College of Letters & Science
To help readers at all career stages become the supportive mentors and supervisors they aspire to be, Science Careers asked researchers, including Botany Graduate Student Joseph Walston, to share the lessons they’ve learned on their way. Read More
Words: Elise Mahon | Photos: Sarah Friedrich One hundred million years ago, long before human intervention, ancestors of grasses, like wheat, rice and maize generated “bypasses” of chemical pathways that are used to create two critical compounds: lignin and starch. These more efficient pathways could explain why grass plants are so successful in nature and …
By Elise Mahon Researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison recognize a new species of baobab tree, Adansonia bozy, unique to Madagascar, according to a study published in the journal Taxon. Previously, members of A. bozy were classified within a different species of Malagasy baobab, Adansonia za. While both species look similar, careful genetic analysis revealed …
A paper by Nathan Kiel (PhD iBio ’24), undergraduate student Eileen Mavencamp (’23), and Professor Monica Turner has been awarded the W.S. Cooper Award for Outstanding Contributions in the Fields of Geobotany and/or Physiographic Ecology. Their paper, “Sparse subalpine forest recovery pathways, plant communities, and carbon stocks 34 years after stand-replacing fire“, emphasizes that post-fire …
Department of Biology graduate students Hannah Ashe, Jillian Neece and Shaneya Miriyagalla have received Arboretum Research Fellowships. These graduate fellowships support early career scientists doing work that aligns with the Arboretum’s mission and advances a long tradition of research in restoration ecology and conservation. Read more.
Botany graduate student Aishwarya Veerabahu, discusses her research and outreach efforts around the golden oyster mushroom that's pushing out native fungal biodiversity in this article for the Spring 2026 College of Letters and Science Magazine.
In Green Lights, an article for the Spring 2026 College of Letters and Science Magazine, a Botany PhD grad is featured for her environmental restoration work in Wisconsin.
Professor Seth McGee and graduate student Joseph Walston have each been recognized for their outstanding mentorship of undergraduate students.
Integrative Biology graduate student Ayken Askapuli’s research reveals implications for the genetic ancestry of the broader Mongolian Empire.
Two graduate students just returned from an epic — albeit frigid — ecological study in Antarctica. Here’s what they learned from their time on the ice. Read more: https://lsmagazine.wisc.edu/issues/spring-2025/explorediscover/ice-cold-research/