Graduate students work to restore Cat Island

UW-Green Bay graduate students Tim Flood and Tom Prestby, of the Environmental Science and Policy graduate program, are involved in restoration projects on Cat Island in Green Bay. Flood is working on comparing the two sides of the new barrier to see how the island’s improvements might help with reestablishing aquatic plants in the bay. He is comparing wave velocity, light extinction and vegetation growth between the two sides. Prestby spends four or five days each week during migration months at 13 sites around Green Bay monitoring shore birds to research the locations the shore birds are using most. He has found more than 30 species of birds on the island, including some that are listed as endangered. Both students were selected for the 2013-2014 Cofrin or Land Trust student research grants. See the full story here.

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Student creates app for better, faster calculations

UW-Green Bay senior Shawn Snyder has created an application for a precision-based calculator. It’s faster and more precise than a regular device, and part of a “complex physics modeling program that could be used for cutting-edge research in science” that Snyder is developing, says Associate Prof. Peter Breznay. Snyder’s app can be purchased through the Windows 8 program. You can read the full story here.

Undergrad essay accepted for April Political Science conference

An essay from undergraduate Taylor Schmidt has been accepted for the April 3-6 Midwestern Political Science Association conference in Chicago. Assistant Prof. Dallas Blaney tells us Schmidt’s essay, “Foreign Aid, Solving Gender Inequality, and Empowering Women,” was accepted for a resources and development session during the annual gathering. Find more information here.

Saxton-Ruiz invited to give lecture

Gabriel Saxton-Ruiz, assistant professor of Humanistic Studies, gave an invited lecture Dec. 4 for the graduate studies program of Spanish & Portuguese at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The title of his talk was “The Literature of Reconciliation: Alonso Cueto’s The Blue Hour.” He spoke on the same topic (the aftermath of political violence in Peru) at the final Great Books discussion of 2013 at the Brown County Central Library. See the full story here.

Prof. Kaye on national radio to talk ‘America’s radical spirit’

Prof. Harvey J. Kaye of Democracy and Justice Studies was interviewed on the nationally syndicated Thom Hartmann Radio Show on Monday, Dec. 9. He spoke about his views regarding the “radicals-at-heart” makeup of this nation’s citizens. Additionally, Kaye appeared as a guest on progressive radio outlet AM 880 in Asheville, N.C., to address similar issues. Kaye is getting national attention in the wake of his essay featured at The Daily Beast. See more here.

Weinschenk to be published in “American Politics and Policy”

The London School of Economics’ Public Policy Group, regarded as one of the most influential university-based think tanks in the world, has again invited Political Scientist Aaron Weinschenk, a new assistant professor of Public and Environmental Affairs at UW-Green Bay, to write an article for their multi-disciplinary American Politics and Policy blog. In September, Weinschenk wrote an article on voter turnout in local elections for the London School. Weinschenk’s new article on the blog addresses the topic of civic duty. More information can be found here.

University production of ‘Avenue Q’ gets festival bid

The UW-Green Bay Theatre and Dance and UW-Green Bay Music’s production of Avenue Q, the Musical has been selected to perform Thursday, Jan. 9 at the American College Theatre Festival in Saginaw, Mich. It’s not the first time a UW-Green Bay play has made the the regional theatre ‘playoffs’ — in 2011, it was Almost, Maine, which earned numerous accolades and national recognition for its success, and there was a long string of ACTF qualifiers before that. See the full story here.

Art from all angles: Virtual tour gives 360° view of program facilities

The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay’s Art program is taking the “360° experience” to a whole new visual level, with a 360° virtual tour of its facilities. The virtual tour allows both web and mobile users to see UW-Green Bay’s exceptional studios and exhibition spaces. Users can use their mouse or mobile device to “move” laterally or vertically, and from one space to another, an experience that feels much like being there in person. See the full story here.

Leading and learning: Labs provide rich experience for Biology students

UW-Green Bay students have a multitude of opportunities for applied learning experiences in the Biology labs. In a lab environment, students who are learning the taxonomy, morphology, biology and ecology of most of the animal phyla, collect, prepare and identify their own invertebrates and look at specimens supplied by Prof. Mike Draney. The Biology students also have sensational resources at their fingertips — in this case, the University’s Richter Museum of Natural History (www.uwgb.edu/biodiversity/richter/). It is one of Wisconsin’s most significant collections of animal specimens for scientific research and education. Find more information here.

Chancellor’s Security Walk spurs renewed emphasis on pedestrian safety

UW-Green Bay Police are renewing their emphasis on campus pedestrian safety, focusing on the area near Lab Sciences after an annual security evaluation raised some concerns. The location was mentioned as an issue during the Oct. 24 Chancellor’s Security Walk, a yearly event that allows participants to help Public Safety officers identify areas where inadequate lighting, overgrown shrubs or pedestrian/traffic safety might be a concern. As a result, officers intermittently will be using a borrowed radar trailer (and may eventually purchase their own, using a state grant), as well as stepping up enforcement and potentially increasing signage in the area. More information can be found here.