Research and teaching within the Department of Zoology focuses on all areas and all hierarchical levels of biology, including cell and molecular biology, neurobiology, genetics, organismal biology, ecology, evolution, and behavior.
The solid aluminum cast of an elephant on Warren Porter‘s desk has been waiting for 25 years. With a novel melding of biology, engineering, and art, the 10-inch long cast has now been transformed into a 3-D digital model, capable of simulating interactions between a real African elephant and its physical environment. Porter, a University [...]
Professors, instructors and advisers enlighten, challenge and inspire us. They can shape our opinions, push our work to new heights and spark an interest to learn more about a topic or discipline. In the 2011-12 academic year, the College of Letters & Science asked graduating seniors to nominate faculty or staff members who impacted their [...]
Anthony Ives, Plaenert-Bascom Professor of Zoology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, has been elected to membership in the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Ives joins other scientists, writers, artists, and civic, corporate and philanthropic leaders in a class of 198 new members who will be inducted in October, the academy announced April 24. This [...]
Seven faculty members from the College of Letters & Science have been chosen to receive this year’s Distinguished Teaching Awards. Interim Chancellor David Ward will present the awards at a ceremony on March 19 at the Pyle Center. A reception hosted by the Wisconsin Alumni Association will follow; to attend, register here. The awards, chosen by a committee, honor [...]
In 2005, Zoology Academic Curator Paula Holahan made an accidental discovery: he unearthed a priceless collection of ocean invertebrates made out of glass. Holahan revealed a collection of rarely seen glass models that depict numerous fragile figurines of jellyfish, radiolarians and sea anemones with spiky tentacles. Handmade by Leopold and Rudolph Blaschka in the 19th-century, the glass works were produced in a time when the mystery of the deep-sea sparked the interest of many.
Five promising young faculty in the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s College of Letters & Science have been honored with Romnes Faculty Fellowships. The Romnes awards recognize exceptional faculty members who have earned tenure within the last four years. Selected by a Graduate School committee, winners receive an unrestricted $50,000 award for research, supported by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF). [...]
The Academic Staff Art Gallery in Bascom Hall this semester features works that combine art and science, encompassing the scientific impact of models of invertebrates, glassblowing and photography. Featured artists include Laura Halverson Monahan, curator of collections at the University of Wisconsin Zoological Museum; Tracy Drier, scientific glassblower in the Chemistry Department; and Ilia Guzei, [...]
Three white-coated student interns huddle over the remains of a female African lion in the University of Wisconsin-Madison Zoological Museum’s specimen-preparation room. Huge paws, still furry and whole, hang over the table edge, while the students pick patiently at tendons and membranes in the exposed rib cage neck, and skull. Once the skeleton is completely disarticulated, [...]
Field season is, of course, where the best photo ops and a lot of the fun of being a research scientist happens. Then there’s the arduous task of combing through specimens, which is how professor Peter McIntyre in the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for Limnology and Ellen Hamann, the manager of the McIntyre lab, have spent this [...]
If you know that forests naturally re-generated after the 1988 Yellowstone fires and that some trees (lodgepole pines, for example) actually evolved to be fire-dependent, then you probably have Monica Turner to thank. A pioneer in the field of landscape ecology, the Professor of Zoology has spent almost three decades studying, writing, and talking about [...]
Monumental discoveries were made. Critical projects were finished. Laudable programs were celebrated. And scholars and alumni were remembered in the College of Letters & Science’s 124th year.
These were just some of the markers of 2012 in L&S. Here are some of the moments that made 2012 a memorable year for the College.
Matthew Hoffman (BS’09, Zoology), an MD/Ph.D. student pursuing a Ph.D. in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, recently received a Graduate Student Scholarship from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Hoffman studies the physiology of voice production and swallowing in normal and disordered states under the direction of Profs. Jack Jiang and Timothy McCulloch. His dissertation [...]
Two doctoral students in the College of Letters & Science are combining their skills and knowledge in an effort to protect the endangered leatherback sea turtle. Samantha Greene (BS’08, Geography and Biological Aspects of Conservation, MS’10, Geography), a Ph.D. student in the Department of Geography, and Peter Dudley, a Ph.D. student in the Department of [...]
The question is simple: Can a lake be cleansed of a pernicious invader by simply raising the water temperature? The answer so far: maybe, maybe not. In an experiment playing out on a small lake in northern Wisconsin, scientists from UW-Madison are deploying a novel lake-mixing technology to alter the lake’s temperature profile and see [...]
