Paul Robbins
@earthfutures.bsky.social
Dean, Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Reposted by Paul Robbins
Congratulations to current College of Letters & Science Dean Eric Wilcots for his appointment as UW–Madison’s interim chancellor effective May 17.
Read more: www.wisconsin.edu/news/archive...
Read more: www.wisconsin.edu/news/archive...
February 11, 2026 at 4:06 PM
Congratulations to current College of Letters & Science Dean Eric Wilcots for his appointment as UW–Madison’s interim chancellor effective May 17.
Read more: www.wisconsin.edu/news/archive...
Read more: www.wisconsin.edu/news/archive...
Reposted by Paul Robbins
"Women have been mapping the world for centuries – and now they’re speaking up for the people left OUT of those maps"
theconversation.com/women-have-b... AND
coffeewithclaude.com/post.php?slu...
#GISchat ⚒️ 🧪 🌊
theconversation.com/women-have-b... AND
coffeewithclaude.com/post.php?slu...
#GISchat ⚒️ 🧪 🌊
Women have been mapping the world for centuries – and now they’re speaking up for the people left out of those maps
Women have moved from mapmakers using their bodies to depict maps to being leaders shaping the field of cartography.
theconversation.com
February 10, 2026 at 10:56 PM
"Women have been mapping the world for centuries – and now they’re speaking up for the people left OUT of those maps"
theconversation.com/women-have-b... AND
coffeewithclaude.com/post.php?slu...
#GISchat ⚒️ 🧪 🌊
theconversation.com/women-have-b... AND
coffeewithclaude.com/post.php?slu...
#GISchat ⚒️ 🧪 🌊
Reposted by Paul Robbins
The Unbroken Line from forced labor to forced exposure: @selc.bsky.social "Plantations to Pollution: Black Communities, Legacy Pollution, and the Path Forward" traces the often-unbroken line from plantation slavery to today’s environmental injustices. plantationstopollution.selc.org?selcsrc
Home
Plantations to Pollution: Black Communities, Legacy Pollution, and the Path Forward is a powerful multimedia storytelling series from the Southern Environmental Law Center that traces the often-unbrok...
plantationstopollution.selc.org
February 10, 2026 at 6:07 PM
The Unbroken Line from forced labor to forced exposure: @selc.bsky.social "Plantations to Pollution: Black Communities, Legacy Pollution, and the Path Forward" traces the often-unbroken line from plantation slavery to today’s environmental injustices. plantationstopollution.selc.org?selcsrc
Reposted by Paul Robbins
UW–Madison is officially #2 among all public universities in the United States, according to TIME Magazine. When you say Wisconsin, you've said it all!
Read more: news.wisc.edu/uw-ranked-no...
Read more: news.wisc.edu/uw-ranked-no...
February 10, 2026 at 3:14 PM
UW–Madison is officially #2 among all public universities in the United States, according to TIME Magazine. When you say Wisconsin, you've said it all!
Read more: news.wisc.edu/uw-ranked-no...
Read more: news.wisc.edu/uw-ranked-no...
"The real threat to a secure and sustainable supply of rare earths and other critical minerals is not that they are scarce or monopolized by one nation but simply that so much is thrown away". Nelson Institute's Dr. Julie Klinger on the problem of critical minerals. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/06/o...
Opinion | America’s Rare-Earth Solution Is Hiding in Plain Sight
www.nytimes.com
February 10, 2026 at 7:49 PM
"The real threat to a secure and sustainable supply of rare earths and other critical minerals is not that they are scarce or monopolized by one nation but simply that so much is thrown away". Nelson Institute's Dr. Julie Klinger on the problem of critical minerals. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/06/o...
Good evening from Union South here @uwmadison.bsky.social , where we at Nelson Institute are kicking off an evening of fantastic environmental short films tonight, partnering with the WUD, @riveralliancewi.bsky.social , and Hoofers!
February 10, 2026 at 12:29 AM
Good evening from Union South here @uwmadison.bsky.social , where we at Nelson Institute are kicking off an evening of fantastic environmental short films tonight, partnering with the WUD, @riveralliancewi.bsky.social , and Hoofers!
Reposted by Paul Robbins
Last week I gave a public lecture at the @AspenPhysics Center titled "How AI Is and Isn't Revolutionizing Science". It was well attended, and I was happy with how it went. Here it is on YouTube:
www.youtube.com/live/dIsxqh0...
www.youtube.com/live/dIsxqh0...
