College of Letters & Science
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.
UW–Madison’s Botany Garden and Greenhouse’s Agave victoriae-reginae plant bloomed in early June, catching the attention of the public and the Wisconsin State Journal. The plant, which is about 30 years old, blooms once before it dies. Read more.
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.
Professor Seth McGee and graduate student Joseph Walston have each been recognized for their outstanding mentorship of undergraduate students.
Professor Ellen Damschen joins WPR’s The Larry Meiller Show to discuss why biodiversity matters in Wisconsin, and what scientists are doing to conserve plant and animal life. Listen to the episode.
Integrative Biology graduate student Ayken Askapuli’s research reveals implications for the genetic ancestry of the broader Mongolian Empire.
UW researchers turn to the tiny copepod for a big discovery, showing that gene location influences natural selection.
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.
It’s not easy to look at a sea spider and see an animal so representative of its kind that it may help scientists sort out the evolution of almost everything with eight legs. But that’s the potential a new study finds in these spindly, strikingly strange bottom-dwellers. Read more here: https://news.wisc.edu/meet-the-weird-sea-spider-thats-mapping-the-evolution-of-eight-legged-creatures/