Department of Geography, Geology and Environmental Science, UW-Whitewater

05/15/2025

On Wednesday, Dr. John Frye's Geography 352 Geohazard's course participated in a tabletop exercise to plan for a potential hazardous event impacting Whitewater, which was their final. Dr. Frye had a mock EF4 impact not only the city of Whitewater as well as the University. The goal for the students was to plan resources and actions needed to be taken before, during, and after an event. Students were paired up and represented different entities that would be useful in the aftermath of a natural disaster.

The 22 students enrolled in the course were joined by emergency planning professionals from the university, city, and county. These included UWW's Vice Chancellor Kristin Plessel, UWW Police Chief Matt Kiederlen, UWW Police Lieutenant Jason Burt, City of Whitewater Police Captain Adam Vander Steeg, City of Whitewater Fire and EMS Assistant Chief Ryan Dion, Walworth County Department of Health and Human Services Health Officer Erica Bergstrom and Preparedness Coordinator Ashley Burden, and Walworth County Emergency Management Director Jason Rowland. These individuals were there to answer questions students had and also to provide guidance to students.

The exercise went well and many effective plans were developed through small group discussions. A culminating conversation, with all parties involved, was eye-opening for students but also taught them the realities of big events like this.

04/26/2025

It has been a week of awards in the department this week. On Tuesday (Earth Day!!), a large contingent of students were celebrated at the Math and Science Awards Ceremony put on by UW-Whitewater College of Letters and Sciences. On Saturday, we had two awardees who were celebrated at university's Founders Day Celebration. Beto Patino Luna was awarded a College of Letters and Sciences Lori and Eric Lorenz Outstanding Student Scholar award. Tyler Brasington (B.S. '17) was awarded the Outstanding Recent Alumni Award.

Congratulations to all the award winners!!

03/27/2025

Great news from today at the 2025 Annual Meeting of the American Association of Geographers. In the remote sensing student competition Austin Cox and Sabrina Wolf’s poster presentation won second and Shelby Paluch and Ashton Albrecht’s poster presentation won third place. The competition was for all students undergraduate to PhD level. Way to go you four, way to make UWW proud!!!

03/26/2025

Our last two students presented their research projects today at the 2025 Annual Meeting of the American Association of Geographers in Detroit. Congratulations to Natalie and Will.

03/25/2025

Our first group of students presented their undergraduate research projects at the 2025 Annual Meeting of American Association of Geographers in Detroit. Congratulations to Holland, Austin, Sabrina, Shelby, and Ashton.

03/18/2025

We are proud to announce that Tyler Brasington, a 2017 graduate of our department, has been named the 2025 UWW Outstanding Recent Almunus. This honor is well deserved and Tyler is a great example for our current students pursuing Environmental Science degree and wanting to end up in careers working with state DNR, National Parks, Forest Service, etc.

Congratulations Tyler, well deserved.

Tyler Brasington B.S. '17

02/20/2025

While it is hard to imagine warmer weather with snow still on the ground but severe weather season will soon be here. Join us starting next week for a 4-week workshop on severe weather being offered for free on campus. The workshop focuses on the structure of the weather enterprise, how warnings are issued, and how to tell the difference between good, reliable information and poor, non-reliable information. There will also be some brief discussion on the conditions leading to severe weather.

Please follow the link below for more details like time and location and to register for this free workshop.

Did you know that as of 2024, Wisconsin has had a tornado touch down in every month of the year? And, severe weather can cost communities thousands of dollars in damage. Join expert storm chasers for a series of presentations to understand the weather forecast process and how to prepare for the upcoming severe weather season. More info and registration here: https://www.uww.edu/ce/severeweather

09/30/2024

The Department of Geography, Geology, and Environmental Science in conjunction with UWW's Undergraduate Research Program are proud to announce a guest speaker event on the evening of October 30, 2024. Tyler Brasington, a 2017 UWW alumnus, will give a talk titled "The Science of Grizzly Bears: My journey from undergraduate research to grizzly bear conservation in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE)". Please join us at 7 pm on the evening of October 30 in Summers Auditorium for this talk.

09/28/2024

Some major GEOENVI going on out there…

07/29/2024

And, they're off! Our group of travel study students and faculty left the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater campus early this morning, heading out west. Over the next 16 days, they'll conduct fieldwork and learn about climate change in Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, and points in between. Led by Dr. John Frye, follow along as these students meet new people, explore new places, and make lifelong memories, all while learning and earning academic credit. Safe travels!
Department of Geography, Geology and Environmental Science, UW-Whitewater

07/29/2024

This science classroom looks a little different from those in Upham Hall, right? Today, Dr. Frye gave a lecture to our travel study students in Badlands National Park.
Department of Geography, Geology and Environmental Science, UW-Whitewater
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

07/29/2024