The Department of Geoscience offers a wide range of specialty areas, and is supported by advanced laboratories for study in the general areas of astrobiology, geomicrobiology, mineralogy, petrology, geochemistry, geophysics, structural geology, tectonics, hydrogeology, and more.
Two graduates of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s College of Letters & Science will receive honorary degrees at commencement next month. Errol Morris (BA’69, History), who won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Film in 2003 for “The Fog of War,” is regarded as one of the most innovative and influential filmmakers of his generation. Richard [...]
Several graduate programs from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s College of Letters & Science are ranked among the nation’s best in the 2014 edition of U.S. News and World Report’s “Best Graduate Schools.” “We’re proud of all of our graduate programs and particularly pleased that once again many have been rated so highly,” says Provost Paul [...]
As Russian scientists scramble to collect and analyze the remains of the historic meteorite that injured an estimated 1,200 people in Chelyabinsk on Feb. 15, scientists in Wisconsin are set to publish their analysis of a smaller meteorite that struck southwest Wisconsin on April 14, 2010. The Mifflin meteorite created a fireball equivalent to 20 [...]
The dominant factors in the rise and fall of the diversity of life on Earth has been a point of debate for scientists nearly as long as they have studied the processes of evolution. In the 1970s, evolutionary biologist Leigh Van Valen began calling the case for biological factors (such as competition with other organisms [...]
With the help of a new grant from NASA, University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers are guiding the search for signs of life on distant planets — while keeping their feet firmly planted on Earth. The Wisconsin Astrobiology Research Consortium, led by geoscience professor Clark Johnson and including partners from across the U.S. and world, specializes in defining and identifying [...]
Fracking, the controversial technology for opening natural gas deposits, will be the focus of a three-part Community Environmental Forum series beginning on Tuesday, Oct. 30, at 5:30 p.m. in room 1106 of the Mechanical Engineering Building. “Fracking: The Wisconsin Connection” will explore topics including the process of fracking (short for hydraulic fracturing), why Wisconsin is [...]
John Bascom’s name is honored on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. His daughter, Florence Bascom, is just as celebrated in the field of geology. Florence Bascom is considered to be the first female geologist in the United States. She was the first woman hired by the United States Geological Survey, which profiled her this week [...]
Michael Cardiff joins the Department of Geoscience as an assistant professor after two years at Boise State University, where he worked as a postdoctoral researcher and assistant research professor. He is a hydrogeologist, meaning he studies the distribution and movement of groundwater and how contamination can move in aquifers. Cardiff completed his Master of Science [...]
University of Wisconsin-Madison hydrogeologist Jean Bahr has been appointed by President Obama to the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board. The board is charged with providing independent scientific and technical oversight of the U.S. Department of Energy‘s program for managing and disposing of radioactive waste, from high-level waste and spent nuclear fuel to low-level waste such [...]
The College of Letters & Science has more than 800 faculty, a group that includes brilliant researchers, noteworthy authors, and inspiring teachers. This year, the College welcomes more than 50 new faculty members. From Classics to Chemistry and from English to Economics, departments across L&S recruited emerging experts who bring impressive breadth and depth of [...]
Ice samples pulled from nearly a mile below the surface of Greenland glaciers have long served as a historical thermometer, adding temperature data to studies of the local conditions up to the Northern Hemisphere’s climate. But the method — comparing the ratio of oxygen isotopes buried as snow fell over millennia — may not be [...]
For the past eight weeks, geoscience graduate student Tamara Jeppson has traded her usual commute, from her Madison apartment to Weeks Hall on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, for a single flight of stairs. The stairs take her from her small cabin aboard the Japanese drilling vessel Chikyu to the laboratory where she spends her [...]
UW-Madison students have had one more distraction to combat during finals week this year. Three baby red-tailed are growing up before their eyes. A webcam from the Space Science and Engineering Center (SSEC) is capturing a live stream of a hawk nest located on a ledge of the Geoscience building, Weeks Hall, which is near [...]
