UW-Madison College of Letters & Science

Professor of Sociology Max Besbris comments on this story about the evolving conflict between environmental concerns and property rights. "There's a very real anxiety," he says. #environment #sociology #WeAreLS

Every year, L&S students in Biocore, the Department of Biology's Honors program, work to restore prairie land in the UW Lakeshore Nature Preserve. Preserve staff handle the prescribed burns, and students spread native seeds. The cycle is beautifully captured in this fun photo gallery. #prairie #restoration #WeAreLS

WHAM! As in, the Wisconsin HTS Axisymmetric Mirror, a fusion energy device that just generated plasma for the first time. Professor of physics Cary Forest led the team that constructed and tested the device, which opens the door for creating what could be a carbon-free energy source. “We think fusion will be as good at producing electricity as any energy source would be, and we think it might be even better to use it as a source of industrial heat for making things,” says Forest. “The world makes more carbon and uses more energy making things than it does moving things or turning the lights on. If we’re going to solve the climate change problem, we should probably be focused even more on how we make things than how we move things.” #physics #fusion #WeAreLS

Rising junior Deanna Frater spent a summer internship with Roc Nation, the entertainment company owned by rapper and record producer Jay-Z. Her experience included building bridges between nonprofit organizations and community leaders, in service of finding solutions to social issues impacting communities across the country. #leadership #WeAreLS

It's #WheresBuckyWednesday again, and this week, our guy has clearly met his match. Where on campus are these twin Buckys hanging out? #WeAreLS

Faced with the impossible challenge of trying to teach more than 2,000 African languages to students who need them for high-level research, Katrina Daly Thompson and Adeola Agoke of the Department of African Cultural Studies' African Language Program came up with a novel solution: The Multilanguage Seminar, a two-semester course that sets up students to teach themselves a language. “We’re really trying to better understand how students can be autonomous learners and lifelong learners,” Thompson says. “We’d like to see more people be able to learn more languages to high proficiency levels.” #languages #learning #WeAreLS

Congratulations to Lori Lopez, who begins as the College's new associate dean for the social sciences this week. Lopez, a professor of communication arts and the director of the Asian American Studies Program, brings a wealth of research, teaching and service experience to the role. #leadership #socialsciences #WeAreLS

Kate Walsh, an associate professor of psychology and gender & women's studies, sees promise in a new program offering housing options to survivors of domestic violence in underserved communities. Walsh is part of a team evaluating the program's effectiveness. #domesticviolence #psychology #WeAreLS

It's #WheresBuckyWednesday, and our guys is taking cues from Sheryl Crow ad soaking up some sun. Can you tell us which L&S building he's hanging out by? #WeAreLS

Assistant Professor of Philosophy Aja Watkins applies her lens to the ways in which scientists think, offering advice and perspective to help them better investigate the world around them--including big-ticket issues like climate change. “Three hundred years ago, the people who were practicing philosophy were the same people who were studying science,” she says. “Many ostensibly scientific questions are questions that a philosopher might be able to help answer.” #philosophy #science #WeAreLS