“Curiosity is infectious,” says Jamin Dreyer in a short online video. “My eyes see things differently after doing field research in beautiful Iceland.” The University of Wisconsin–Madison zoology graduate student is one of 14 finalists in a video contest celebrating the 60th anniversary of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program. The “Creating the [...]
At first glance, the northern muriqui monkey is a prime conservation success story. These Brazilian primates are critically endangered, but in the past 30 years a population on a private reserve has grown from just 60 individuals to some 300, now comprising almost a third of the total remaining animals. As the population grows, though, [...]
The Crystal Lake Mixing Project aims to eradicate rainbow smelt, a “nasty” invasive species.
The history and future of electron microscopy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison will collide on Sept. 28, with the help of the College of Letters & Science. UW-Madison will host the Hans Ris Symposium on 3D Electron Microscopy at the Microbial Sciences Building’s Ebling Auditorium. The event honors Ris (1914-2004), a former Professor of Zoology [...]
University of Wisconsin-Madison ecologist Anthony Ives is being recognized with the prestigious Robert H. MacArthur Award from the Ecological Society of America (ESA). Awarded biennially, the MacArthur Award goes to an established mid-career ecologist who has made meritorious contributions to ecology and who is expected to continue to produce outstanding research. Ives will receive the [...]
Arthur Hasler was a world renowned limnologist, who enjoyed a 41-year career as a member of the University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty. Born in Lehi, Utah, on January 5, 1908, Hasler graduated from Brigham Young University in 1932, and earned a Ph.D. in Zoology from UW-Madison in 1937. He then joined the UW-Madison faculty as an [...]
The College of Letters & Science is proud to announce that seven L&S faculty members received 2012 Distinguished Teaching Awards presented by the Wisconsin Alumni Association and the Secretary of the Faculty. The 2012 Recipients of the Distinguished Teaching Awards in the College of Letters & Science are: Jeffrey Beneker, associate professor of classics, Kiekhofer [...]
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.
Eleven distinguished faculty members have received named professorships, some of the highest honors for established faculty. L&S is proud to count eight of the faculty members in the L&S community: Susan Coppersmith, Steven Durlauf, Gregg Mitman and Karen Strier have been named Vilas Professors Stephen Carpenter, Steve J. Stern, Dan Hausman were named Hilldale Professors. [...]
Congratulations to the following College of Letters & Science staff members who all received a 2011-2012 College of Letters & Science Professional Development Grant.
Peter McIntyre, an assistant professor of zoology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has won an $850,000, five-year Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
Happy Birthday Edward Asahel Birge! Birge was born September 7th in Troy, New York 160 years ago. We remember Birge as a much beloved Zoology professor, pioneer Limnologist, and respected Dean and university administrator in the College of Letters & Science.
Story by Jill Sakai University Communications Climate is changing fire patterns in the west in a way that could markedly change the face of Yellowstone National Park, according to new research. A study published online the week of July 25 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that climate change could increase [...]
Three outstanding undergraduate scholars received 2010-11 Dean’s Prizes. These students represent the best of their graduating class and are considered the most accomplished among the 4,000 Letters and Science senior class members for the 2010-2011 academic year. To be considered for this prize one must have a minimum grade point average of 3.90; be a [...]
The Great Lakes Fishery Commission last week presented Dr. James Kitchell, a Professor of Zoology at the University of Wisconsin—Madison, with the 2011 Jack Christie/Ken Loftus Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions toward Understanding Healthy Great Lakes Ecosystems.
In the popular imagination, the thought processes of artists and scientists could hardly be more distinct. And yet a year-long collaboration of lake scientists and artists from northern Wisconsin has engaged both sides of the “divide” in understanding and communicating the changing ecology in one of the world’s densest group of lakes — in the northern highlands of Wisconsin.
Noted University of Wisconsin-Madison limnologist Stephen Carpenter has been awarded the 2011 Stockholm Water Prize, the world’s most prestigious award for water-related activities, it was announced in Stockholm, Sweden today (Tuesday, March 22).
The Wisconsin Alumni Association and the Office of the Secretary of the Faculty are honoring University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty with the 2011 Distinguished Teaching Awards. This year eight L&S faculty took home top teaching awards.
Professors Jake Vander Zanden (Zoology & Limnology) and Jack Williams (Geography) are among 20 mid-career academic environmental scientists named 2011 Leopold Leadership Fellows by Stanford University.
The Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts (WICCI), a project of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), released its first comprehensive report, Wisconsin’s Changing Climate: Impacts and Adaptation.
Kakadu still battling South American invader (Nature) In a paper recently published in Nature, an international group of scientists including Professor Anthony Ives (Zoology), explained how this unpredictability could lead to a strategy for ongoing control of the weed.