The College of Letters & Science is proud to announce that to the seven L&S professors received 2012 Kellett Mid-Career Awards. The Kellett award, supported by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), recognizes outstanding mid-career faculty members who are five to 20 years past the first promotion to a tenured position. Each winner, chosen by [...]
Nacre — or mother of pearl, scientists and artisans know, is one of nature’s amazing utilitarian materials. Produced by a multitude of mollusk species, nacre is widely used in jewelry and art. It is inlaid into musical instruments, furniture and decorative boxes. Fashioned into buttons, beads and a host of functional objects from pens to [...]
At a world-class research institution, out-of-the-classroom experiences play a huge role in students’ lives. As part of the Wisconsin Experience, 88 percent of students participate in extracurricular activities that bolster their education.
In research, that often means traveling to the source itself. Even if it’s in Georgia. And even if you’re a graduate student.
Congratulations to the following College of Letters & Science staff members who all received a 2011-2012 College of Letters & Science Professional Development Grant.
Theodore “Ted” Cohen (’60 BS, ’61 MS, ’66 PhD L&S) authored five novels that share his life experiences—facts wrapped in fiction—that many Badgers will recognize.
Four faculty members from the College of Letters & Science at UW-Madison were elected 2011 Fellows to the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters …
UW-Madison researchers put Antarctic drilling record on ice (Wisconsin State Journal) It’s only fitting that this record was set by researchers from Wisconsin, where drilling a hole through the ice and dropping a fishing line passes for entertainment in the winter. Featuring Emeritus Professor Charles Bentley
Science & the Search for Meaning: 5 Questions – Part One: WHAT IS LIFE? (Wisconsin Public Radio) University of Wisconsin Geochemist Nita Sahai talks with Anne Strainchamps about how life might have begun on Earth. On the other hand, maybe the Earth itself is alive.
In the News: Meteorite fragments go on display at UW-Madison’s geology museum (Wisconsin State Journal) The Mifflin Meteorite which fell from an asteroid belt to Earth last spring, now has a shelf in the UW-Madison Geology Museum. Eight pieces of the meteorite, named for the southwest Wisconsin town where it fell on April 14, are [...]
The meteor that lit up the sky of southern Wisconsin on April 14 and created an international buzz now has a name: The Mifflin Meteorite. The meteor caused quite a bit of excitement in the Department of Geoscience where five pieces were on display in the UW Geology Museum …
University of Wisconsin–Madison students Matthew Kogle and Kelly Hoehn logged thousands of miles this summer driving rural Wisconsin roads, scanning the landscape. When they found a promising spot, they knocked on the door of the nearest farmhouse and tried to interest the owners in their cause …
For many people, the word “alien” means ET, Chewbacca or some green-headed space monster. But for a group of UW-Madison researchers, alien life is very different than the Hollywood version.
Several University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate programs — many in the College of Letters & Science — are ranked among the nation’s best in the 2011 edition of U.S. News and World Report’s “Best Graduate Schools.”
Cliff Thurber, professor and Chair of the Department of Geoscience, was recently named a fellow of the American Geophysical Union.
Here’s a round-up of all of the recent awards and honors to faculty, staff and students in L&S…
Four L&S faculty have been awarded development grants from the Provost’s office.
Gabriela Farfan is a 19-year-old from Madison, Wisconsin whose passion for geology started at a young age — collecting rocks as a little girl with her father.
Mary P. Anderson, the C.S. Slichter Professor (emeritus) of Hydrogeology, and editor-in-chief of the journal Ground Water, has received the 2009 Keith E. Anderson Award from the National Ground Water Association.
‘Tis the season and L&S faculty and students are racking up the awards – congratulations to all!
Professor Nita Sahai (Geoscience) has been elected a Fellow of the Mineralogical Society of America.
Nita Sahai, Associate Professor in Geology and Geophysics and Romnes Faculty Fellow, published a paper in “Langmuir” – the premier journal for surface chemistry – with co-authors Mark Stevens (Geology & Geophysics), Leslie Donato (Biochemistry) and Steven K. Lower (Ohio State University).
