MadGegoNews: The place for UW Madison Department of Geography updates
Fall 2025
Welcome to MadGeogNews, your email inbox's answer to "Hey, have you seen any cool maps lately?" In this edition, you'll:

  • Hear from Dr. Sarah A. Moore, Department Chair
  • Read about what we did this summer
  • Learn about a new program in geospatial data science for undergraduates
  • Find some new reading material from across the department
  • See the impressive work that the State Cartographer's Office does all year long
  • Have a chance to share your Science Hall memories
  • Mark your calendar for Fill the Hill
  • Follow the department's NEW LinkedIn page

New Year, New Challenges: A Letter from the Department Chair
Greetings, everyone. It’s hard to know where to begin! The past few months have presented some of the most significant, coordinated challenges to higher education that I can remember. We’ve watched as campuses across the country have been overtaken by federal agents, had budgets slashed, and had free speech and scientific inquiry silenced. Like other institutions and departments, our department faces enormous challenges in the upcoming year, all of which will have to be faced in an atmosphere of uncertainty at best and constant threat to the very ideals of higher education at worst. Read more from Dr. Moore.
 
Geography Department Chair Dr Sarah A. Moore
Geography Department Chair Dr. Sarah A. Moore

What We Did This Summer: Events, Projects, and Time by the Lake
Geography can happen anywhere. We caught up with geographers who had eventful summers in three very different places.
Rob Roth kicks off the 2025 Design Challenge
In beautiful Vienna, Austria, UW Cartography Lab faculty, staff, and students led an extraordinary Design Challenge. Explore the world with these adventurous mappers.
Eric Giese on a boat preparing for fieldwork
On the shores of Wisconsin's own Long Lake, graduate student Eric Giese helped young Scouts wrap their minds around geoarchaeology. Dive into Eric's research & his time at Long Lake.
People look at maps inside the map library
Inside Science Hall, the Robinson Map Library hosted a very special tribute to a very special fantasy cartographer, Karen Wynn Fonstad. Take a journey with Fonstad's maps.

Undergrad Update: New Certificate Opens New Doors
Hands holding an image of the world surrounded by data
This fall, for the first time ever, we're inviting undergraduates to make sense of the world in a new, data-driven way.

Our new certificate in Geospatial Data Science mixes Data Science, Statistics, and GIS courses to give students hands-on experience in this growing area. Learn about our exciting new certificate.

Geographers in the News
  • Professor Jenna Loyd published "With Big Tech, the Border is Everywhere" in Public Books magazine
  • Professor Jack Williams discussed climate tipping points in The Economist's Babbage podcast on August 27
  • Eugenie Huang, a GISPP graduate student and project assistant in the State Cartographer’s Office, appeared in a recent Wisconsin Public Radio segment about MissPronouncer.com and the SCO's Pronounce Wisconsin app
  • WPR also featured the Remarkable Trees of Dane County map, which was built by SCO's Mike Hasinoff in partnership with the Capital Area Regional Planning Commission, the Urban Tree Alliance, and the Dane County Tree Board
  • "Phantom Finders," an article written by Alli Watters for the Letters & Science biannual magazine about a SCO project, received a prestigious award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education

Get to Know the SCO
The State Cartographer's Office does an incredible amount of work every year. They play a key role in this department, with services that reach a diverse array of people, organizations, and agencies in Wisconsin.

Their work embodies the Wisconsin Idea, channeling the knowledge and expertise of the university to enhance the quality of life for all citizens of the state.

Catch up on the SCO, their staff and students, their recent projects, and much more in their just-released 2024–2025 Annual Report. Read the SCO annual report now!
Cover of the SCO Annual Report

Share Your Science Hall Memories
Science Hall bricks with notes written on them by graduating students
Science Hall has a long, storied history, and Geography students have been traversing its corridors and making memories in its lecture halls for decades.

As Dr. Moore shared in her letter, UW will soon renovate this historic building. The department will spend time this year preparing to move into a temporary home until renovations are complete—and as we do, we'd love to hear your memories of this very special building. Share your Science Hall stories and pictures here.

Mark Your Calendars: Fill the Hill is October 9 & 10
This yearly fundraiser turns Bascom Hill into a home for a flock of pink flamingos.

The Department of Geography will participate in this fabulous feathery tradition again this year. We'll reach out soon with info on how to support us, and we thank you in advance for your consideration in these times.
Fill the Hill Save the Date

Follow the Department of Geography on LinkedIn
We recently made some changes to the department's presence on LinkedIn. For official updates from the department, please follow the UW–Madison Department of Geography page.

We also still maintain a LinkedIn group, now called UW–Madison Department of Geography Community. Use this space to network, share resources, and celebrate successes.

You can also still follow us on Instagram and Facebook or get updates by checking our website.
 
 
Instagram icon with Geog link LinkedIn icon with Geog link
UW-Madison Department of Geography
 
 
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN–MADISON
550 N. Park Street  |  Madison, WI 53706
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