Assistant Professor Ellen Damschen (Zoology) was recently featured in Science Magazine and on the Climate Central Blog.
“The end of the wild” (Nature) Features the work of Zoology Professor Monica Turner and her research at Yellowstone National Park.
Know Your Madisonian: UW limnologist is a strong voice on climate change (Wisconsin State Journal, Dec. 8, 2010) Featuring Emeritus Professor John Magnuson.
Assistant Professor Pete McIntyre — a new faculty member in the Center for Limnology and Department of Zoology — co-lead a study of global threats to rivers that was published in the Sept. 30th issue of Nature. McIntyre’s study was widely reported on state, national and international markets. In total, the paper was cited on more than 240 websites and on major broadcast media.
The world’s rivers, the single largest renewable water resource for humans and a crucible of aquatic biodiversity, are in a crisis of ominous proportions, according to a new global analysis. The report, published in the journal Nature, is the first to simultaneously account for the effects of such things as pollution, dam building, agricultural runoff, [...]
NASA Satellites Reveal Surprising Connection Between Beetle Attacks, Wildfire (NASA) Martin Simard (PhD’2010, Zoology), a former graduate student in Professor Monica Turner’s lab, found that satellites reveal surprising connection between beetle attacks and wildfire risk. The story was also featured in the LA Times: Bark beetles may kill trees, but that may not raise fire [...]
The Laboratory of Professor Carol Lee, in the Center of Rapid Evolution (CORE) and the Department of Zoology, has been awarded two grants from the U.S. National Science Foundation. Both grants focus on critical environmental topics using the copepod Eurytemora affinis or E. affinis, as a model systen. Copepods are small crustaceans that form the [...]
Jim Kitchell, the Arthur Hasler Professor of Zoology, recently retired. Kitchell has been a longtime figure on the UW-Madison campus, serving as faculty member in the Department of Zoology and the former Director of the Center for Limnology. His primary area of research was on predator-prey interactions and their role in food web structure. His [...]
Twelve L&S instructors recently received DoIT Engage Awards to explore Digital Media Assignments (DMA) in their classes. These instructors will work closely with consulting staff and campus librarians to plan innovative multimedia assignments, from short documentaries and digital stories, to scientific tutorials and digital research proposals. L&S Learning Support Services (LSS) has been working with [...]
This week’s Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a major scientific journal published the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, features images of a mutant nematode embryo captured by a team at UW-Madison.
Continuing the annual tradition, a team of L&S professors, instructors and staff helped a new class of Badgers graduate from Grandparents University (GPU). GPU is a two day workshop for UW-Madison alumni and their grandchildren to sign up for majors and take classes on campus.
Yes, Virginia, there really is an Easter Bunny — or was, before it was skinned and mounted in a display at the UW Zoological Museum in the 1970s. Read the story in On Wisconsin Magazine: http://bit.ly/b7DpLg
We are pleased to announce that the following 13 individuals received a 2010-2011 College of Letters & Science Professional Development Grant …
Science in the Northwoods 2010 (SitN) will be held at Camp Manito-wish in Boulder Junction, WI, September 29-October 1, 2010.
Zoology Professor Karen Steudel is retiring. Her research focused on the relationship between structure and performance in mammalian locomotion and in applying the results to our understanding of the locomotion of fossil hominins.
Jim Kitchell, Arthur Hasler Professor of Zoology, has been named the 2010 winner of the A.C. Redfield Award from the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography.
Here’s a round-up of all of the recent awards and honors to faculty, staff and students in L&S…
Congrats to Zoology Professor Bill Bement, who won a Kellet Mid-Career Award!
The Zoology Department would like to warmly welcome their new Financial Specialist: Lynn Thiele.
UW Zoology Professor Warren Porter recently published a study about how pesticide exposure during pregnancy can have long-term impacts on female offspring.
UW Zoology professor and limnologist Jake Vander Zanden was recently featured in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel “15,000 reasons to worry about the Great Lakes.”
The Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ) met in Madison October 7-11th, 2009 for a series of events, many hosted by UW-Madison researcher.
On September 11, a routine Lake Mendota field trip for a UW Limnology course turned out to be anything but routine.
The Zoology Department is very saddened to communicate news that Professor Emeritus Stanley Dodson passed away Sunday, August 23, 2009 after a tragic bicycle accident in Colorado.
Steve Carpenter, the Stephen Alfred Forbes Professor of Zoology and Director of theCenter for Limnology, was featured in the Wisconsin Ideas series.
The Department of Zoology would like to recognize several achievements…
“Office Hours” is debuting three faculty from Letters & Science.
