Category: News

News items and stories about department’s faculty, programs, research, students, staff, etc.

How did these mushrooms escape?

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.

Botany Grad Alumni highlighted for prairie restoration work

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.

A hub for botanical research: Q&A with the Center for Botany Faculty Director

The new Center for Botany is a research hub for botanical sciences at UW–Madison housed in the Department of Biology. Members of the center will discover, archive and communicate knowledge of basic plant, fungal and algal biology across scales, from genes to ecosystems using both established and new approaches. We asked Center for Botany Faculty …

Welcome to the Department of Biology

A message from Mary Halloran, Chair of the Department of Biology. Hello all, Today, July 1, 2026, marks the first day of the Department of Biology in the College of Letters and Science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Bringing together botany and integrative biology (formerly zoology), two departments that have been around since the earliest …

Department of Biology Undergrads among 2026 Goldwater Scholars

Three University of Wisconsin–Madison juniors have received 2026 Goldwater Scholarships, the premier undergraduate scholarship in mathematics, engineering and the natural sciences in the United States. The students are juniors Aletta Bergman, Krithi Gopinath and Eva Stafne. Both Bergman and Gopinath are students in the Department of Biology. Read the full article.

McGee and Walston win 2026 Award for Mentoring Undergraduates

Professor Seth McGee and graduate student Joseph Walston have each been recognized for their outstanding mentorship of undergraduate students.

Hands-on in Hawai’i

Botany students journey to Hawaii to learn about plant diversity in the global biodiversity hotspot.

DNA analysis of Mongol Empire’s ruling elites

Integrative Biology graduate student Ayken Askapuli’s research reveals implications for the genetic ancestry of the broader Mongolian Empire.

Tiny copepod for a big discovery

UW researchers turn to the tiny copepod for a big discovery, showing that gene location influences natural selection.

Department of Biology Announced

Combining the forces of the current integrative biology and botany departments, the University’s Department of Biology within the College of Letters & Science will be a powerhouse in research and education.