How AI Is and Isn't Revolutionizing Science with Kyle Cranmer
YouTube video by Aspen Physics
www.youtube.com
February 8, 2026 at 8:39 PM
Last week I gave a public lecture at the @AspenPhysics Center titled "How AI Is and Isn't Revolutionizing Science". It was well attended, and I was happy with how it went. Here it is on YouTube:
www.youtube.com/live/dIsxqh0...
www.youtube.com/live/dIsxqh0...
Joe Yrecheta and the Native Biodata Consortium are revolutionary creators of the first Native controlled and Indigenous bio sample repository in North America. They have provided us with priceless advice & changed biostorage forever. Their funding also got torpedoed.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/s...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/s...
He Built a Server to Protect Indigenous Health Data
www.nytimes.com
February 6, 2026 at 1:11 AM
Joe Yrecheta and the Native Biodata Consortium are revolutionary creators of the first Native controlled and Indigenous bio sample repository in North America. They have provided us with priceless advice & changed biostorage forever. Their funding also got torpedoed.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/s...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/s...
Reposted by Paul Robbins
How do we turn living systems into the next generation of sustainable materials? Join @uwenergy.bsky.social for the Biobased Materials Research Symposium, a morning dedicated to circular bioproducts and green design, on Friday, February 13.
Biobased Materials Research Symposium
Join us on February 13 at the Wisconsin Energy Institute for the Biobased Materials Research Symposium—a gathering of UW–Madison researchers driving the next wave of sustainable materials. Explore the current state of biobased materials research and what’s on the horizon for translating groundbreaking discoveries from the lab to the marketplace. The morning features rapid-fire flash talks, an inspiring keynote, and a thought-provoking panel on circular bioproduct development.
energy.wisc.edu
January 22, 2026 at 4:59 PM
How do we turn living systems into the next generation of sustainable materials? Join @uwenergy.bsky.social for the Biobased Materials Research Symposium, a morning dedicated to circular bioproducts and green design, on Friday, February 13.
Reposted by Paul Robbins
"Tony develops methods for understanding which pathogens are present in complex mixtures and communities. His work will help us further avoid and fight infections throughout the world," says Jennifer Gottwald, WARF director of licensing.
Meet UW-Madison’s Tony Goldberg
“Tony develops methods for understanding which pathogens are present in complex mixtures and communities. His work will help us further avoid and fight infections throughout the world.”
www.warf.org
January 21, 2026 at 8:44 PM
"Tony develops methods for understanding which pathogens are present in complex mixtures and communities. His work will help us further avoid and fight infections throughout the world," says Jennifer Gottwald, WARF director of licensing.
Our Environmental Sustainability Scholars Program (ESSP) is out of the gate; @uwmadison.bsky.social incoming students sign on for scholarship support, comradery, and chance to address the biggest sustainability questions of our time. nelson.wisc.edu/the-commons/...
Field Notes: The Environmental Sustainability Scholars Program (ESSP) | The Commons Magazine
Learn how a group of freshmen are setting the stage for sustainability, community, and connection.
nelson.wisc.edu
January 20, 2026 at 2:26 PM
Our Environmental Sustainability Scholars Program (ESSP) is out of the gate; @uwmadison.bsky.social incoming students sign on for scholarship support, comradery, and chance to address the biggest sustainability questions of our time. nelson.wisc.edu/the-commons/...
Reposted by Paul Robbins
“Public lands are uniquely American. They are our heritage.”
UW alum Wade Crowfoot — now California’s Secretary for Natural Resources — is championing public lands for all and forming groundbreaking tribal partnerships.
Read more from On Wisconsin Magazine: onwisconsin.uwalumni.com/preserving-p...
UW alum Wade Crowfoot — now California’s Secretary for Natural Resources — is championing public lands for all and forming groundbreaking tribal partnerships.
Read more from On Wisconsin Magazine: onwisconsin.uwalumni.com/preserving-p...
Preserving Public Lands | On Wisconsin
Wade Crowfoot ’96 seeks to protect natural resources for all Americans.
onwisconsin.uwalumni.com
January 8, 2026 at 3:42 PM
“Public lands are uniquely American. They are our heritage.”
UW alum Wade Crowfoot — now California’s Secretary for Natural Resources — is championing public lands for all and forming groundbreaking tribal partnerships.
Read more from On Wisconsin Magazine: onwisconsin.uwalumni.com/preserving-p...
UW alum Wade Crowfoot — now California’s Secretary for Natural Resources — is championing public lands for all and forming groundbreaking tribal partnerships.
Read more from On Wisconsin Magazine: onwisconsin.uwalumni.com/preserving-p...
