Geologist puts career’s worth of images on Web for educators

A UW–Madison Geology Department Web site features a new educational tool that results from geology professor Lou Maher’s skills in flying and photographing — often at the same time.

While on a sabbatical last fall, Maher digitized more than 300 slides of geologic formations and placed them on the department’s Web site. The slides include aerial photos of Midwest glacial features, floods, tornadoes, Arches National Monument, the Colorado River, Craters of the Moon National Park, Yellowstone National Park, and more. And Maher was at the controls of the plane used to make each photograph.

“It’s nice to have a picture looking down on geological features to sort of set the stage,” says Maher. “You certainly see it in a different way when you fly over it.”

Maher’s interest in flying dates back before his interest in geology. He became fascinated with planes as a child during World War II, and he began to learn how to fly when he was 15 years old. He came to UW–Madison in 1962 after receiving his doctorate and began to integrate his hobby and academic field shortly thereafter.

In 1966, Maher noticed that class sizes were increasing and more focus was being placed on television presentations and small groups. But copyrights on repeated use of film and limited multimedia material in the field of geology made it difficult to teach this way.

“I knew we would be hard pressed to get enough free pictures of the geology we wanted to see,” Maher says.

So, during the spring break of that year, Maher and then graduate student Charles Mansfield flew west to photograph areas of Wyoming and the Black Hills in a light plane that the Geology Department kept at Morey Airport in Middleton.

The professor and the student braved foul weather and fuel concerns, returning in eight days to Madison with 36 rolls of 35mm film and extensive footage on a 16mm camera. Maher still uses many of the photographs and much of the footage in teaching today.

“Looking back, it might have been fun … but at the end of every day we were just beat,” he says.

Since then, Maher has made many other trips in rented light planes, some by himself, and has taken many more aerial photographs. When taking a photograph on a solo trip, Maher must release the controls and lean out the door. The plane “stays steady” because this is built into its design.

“Still, it took a lot of practice and pain in the early trips,” he says.

Maher currently works on photographing more areas and glacial formations in Wisconsin, such as eskers and drumlins, during varying times of year.

“The landscape can look entirely different depending on the season you shoot in,” he says.

Maher says he is happy with the educational impact of his addition to the department Web site. An educator may easily browse the many slides and select what can best be used in a presentation. “For a geologist, it’s just wonderful,” Maher says.

Many teaching assistants already have used the Web site to teach discussion sections in geology classes. Maher’s colleagues around the world also have used the site. It caught national attention in the April 6 issue of Science, and he has received many letters of appreciation.

“I’ve been really touched by that,” he says. “I’ve found that colleagues other places have been so helpful. I’m simply trying to make something I’ve used all my career readily available.”