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Bascom Hall as seen through a glass sphere in the snow

Moments in Time 2019: Photographers’ Choice

PHOTO GALLERY

Look into our crystal ball and see … the past. As 2019 dawned, Bucky anticipated a blustery winter ahead but could not have foreseen all of the magical Moments in Time to come. These are some of the most photogenic moments University Communications photographers Jeff Miller and Bryce Richter preserved during the year gone by. We hope you enjoy their annual portrayal of the beauty, intrigue and whimsy of the UW–Madison campus.

Photos by Jeff Miller and Bryce Richter | Text by Bill Graf

A professor and four students stand outside on a cold winter day, preparing to launch a weather balloon.
1. How cold was it? Here’s one way to find out. Professor of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Grant Petty launches a helium-filled weather balloon to measure conditions miles above frozen Lake Mendota, where the surface temperature is 24 below. Photo by Photo by Jeff Miller
A student sleds down Observatory Hill, covered deep in snow, on a cafeteria tray.
2. Those hills we love to hate do come in handy after a fresh snow, as student Jennifer Chandler discovers sliding down Observatory Hill. Photo by Photo by Bryce Richter
The tip of the Statue of Liberty is shown on wintery Lake Mendota, looking as if the majority of it had sunk through the ice.
3. Was Lady Liberty a victim of thin ice? That’s the legend. First installed by the Pail & Shovel student pranksters of the 1970s, the statue — now an inflatable icon meant to return annually — goes for a chilly dip in Lake Mendota, or so it appears. Photo by Photo by: Jeff Miller
Top-down view of a student using a tablet and a calculator while studying in the Education Building.
4. O.K., enough with the winter frolicking. This student finds that a table inside the Education Building is the perfect place to study — unless you don’t like curious onlookers peeking at your answers from above. Photo by Photo by Bryce Richter
A student studying notes in the Wisconsin School of Business Library.
5. Insulated from the frigid temperatures outdoors, the cozy confines of Grainger Hall are also a good place to hit the books (or the keyboard). Photo by Photo by Jeff Miller
The view from a Cessna prop-wing airplane looking down on a snow-covered campus.
6. You think campus feels cold? It looks even colder in this aerial view from a Cessna airplane looking southward from Observatory Drive at Charter Street, at center, with Muir Woods, the Sewell Social Sciences Building, Waters Residence Hall and Observatory Hill lining the street. The scene extends from the Southeast neighborhood residence halls at upper left to Camp Randall Stadium at upper right. Photo by Photo by Jeff Miller
Six organizing members of the 1969 Black Student Strike sit on stage during a panel discussion titled "A Recollection of the 1969 Black Student Strike," in the Play Circle Theater at the Memorial Union.
7. The university comes to terms with a difficult time on campus on the 50th anniversary of the 1969 Black Student Strike. Here, organizing members of the protest participate in a recollection at the Memorial Union, and ponder the strike’s relevance today. Photo by Photo by Bryce Richter
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers and Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes stop for an impromptu photo with middle school students visiting from Fort Atkinson.
8. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (center) and Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (far left) make a discovery in the Discovery Building: a group of middle school students visiting campus from Fort Atkinson. Photo by Photo by Jeff Miller
Badger fans cheer as Wisconsin hockey player Annie Pankowski scores and celebrates.
9. Well on their way to the summit of women’s collegiate hockey, the Badgers defeat Syracuse at LaBahn Arena, with forward Annie Pankowski (19) scoring two goals, to advance to the NCAA Frozen Four in Connecticut. Photo by Photo by Jeff Miller
Members of the UW women's hockey team watch an introductory video highlighting their championship season in the tunnel before taking the stage during a national championship celebration event at the Kohl Center.
10. Having achieved the national title, members of the team are about to step out of the shadows and into the limelight for a raucous Kohl Center welcome home, as video highlights of their unforgettable championship season are played for the crowd. Photo by Photo by Bryce Richter
A middle school student primes a water rocket pump as two UW students watch, awaiting the rocket’s launch.
11. Yes, it is rocket science. At left, visiting 10-year-old student Melanie Reff launches her water rocket during an Engineering Expo activity on Engineering Mall as part of the university’s three-day Science Expeditions program. Photo by Photo by Jeff Miller
A pediatrician at UW Children’s hospital reacts as an 11-year-old cancer patient colors his hair green.