There can and will never be a substitute for Larry Meiller, whose show covered birdsong, and gardens, and health for 60 years, all in an affirming way that reached a HUGE range of audiences. This is a someone we just can't replace. captimes.com/entertainmen...
What Larry Meiller learned connecting with Wisconsin radio listeners
The longtime host of WPR’s “The Larry Meiller Show” will retire in June 2026 after almost 60 years on the air.
captimes.com
January 7, 2026 at 12:38 PM
There can and will never be a substitute for Larry Meiller, whose show covered birdsong, and gardens, and health for 60 years, all in an affirming way that reached a HUGE range of audiences. This is a someone we just can't replace. captimes.com/entertainmen...
Reposted by Paul Robbins
Historical PFAS trends in the Great Lakes using four decades of archived fish.
#GreatLakes 🧪
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
#GreatLakes 🧪
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
January 6, 2026 at 8:40 PM
Historical PFAS trends in the Great Lakes using four decades of archived fish.
#GreatLakes 🧪
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
#GreatLakes 🧪
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
College football is in a state of chaos. The crazy thing is it really can't be solved by universities, at least not by themselves. Which is nuts, since they'll be held accountable for the outcomes. A fascinating lesson in the true power markets have, and the chaotic things they can do.
January 1, 2026 at 5:12 PM
College football is in a state of chaos. The crazy thing is it really can't be solved by universities, at least not by themselves. Which is nuts, since they'll be held accountable for the outcomes. A fascinating lesson in the true power markets have, and the chaotic things they can do.
Amidst all the hubbub about "Abundance" and "Green Materialism" and so on, "Red Plenty" -a book about the shining moment of Soviet Optimism in the era of Kruschev- was as refreshing, mood-warping, funny, and quietly painful as anything I've read in a long time. www.graywolfpress.org/books/red-pl...
Red Plenty | Graywolf Press
Strange as it may seem, the gray, oppressive USSR was founded on a fairy tale. It was built on the twentieth-century magic called “the planned economy,” which was going to gush forth an abundance of g...
www.graywolfpress.org
January 1, 2026 at 2:35 AM
Amidst all the hubbub about "Abundance" and "Green Materialism" and so on, "Red Plenty" -a book about the shining moment of Soviet Optimism in the era of Kruschev- was as refreshing, mood-warping, funny, and quietly painful as anything I've read in a long time. www.graywolfpress.org/books/red-pl...
Departments fail young faculty before young faculty fail departments. Only rarely does professional sports offer any lessons for academia, but it does here: "organizations fail young quarterbacks before young quarterbacks fail organizations." www.nytimes.com/athletic/658...
The bust files: How NFL teams break young quarterbacks
Finding a franchise quarterback remains job No. 1 for anyone in charge of an NFL roster, so why do they keep screwing it up?
www.nytimes.com
December 31, 2025 at 11:14 AM
Departments fail young faculty before young faculty fail departments. Only rarely does professional sports offer any lessons for academia, but it does here: "organizations fail young quarterbacks before young quarterbacks fail organizations." www.nytimes.com/athletic/658...
Reposted by Paul Robbins
Extinction rarely departs with drama, it slips out the back door while we’re still debating the guest list. These records are made official on the Red List. "Conservation failures are often recognised only once they can no longer be reversed."
via @mongabay.com: news.mongabay.com/short-articl...
via @mongabay.com: news.mongabay.com/short-articl...
December 29, 2025 at 3:18 AM
Extinction rarely departs with drama, it slips out the back door while we’re still debating the guest list. These records are made official on the Red List. "Conservation failures are often recognised only once they can no longer be reversed."
via @mongabay.com: news.mongabay.com/short-articl...
via @mongabay.com: news.mongabay.com/short-articl...
Reposted by Paul Robbins
p.s. One thing we need to do is stop using the term “AI” — which is mainly a marketing term, not a technical one — to describe everything from algorithms that efficiently run your refrigerator, to sharpening photos in your iPhone, all the way to generative LLMs like ChatGPT.
December 27, 2025 at 7:47 PM
p.s. One thing we need to do is stop using the term “AI” — which is mainly a marketing term, not a technical one — to describe everything from algorithms that efficiently run your refrigerator, to sharpening photos in your iPhone, all the way to generative LLMs like ChatGPT.
Reposted by Paul Robbins
BOTD Elisha Cook Jr!!
MCCT5: 5)Stranger on 3rd Floor (Ingster) 4)Maltese Falcon (Huston) 3)The Killing (Kubrick) 2)Phantom Lady (Siodmak - drumming as sex: youtube.com/watch?v=DMQQ...) 1)Big Sleep (Hawks - key sequence)
More via @counterpunchmedia.bsky.social: www.counterpunch.org/2020/07/31/1...
