or routed to the Spam Folder of your inbox.

Please spell out all acronyms and abbreviations at least once in submitted text.

Poster Submission
Proposals will be submitted through Microsoft Conference Management Toolkit. No submissions will be accepted via email to conference organizers. Please read the below instructions for completing the submission process. Incomplete submissions will be eliminated from consideration.

  1. Go to https://cmt3.research.microsoft.com/IWC2025/Submission/Index
  2. Select “Create Account” and fill out the requested information to register
  3. Once you are logged in, follow the below prompts to create your submission.
  4. Select “Create New Submission”
  5. Select “Posters 2025” for poster submission
  6. Enter the title and abstract
  7. Select “Add” under the Authors section to add additional authors (if any)
  8. Select the subject area
  9. Upload your poster
  10. Answer additional questions
  11. Select “Submit.”