12. Pediatrician David Margolis lets an 11-year-old cancer patient paint his hair green. Why? Because the UW–Madison alumnus is a Milwaukee Bucks superfan heading off to a game. And because giving the children he treats something fun to do brings them — and him — joy. Photo by Photo by Jeff Miller
His face full of emotion, band director Mike Leckrone ends the 45th annual and his final UW Varsity Band Spring Concert.
13. This year's Varsity Band Spring Concert, entitled "Moments of Happiness," caps band director Mike Leckrone's storied 50-year career at UW–Madison. Leckrone retires as band director at the end of the academic year. What will he ever do with that closetful of glitter? Photo by Photo by Jeff Miller
With flurries falling, runners – one wearing shorts – approach Observatory Drive Hill during the Crazylegs Classic race held each April.
14. Oops, not quite done with winter yet, as late-spring snow flurries fall near Science Hall and Observatory Drive during the 38th annual Crazylegs Classic. More than 10,000 people participated in the run, wheelchair and walk event. Photo by Photo by Jeff Miller
Five students play a game of basketball on the Sellery Residence Hall court during a warm spring day.
15. And suddenly, it’s spring again — a perfect day for shirts vs. skins on the basketball court at Sellery Residence Hall. Quick, somebody get those guys some sunblock. Photo by Photo by Bryce Richter
A student pitches the ball to a friend in a game of cricket on the marching band practice field.
16. If basketball isn’t your game, how about a pickup game of cricket? It’s usually played with teams of 11, but this batsman and bowler and a few friends made do on the marching band practice field in the west campus area. Photo by Photo by Jeff Miller
Two graduate students sample food made during a Cooking with Insects workshop.
17. Speaking of cricket, can you guess what’s being served in this campus kitchen? These adventurous eaters, graduate students Zachary Zalewski and Victoria Lason, chow down at a Cooking with Insects workshop — shocking to us, maybe, but common in parts of the world where bugs are a major source of protein. Photo by Photo by Jeff Miller
UW students and pedestrians enjoy a warm spring day near the fountain on Library Mall.
18. If you identified this as Hagenah Fountain, a Library Mall landmark named in honor of 1903 graduate William Hagenah, you win the Moments in Time trivia contest. Call it what you want, it’s a welcome sign of spring on campus. Photo by Photo by Bryce Richter
Graduates from the School of Veterinary Medicine sing Varsity while holding inflated red medical gloves during UW–Madison's spring commencement ceremony at the Kohl Center.
19. Spring commencement for doctoral, MFA and medical degree candidates at the Kohl Center. You’d think if these veterinary medicine grads wanted inflatable props, they would be balloon animals. Look closer and you’ll see they’re not. Photo by Photo by Jeff Miller
A UW graduate student gets a kiss from his girlfriend before UW–Madison’s spring commencement ceremony starts.
20. Commencement for the rest of the Class of 2019 was the next day at Camp Randall, attended by bachelor’s, master’s and law student degree candidates. Graduate Evan Lallensack and his girlfriend make it a moment to remember. Photo by Photo by Bryce Richter
An art conservator uses a toothbrush and water to carefully clean a mosaic tile mural.
21. Installed in 1963, the mosaic "Man – Creator of Order and Disorder" by celebrated UW muralist James Watrous is painstakingly but lovingly restored, one tile at a time, by art conservator Cricket (no relation to the game or the bug) Harbeck in the Sewell Social Sciences Building. Photo by Photo by Bryce Richter
Three flags are shown flying over the East wing of the Wisconsin State Capitol: the US flag, the Wisconsin State flag, and the LGBTQ pride flag.
22. For the first time in state history, the rainbow-colored pride flag was raised over the State Capitol on June 7. Gov. Tony Evers ordered it to be flown along with the American and Wisconsin flags in observance of LGBTQ Pride Month. Photo by Photo by Jeff Miller
Kim Phúc, known around the world as “Napalm Girl”, is pictured with the Associated Press photographer, Nick Ut, who took the famous photo.
23. Known as “Napalm Girl," survivor Kim Phúc and Nick Ut, the photographer who made the horrifying, Pulitzer Prize-winning photo of the then 9-year-old Phúc during the Vietnam War, share their stories during a “Celebration of Peace and Mindfulness.” Photo by Photo by Jeff Miller
Aaron Bird Bear, the assistant dean for Student Diversity Programs, helps a young girl create a crayon rubbing on paper during a heritage marker dedication ceremony.
24. The university acknowledges that UW–Madison occupies ancestral Ho-Chunk land by erecting the “Our Shared Future” plaque, from which Demetria Abangan-Brown Eagle creates a crayon rubbing with the help of Director of Tribal Relations Aaron Bird Bear, on Bascom Hill. Photo by Photo by Bryce Richter
Ankur Desai, professor of atmospheric and oceanic sciences, is shown outdoors with the WLEF-TV Broadcast Tower in Park Falls, Wis., behind him.
25. Ankur Desai collects atmospheric data in northern Wisconsin. It’s part of the professor’s Chequamegon Heterogeneous Ecosystem Energy-balance Study Enabled by a High-density Extensive Array of Detectors — CHEESEHEAD, for short. Now that’s a mouthful. Photo by Photo by Jeff Miller
Seen in a silhouette, a pair of participants ride the “Giant Swing” at the Adventure Learning Programs (ALPs) ropes course.
26. They’re called “Adventure Learning Programs” for a reason. A challenging ropes course = adventure; testing your limits and building community = learning. Located in Stoughton and operated by the student group ALPs, one participant calls it “very terrifying … but way cool.” Photo by Photo by Jeff Miller
Cheering soccer fans fill the Memorial Union Rathskeller to watch a live-broadcast of the Women's World Cup final. USA player Rose Lavelle, a former Wisconsin Badger soccer athlete and UW-Madison alumnae, appears on the big screen.
27. Soccer sensation Rose Lavelle, a UW alumna and the sport’s newest superstar, scores a goal against the Netherlands in the Women's World Cup in July as fans here watch a live broadcast in the Rathskeller. The U.S. team goes on to claim its fourth world title. Photo by Photo by Jeff Miller
An open door to house fellow's room provides a calm welcome to new students as they move into Witte Residence Hall.
28. You found Waldo, now where’s Rebekah? New students moving into Witte Residence Hall can follow the signs to easily track down house fellow Rebekah Pulido, who is helping out on this day as a Badger Buddy. Photo by Photo by Jeff Miller
Student comments – written in response to the prompt "How will you rock your semester?" – cover a whiteboard.
29. “How will you rock your semester?” students are asked from this whiteboard on East Campus Mall during Wisconsin Welcome week. Their responses — from “stay organized” and “get more involved” to “play music” and “dance hard, study hard” — are worthy goals for anyone. Photo by Photo by Jeff Miller
Graduate students work with a robot in the Wisconsin Human-Computer Interaction Lab.
30. What just might be the cutest robot ever intrigues Andrew Schoen (left) and David Porfirio, graduate students in the lab of Associate Professor Bilge Mutlu. The lab focuses on how humans interact with their automated counterparts. Photo by Photo by Bryce Richter
Corey Pompey raises his arms up to introduce himself to the crowd during the Badger Bash pregame tailgate at Union South.
31. New traditions begin as Corey Pompey, UW–Madison’s incoming associate director of bands and director of the Marching Band, introduces himself to the crowd during the Badger Bash before the Wisconsin vs. Central Michigan football game in September. Photo by Photo by Bryce Richter
New band director Corey Pompey conducts the UW Marching Band.
32. We would say Mike Leckrone passed the baton to Corey Pompey, except that Pompey doesn’t use a baton. Conducting with such enthusiasm and energy, he hardly needs one. Photo by Photo by Jeff Miller
UW Marching Band members form a human pyramid on the football field at Camp Randall during a time out.
33. Fun, teamwork and endurance — not to mention balance — form a strong foundation that the Marching Band members carry onto the field at Camp Randall Stadium. Photo by Photo by Jeff Miller
Bucky Badger uses an air-pressurized cannon to fire free t-shirts into the student-fan section during a football game at Camp Randall.
34. Bucky Badger finds that the most efficient way to get t-shirts into the student section is this air-pressurized cannon. We’re hoping the hotdog vendors will not follow suit. Photo by Photo by Jeff Miller
A student memorializes his godmother by writing her name on a small US flag on September 11.
35. In a sign of respect and unity, American flags are placed on Bascom Hill by the College Democrats, College Republicans and the student organization VETS on Sept. 11. A participant memorializes his godmother, who perished at the World Trade Center, on one of the flags. Photo by Photo by Bryce Richter
A scarecrow is surrounded by a garden of corn.
36. A scarecrow keeps watch over the Three Sisters Garden at the UW Arboretum, planted by Madison area tribal communities. The “three sisters” are the three main agricultural crops of many Native American tribes: corn, beans and squash. Photo by Photo by Bryce Richter
A student displays a handful of seeds.
37. One of the activities during Family Weekend is gathering seeds from native prairie plants in the Biocore Prairie of the Lakeshore Nature Preserve. The prairie is a site for lab courses, service learning, and collaborative research and teaching. Photo by Photo by Bryce Richter
A family comprised of two veterans and two young children stop at a resource table at a Veteran Services Welcome Event.
38. The Whaley family learns about resources available to military veterans during a Veteran Services welcome event at Dejope Residence Hall. Mirana Whaley is a Navy veteran; her husband is an Army veteran. Nearly 900 UW–Madison students are veterans or are currently serving in the military. Photo by Photo by Jeff Miller
Members of the audience applaud at the end of a welcome and student collage concert held in the Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall.
39. A much-anticipated cultural landmark, the acoustically advanced Hamel Music Center opens to capacity crowds. It’s hard to tell who is more thrilled about this performance in the Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall — the audience or the musicians. Photo by Photo by Bryce Richter
Two students model a sheet of orange polystyrene material containing their custom-made masks.
40. Couldn’t find a spooky enough Halloween costume? Then you should’ve dropped by the Thermoforming Halloween Masks workshop at the UW Makerspace in Wendt Library. Two students model a sheet of plastic that will be trimmed into custom-made masks. Photo by Photo by Jeff Miller
Students play a game of volleyball at the sand court near the lakeshore neighborhood residence halls.
41. Volleyball in the fall, at this outdoor sand court near the Lakeshore neighborhood residence halls, is more scenic than the players realize. They’re just trying to keep from losing the ball in the sun. Photo by Photo by Bryce Richter
Members of the Men’s Crew team paddle by during an autumn rowing practice on Lake Mendota.
42. You wouldn’t know it from this photo, but it snowed the night before. By this afternoon, a lingering nip in the air doesn’t deter a Men’s Rowing practice on Lake Mendota. In November, the team will dominate the field at the Bald Eagle Invitational in Indianapolis, taking home several first place victories. Photo by Photo by Jeff Miller
A student reads in a hammock, with colorful fall foliage behind her.
43. Students now have a new place on campus to hang out: an official hammock garden along the Howard Temin Lakeshore Path. It’s not just for relaxation — serious studying goes on here, as you can see. Photo by Photo by Bryce Richter
A pedestrian walks by a fall-colored tree with bright yellow and orange leaves during an early-season snowstorm.
44. Then suddenly, wham! An autumn snowstorm hammers campus before the trees even have a chance to drop their colorful leaves. Adding white to the familiar palette of fall colors turns out to be an inspired choice, with unexpectedly beautiful views resulting. Photo by Photo by Bryce Richter
A University Housing food delivery robot travels down the sidewalk during an early-season snowstorm.
45. No, this is not an escapee from the robotics lab. It’s one of 30 food delivery robots deployed by University Housing to carry hot meals from dining halls to students, faculty and staff across campus. The curious-looking carts become instant celebrities. Photo by Photo by Bryce Richter
Grainger Hall is pictured as the sun sets.
46. The UW–Madison campus, undeniably picturesque by day, positively glistens at night. This is Grainger Hall, on the corner of University Avenue and North Park Street, at dusk in December. Photo by Photo by Bryce Richter
Chemistry Professor Bassam Shakhashiri performs a chemistry experiment which results in a balloon popping in a fiery explosion.
47. What began as a holiday treat for freshman chemistry students has turned into a 50-year tradition. Professor Bassam Shakhashiri’s “Once Upon a Christmas Cheery in the Lab of Shakhashiri” plays to packed houses, delighting crowds with amazing experiments. Photo by Photo by Jeff Miller
Two UW Badger Volleyball players block the ball from going over the net.
48. Setter Sydney Hilley (2) and middle blocker Dana Rettke (16) block the ball at the net line as the Badger volleyball team sweeps UCLA during the second-round of NCAA Division 1 championship play at the Field House. The win advanced UW to the tournament’s Sweet 16; the team competes in the semifinals Thursday. Photo by Photo by Jeff Miller
Welders are shown working in a tunnel.
49. Are we boring you? Yes, if you’re Bascom Hill. A bore head and hydraulic machinery are used to excavate a 9’8”-diameter, 640-linear-foot tunnel from Bascom Hall to South Hall and Lathrop Hall to replace aging utility connections. Here, welders install an intermediate jacking station as the big dig proceeds. Photo by Photo by Jeff Miller
The Student commencement speaker, Lisa Kamal, points to the audience while closing her remarks in song.
50. Student speaker Lisa Kamal begins and ends her remarks in song during winter commencement at the Kohl Center. As a coping mechanism during tough times, she came to rely on the soundtrack to the Broadway musical “Hamilton.” Photo by Photo by Bryce Richter

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