MCCT5: 5)Stranger on 3rd Floor (Ingster) 4)Maltese Falcon (Huston) 3)The Killing (Kubrick) 2)Phantom Lady (Siodmak - drumming as sex: youtube.com/watch?v=DMQQ...) 1)Big Sleep (Hawks - key sequence)
More via @counterpunchmedia.bsky.social: www.counterpunch.org/2020/07/31/1...
December 27, 2025 at 12:02 AM
BOTD Elisha Cook Jr!!
MCCT5: 5)Stranger on 3rd Floor (Ingster) 4)Maltese Falcon (Huston) 3)The Killing (Kubrick) 2)Phantom Lady (Siodmak - drumming as sex: youtube.com/watch?v=DMQQ...) 1)Big Sleep (Hawks - key sequence)
More via @counterpunchmedia.bsky.social: www.counterpunch.org/2020/07/31/1...
MCCT5: 5)Stranger on 3rd Floor (Ingster) 4)Maltese Falcon (Huston) 3)The Killing (Kubrick) 2)Phantom Lady (Siodmak - drumming as sex: youtube.com/watch?v=DMQQ...) 1)Big Sleep (Hawks - key sequence)
More via @counterpunchmedia.bsky.social: www.counterpunch.org/2020/07/31/1...
Reposted by Paul Robbins
In what could plausibly represent a Christmas miracle* SFU Geography has two (2) new tenure track hires. One is urban/climate, which I will repost below. The other is a Landscape Ecologist. Please share ... #academicsky
*actually just the good decisions of our new Dean
www.sfu.ca/geography/ab...
*actually just the good decisions of our new Dean
www.sfu.ca/geography/ab...
Assistant Professor of Landscape Ecology
www.sfu.ca
December 24, 2025 at 5:03 PM
In what could plausibly represent a Christmas miracle* SFU Geography has two (2) new tenure track hires. One is urban/climate, which I will repost below. The other is a Landscape Ecologist. Please share ... #academicsky
*actually just the good decisions of our new Dean
www.sfu.ca/geography/ab...
*actually just the good decisions of our new Dean
www.sfu.ca/geography/ab...
Reposted by Paul Robbins
Be our colleague… Hiring an Assistant Prof of Urban Geography & Climate Crisis.
www.sfu.ca/geography/ab...
www.sfu.ca/geography/ab...
Assistant Professor of Urban Geography/Climate Crisis
www.sfu.ca
December 24, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Reposted by Paul Robbins
For the first time in more than a decade, UW–Madison ranks among the top five universities in the U.S. for research expenditures in the National Science Foundation’s latest Higher Education Research and Development Survey. On, Wisconsin!
UW–Madison 5th in national research ranking for first time since 2014, surpasses $1.93B in research expenditures
The annual rankings, which cover fiscal year 2024, "highlight the importance of the decades-long partnership between universities and the federal government," says UW–Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnook...
news.wisc.edu
December 23, 2025 at 7:45 PM
For the first time in more than a decade, UW–Madison ranks among the top five universities in the U.S. for research expenditures in the National Science Foundation’s latest Higher Education Research and Development Survey. On, Wisconsin!
Reposted by Paul Robbins
Really interesting research showing that while ultra-specialization in a single discipline might lead to better results early in one’s career, multi-discipline training and practice pays off big time in the long run. This applies to a range of professions from scientists to athletes and more
Recent discoveries on the acquisition of the highest levels of human performance
Scientists have long debated the origins of exceptional human achievements. This literature review summarizes recent evidence from multiple domains on the acquisition of world-class performance. We re...
www.science.org
December 20, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Really interesting research showing that while ultra-specialization in a single discipline might lead to better results early in one’s career, multi-discipline training and practice pays off big time in the long run. This applies to a range of professions from scientists to athletes and more
Reposted by Paul Robbins
The Trump administration says it will dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research, a cornerstone for American climate and weather science. I went on NPR today to explain what this could mean for climate research.
Listen here:
Listen here:
Trump moves to dismantle a ‘global mothership’ of climate research : Here & Now Anytime
The Trump administration says it will dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research, a cornerstone for American climate and weather science. Katharine Hayhoe, chief scientist at the Nature Co...
www.npr.org
December 19, 2025 at 12:41 AM
The Trump administration says it will dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research, a cornerstone for American climate and weather science. I went on NPR today to explain what this could mean for climate research.
Listen here:
Listen here: