GIS Professional Programs at UW-Madison

How can teachers help fourth graders understand the incredible glacial landscapes they walk through on the Ice Age Trail?

Lisa Siewert, a Geog 778 student in Fall 2025, wondered this and tasked herself with making an interactive experience that could help teachers feel confident when teaching geology and give students a richer connection to the places they explore.

The Educator Geologic Map of the Ice Age Trail succeeds at both. By combining state geologic datasets, custom symbology, and curated descriptions from the book Geology of the Ice Age Trail with intuitive navigation and age-appropriate language and activities, the app makes it easy to connect to the larger glacial history of Wisconsin.

As Lisa notes, “If a fourth grader can look at a hill or a kettle and understand the story behind it, then the map has done its job.”

Learn more about Lisa’s project and 778 here: https://geography.wisc.edu/gis/778-projects/

Wildfire can spread fast, and it’s not always easy to determine where it will go next.

In Fall 2025, 778 student Zhan Shi had this in mind when he created FireScope. This project uses advanced AI techniques to predict potential wildfire spread. By using geospatial data and looking at a combination of wildfire data, weather patterns, and vegetation types, FireScope forecasts a wildfire’s next move. It’s a great example of using GIS as a helpful tool—both for people who might be in a dangerous fire’s path, and for firefighting teams that need to figure out where to focus their efforts.

Explore this project on your own here: https://shijimmy.github.io/FireScope/index.html

Or, learn more about this project and 778 here: https://geography.wisc.edu/gis/778-projects/

Pure Michigan? In a graduate program based in Wisconsin?!?

Thanks to Ethan Westerkamp, a Geog 778 student in Fall 2025, yes! In 778, Ethan created the Michigan State Park Vegetation Application. This interactive website is a naturalist’s dream—with easy-to-navigate access to a database that can tell you which species exist within a selected state park, or which state parks contain a selected species.

Learn more about Ethan’s project and 778 here: https://geography.wisc.edu/gis/778-projects/

We’ve all heard about the potential for a rising sea level. But how do you quantify which demographic and socioeconomic groups are most vulnerable?

In fall 2025, Geog 778 student Leah Bates tackled this scenario by creating an interactive web-mapping application that focuses on Miami-Dade County. By combining NOAA sea level rise scenarios with U.S. Census indicators, Leah’s tool gives community organizations, policymakers, and residents a way to explore not only where flooding is expected to occur, but who is most at risk and why.

Learn more about Leah’s project and 778 here: https://geography.wisc.edu/gis/778-projects/

This month's Map Chat took us on a trip to Denver, Colorado, as Anna Bierbrauer (Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture in the UW–Madison Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture) explained how she used GIS and urban datasets to create an Urban Tree Archive that can be used to glean information about the past.

Thank you, Anna! We'll be dreaming of planting Silver Maples on the High Plains. (Just kidding!)

Missed a Map Chat this year? Catch up via our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/

Alumni update time!

One thing we love about our accelerated master’s program is how it can give mid-career professionals a chance to expand what they’re capable of. In 2018, Abdullah Ameen followed his passion for mapping and joined our program “to develop the technical expertise [he] had always aspired to build.”

Our favorite part of this story? When Abdullah graduated with his master’s degree in cartography & GIS, his son was graduating from high school. (That first pic is them posing together with their diplomas in a 2020-style socially distanced graduation ceremony.) Also pictured: Abdullah at the Esri User Conference, posing with treasured GISPP community member Justin Cole.

Read more about Abdullah and his journey: https://geography.wisc.edu/gis/abdullah-ameen-accelerated-masters-graduate/

Or, check out his website mapsandmathacademy.com, which is chock full of personal projects that hit both very close to home (an interactive map that helps you find the alderman for your district in Madison) and very, very far away (a super cool interactive visualization of the solar system).