The Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

The Wisconsin Academy is honored to be able to celebrate extraordinary Wisconsinites and their works. Our 2024 Fellows Gala was a wonderful evening of celebration.

from Faisal Abdu'Allah with .repost
・・・
It was an honor to be made a Fellow of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters.

Join us at Newport State Park this Sunday, September 22nd, for an evening of exploration and wonder! Amanda Tokuyama will reveal the secrets of bird migration, and Dr. Robert Mathieu will guide us through the night sky. Don’t miss this chance to blend science with stargazing! 🌌

🪶 Register at: https://www.wisconsinacademy.org/birdsastronomy

See you Sunday! 🔭

Birds and Astronomy is part of the Wisconsin Academy’s Birds and Beyond series. Thank you to our series partners, the BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin, Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance, and Color in the Outdoors. Additional thanks to series sponsors, the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin, Feminist Bird Club, the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology, Jay Handy, and Dr. Robert Mathieu.

Congratulations to our 2024 Fellows! We are honored to celebrate you all and your work.

Marie Kohler with .repost
・・・
What an incredible evening on Monday! So grateful and honored to be named a Fellow by The Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters and humbled to be in the company of such amazing individuals. Thanks to the generous colleagues who recommended me and the friends and family who celebrated with me.

Congratulations to our 2024 Fellows who we celebrated on Monday night!

Dr. Ahna Skop with .repost
・・・
My mom and a group of friends joined me at Promega tonight to celebrate my Wisconsin Academy of Arts and Sciences induction. Such an amazing honor to be a part of this incredible group of creative smart interdisciplinary thinkers. Wisconsin is such an amazing beautiful state and the people are even more amazing. 😘
—and my mom is even more beautiful at the ripe age of 78! I have a lot to be thankful for! The Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters University of Wisconsin-Madison UW-Madison Genetics UW-Madison Art Department UW-Madison Life Sciences Communication

📋 Workshop Highlight 📋

Looking to level up your grant writing skills? Join us for Grant Writing Strategies and Tips at Climate Fast Forward 2024! Led by Nicholas Labinski, Policy Analyst at the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, this interactive session will guide you through all stages of grant development, from inception to submission. Collaborate in small groups, analyze strategies, and discover expert tips to boost your grant success. Don’t miss this opportunity to refine your skills and get funding for your climate initiatives!

Register at: https://www.wisconsinacademy.org/climate-fast-forward-2024

Experience the magic of the night sky and bird migration on September 22nd at Newport State Park! Amanda Tokuyama will delve into why and how birds migrate, and Dr. Robert Mathieu will guide us through the constellations. Don’t miss this perfect blend of nature and astronomy - register today!

🌟 Register at: https://www.wisconsinacademy.org/birdsastronomy

Birds and Astronomy is part of the Wisconsin Academy’s Birds and Beyond series. Thank you to our series partners, the BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin, Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance, and Color in the Outdoors. Additional thanks to series sponsors, the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin, Feminist Bird Club, the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology, Jay Handy, and Dr. Robert Mathieu.

Early Bird Extension Alert!
We're giving you more time to save on tickets for Climate Fast Forward 2024! 🗓️ Don’t miss your chance to join climate leaders, innovators, and changemakers at a discounted rate. Register now and be part of the solutions for a sustainable future! 🌍🌿

Register at: https://www.wisconsinacademy.org/climate-fast-forward-2024

💥 Early bird pricing extended until September 30th! 💥

Act fast and secure your spot today.

🌿 Workshop Highlight 🌿
At Climate Fast Forward, join us for Relationships 101: Ethical Engagement with Tribal Nations in Wisconsin. This session will explore how to create respectful, lasting partnerships with Indigenous communities and learn about how Indigenous perspectives on the environment differ from the western views. Don’t miss this crucial dialogue!

Register for CFF 2024 at: https://www.wisconsinacademy.org/climate-fast-forward-2024

Explore the remarkable story of Huntsinger Farms in the Summer 2024 issue of Wisconsin People & Ideas magazine. Learn how Ellis Huntsinger, a German emigrant and former lightning-rod salesman, found unexpected success growing horseradish during the Great Depression. Now, 95 years later in the Chippewa Valley, his great-grandson Eric Rygg leads the world’s largest horseradish producer, pioneering sustainable practices and a new heat index system.

Read more in this article by BJ Hollars at: https://www.wisconsinacademy.org/magazine/summer-2024/wisconsin-table/welcome-eau-claire-%E2%80%94-home-horseradish

Photo by Huntsinger Farms

Ready for a night of stargazing wonder? On September 22nd, Amanda Tokuyama will dive into bird migration, and Dr. Mathieu will lead us through the night sky at Newport State Park in Door County. Register today to reserve your spot under the stars!

Register for Birds and Astronomy at: https://www.wisconsinacademy.org/birdsastronomy

Birds and Astronomy is part of the Wisconsin Academy’s Birds and Beyond series. Thank you to our series partners, the BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin, Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance, and Color In The Outdoors. Additional thanks to series sponsors, the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin, Feminist Bird Club - Madison Wisconsin, theLeigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Jay Handy, and Dr. Robert Mathieu.

Join the Academy and keynote speaker Kyle Whyte at Climate Fast Forward this November!

Kyle Whyte is George Willis Pack Professor of Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan. Kyle’s research addresses moral and political issues concerning climate policy and indigenous peoples, the ethics of cooperative relationships between Indigenous peoples and science organizations, and problems of Indigenous justice in public and academic discussions of food sovereignty, environmental justice, and the anthropocene. He is an enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation.

Learn more about Kyle Whyte and secure your spot today at https://www.wisconsinacademy.org/climate-fast-forward-2024

Ever wondered how migratory birds find their way? Come to Newport State Park on September 22nd to hear Amanda Tokuyama’s insights and then stargaze with Dr. Robert Mathieu. It’s a night of learning and celestial wonder that you won’t want to miss!

Register for this free, in-person event at: https://www.wisconsinacademy.org/birdsastronomy

Birds and Astronomy is part of the Wisconsin Academy’s series. Thank you to our Birds and Beyond series partners, the BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin, Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance, and Color In The Outdoors. Additional thanks to series sponsors, the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin, Feminist Bird Club - Madison Wisconsin, the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Jay Handy, and Dr. Robert Mathieu.

We’re thrilled to be partnering with the Urban League of Greater Madison for tonight’s sold-out event at The Hub! A huge thank you to Dr. Ruben L. Anthony, Jr., and the team for organizing this incredible evening. Tonight promises an inspiring fireside chat with Dr. Jerry Butler, who will delve into his powerful work and its reflection on the struggles and resilience of Black Americans.

Event Update: Birds and Climate Change will be postponed to a later date. We’re currently working on rescheduling and anticipate a new date in early 2025.

This event will still be a free, hybrid experience, so you’ll be able to join us either in person or online. Stay tuned for further announcements.

Birds and Astronomy, the next talk in the Birds and Beyond Series, will take place on September 22, 2024. For more information, visit: https://www.wisconsinacademy.org/birds-and-beyond

Meet Birds and Climate Change speaker Davin Lopez! You'll have the chance to learn from Lopez during this exciting, hybrid event on August 18th at Beaver Creek Reserve that will highlight the critical role birds play as indicators of environmental health and the urgency of addressing climate challenges.

Register for free for Birds and Climate Change at https://www.wisconsinacademy.org/birdsclimate

Davin Lopez is a Conservation Biologist who has worked with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) since 2005. In 2011, he joined the WDNR’s Bureau of Natural Heritage Conservation (formerly Endangered Resources) where some of his main duties are to serve as the state Whooping Crane reintroduction coordinator and state lead for the Kirtland’s Warbler conservation project. Previously he was in the WDNR’s Chronic Wasting Disease program where he started as a field technician and eventually took over as the statewide coordinator. He has previously worked at Colorado State University as a lab technician in a malaria research lab and as a zookeeper at the Denver and Pueblo Zoos. Lopez was born and raised in Denver, Colorado, has bachelors’ degrees in biology and anthropology from New Mexico State University, and did his master’s degree work in population ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

Thank you to our series partners, the BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin, Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance, and Color In The Outdoors. Additional thanks to series sponsors, the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin, Feminist Bird Club - Madison Wisconsin, theLeigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Jay Handy, and Dr. Robert Mathieu.

The Wisconsin Academy's Climate & Energy team attended this week's August Wisconsin Climate Action Navigator meeting in Stevens Point! Academy Staff Lizzie Condon and Jess James pitched two projects on accelerating climate action. We also spread the word about in November.

Jerry Apps, beloved author and Wisconsin Academy Fellow, has been awarded his own holiday! Thursday, July 25th is Jerry Apps Day.

Treasured by many Wisconsinites, Jerry Apps has shared a unique perspective of Wisconsin’s vivid culture through his powerful writing. From the rolling green hills to the industrial sounds of a dairy farm, he has painted a vivid picture of rural Wisconsin life. His writing, both fiction and non-fiction, shares the rural history of Wisconsin. However, what makes Jerry Apps so admired by many is his commitment to writing authentic stories about country life in Wisconsin, which in turn shares a reality that so many Wisconsinites experience.

Apps, who is a longtime Madison resident and former professor at the University of Wisconsin Madison, has dedicated his life to examining the rural history of Wisconsin all while writing over 50 books on this topic. His goal when writing is to create and tell stories that will get people thinking. Apps encourages others to share their own stories and find their voice by thinking about their past. He explains that memory is an essential tool when writing and in life because it makes experiences more interesting. Apps utilizes this in his own work which earned him A Distinguished Service award from the University and selection as an Academy Fellow in 2012.

His accomplishments don’t end there. Not only did he serve in the army and earn the title of Captain, but he also helped create documentaries with PBS Wisconsin. Apps has no shortage of achievements to celebrate, but this day is for his work that served as an inspiration for creative writers everywhere. Whether it be his workshops, radio appearances, or writing itself, Jerry Apps has impacted many, all while sharing the deep history of Wisconsin.

Happy National Intern Day! We at the Wisconsin Academy are grateful for our six incredible interns who work hard to make our programming in the sciences, arts, and letters a success.

Thank you for all of your hard work this summer!

Join the Wisconsin Academy on August 18th for Birds and Climate Change, a captivating discussion with Davin Lopez, exploring how birds reveal the impacts of climate change in Wisconsin. 🌍 Discover the critical role these feathered friends play in our ecosystem. Register now for this free hybrid event!

Register now at: https://www.wisconsinacademy.org/birdsclimate

Birds and Climate Change is the first talk in the Wisconsin Academy’s Birds and Beyond series. Thank you to our series partners, the BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin, Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance, and Color In The Outdoors. Additional thanks to series sponsor, the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin.

Join the Wisconsin Academy and presenting sponsor American Family Insurance Institute for Corporate and Social Impact for Climate Fast Forward, a two-day collaborative conference designed to accelerate change and scale up climate change solutions!

At Climate Fast Forward, you'll have the opportunity to:
-attend skills-based workshops,
-participate in collaborative spaces,
-hear from engaging plenary speakers,
-engage with interactive art displays.

The conference is November 14 & 15 in Rothschild Wisconsin – we hope to see you there! Early bird tickets (a savings of $45!) end on September 15th so secure your spot today at https://www.wisconsinacademy.org/climate-fast-forward-2024

The Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters is proud to announce the winners of the 2024 Wisconsin People & Ideas Fiction Contest!

The Wisconsin Academy is pleased to have the opportunity to celebrate and elevate the work of writers with many backgrounds who call Wisconsin home.

Fiction Contest
1st Place: Bob Wake, Cambridge, "Mending Ruth"
2nd Place: C.E. Perry, Madison, "Baby Teeth"
3rd Place: Linda Falkenstein, Madison, "Complications from a Fall"

Fiction Honorable Mention: David Tabachnick, Madison, "Meeting Martha Graham"

Thank you to 2024 Fiction Contest judge Sean Enfield and sponsors the Wisconsin Book Festival and Shake Rag Alley Center for the Arts for their support of Wisconsin writers.

Read more about the Wisconsin People & Ideas writing contests on our website: https://www.wisconsinacademy.org/content/writing-contests

The Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters is proud to announce the winners of the 2024 Wisconsin People & Ideas Poetry Contest!

The Wisconsin Academy is pleased to have the opportunity to celebrate and elevate the work of writers with many backgrounds who call Wisconsin home.

Poetry Contest
1st Place: Diya Abbas, Madison, "Al-Eashiq"
2nd Place: Han Raschka, Madison, "grand(father) sheds his grudges"
3rd Place: Lisa Vihos, Sheboygan, "Bodies of Water"

Poetry Honorable Mention: Scott Lowery, Milwaukee, "Woman on a Bus"

Thank you to 2024 Poetry Contest judge Dorothy Chan and sponsors the Wisconsin Book Festival and Shake Rag Alley Center for the Arts for their support of Wisconsin writers.

Read more about the Wisconsin People & Ideas writing contests on our website: https://www.wisconsinacademy.org/content/writing-contests

Congratulations to our FINALISTS for the 2024 Wisconsin People & Ideas Fiction Contest! Thank you to our 2024 Fiction Contest judge Sean Enfield.

These finalists have a chance to win up to $500 and other prizes along with publication in Wisconsin People & Ideas, a reading at the Wisconsin Book Festival in Madison, and a one-week residency at Shake Rag Alley Center for the Arts in Mineral Point.

Learn more about our annual fiction contest and check out our finalists here: https://www.wisconsinacademy.org/content/writing-contests