6.23.2022

Changing fisheries

Wisconsin spends millions each year on efforts to keep its walleye fishery running. But it may be time to rethink some of those efforts. Lakes that have historically been havens for walleye are now so warm that the scales are tipped in favor of species like bass and bluegill. The walleye’s living conditions have permanently changed. But the news isn’t all bad, according to Zach Feiner, a research scientist at the UW Center for Limnology, and Holly Embke, a former limnology graduate student who now works for the U.S. Geological Survey. Read More

Cellphone with Michelangelo's Creation of Adam

God and machines

Cara Rock-Singer, an assistant professor in the Department of Religious Studies, takes her students into the “messy, entangled worlds” at the intersection of religion and technology. From Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s fascination with conquering space, to the advent of “Zoom Church” or the ways technology alters how we think about our sense of connectedness, Rock-Singer believes we create technologies as visions for how we want to live and humanity. Read More

Practicing democracy

It’s a common refrain these days: Democracy is in peril! Here in the U.S., we have been practicing democracy for almost 250 years. Our growing nation has struggled with its “grand political experiment” from the founding days to the present. L&S political scientists weigh in on past events—including suffrage, early gerrymandering and the disputed election of 1800—and share the secret to keeping democracy alive in the U.S. Read More

This story appeared in Letters & Science Magazine

Pride Rainbow flag with the words Wisconsin across it.

Paying it forward

Alex Hanna (PhD Sociology, ’16) came out as a graduate student. She credits her academic advisor with helping her navigate her personal and academic journey. By funding a new scholarship, she wants to help others who offer critical support to the LGBTQ+ community. She also wants to remember her mother, an émigré from Egypt, who deferred her own dreams to raise children. Read More

UW-Madison's The Red Gym from Library Mall in Spring.

Favorite spaces

L&S Dean’s Ambassadors is a select group that helps the dean see L&S through students’ eyes. We love these students’ willingness to share their wisdom and their experience with us! Recently, we asked them to name their favorite spaces on campus. The results are eye-opening! View here

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