2019 Distinguished Teaching Award recipients announced
Ten faculty members have been chosen to receive this year’s Distinguished Teaching Awards, an honor given out since 1953 to recognize the university’s finest educators. The awards will be presented at a public ceremony April 10.
As climate heats up, rising rainfall averages hide crop-killing droughts
Research performed in the Ethiopian highlands shows that even in years with above average rainfall, crops can be severely reduced by drought early in the growing season, when seeds must sprout and get established.
Search for next provost, UW’s chief academic officer, gets underway
The successful candidate will succeed Sarah Mangelsdorf, who will depart at the end of the 2018-19 academic year to assume the presidency of the University of Rochester.
Nominees sought for 2019 Administrative Improvement Award
The award will recognize outstanding administrative work that resulted in improved efficiency, increased revenue channels, cost savings and/or improved service delivery.
With fire, warming and drought, Yellowstone forests could be grassland by mid-century
“It’s terrifying in some ways,” says Monica Turner, who has been researching in Yellowstone for decades. “We are not talking many years away. Today’s college students will be mid-career. It feels like the future is coming at us fast.”
Stem cells: How we got here, where we’re going
This is the first in a series of four videos about stem cell research at UW–Madison: how it started, what it's achieved, and where it's headed. Catch up on what's happened since James Thomson's prescient prediction that stem cells "will change medicine, period."
Students extend winning streak in fashion industry competition
UW–Madison students cleaned up in a prestigious national competition sponsored each year by the YMA Fashion Scholarship Fund — the fashion industry’s premier competition for gifted young designers, merchandisers, retailers and business majors.
UW research instrument returns from 22,000-mile seaward journey
A lab known as SPARCLET, traveled for two months to aid in a study aimed at better understanding how pollutants and turbulent conditions over the Philippine Sea affect the region and influence global weather.
Antarctic ice sheet could suffer a one-two climate punch
Variations in the axial tilt of the Earth have significant implications for the rise and fall of the Antarctic Ice Sheet, which, if melted, would dramatically elevate sea level and alter the world’s coastlines.
Gene-editing tool now being used to develop better antibiotics
Jason Peters and colleagues have repurposed the gene-editing tool CRISPR to study which genes are targeted by particular antibiotics, providing clues on how to improve existing antibiotics or develop new ones.
Immune system’s front-line defense freezes bacteria in their tracks
New research suggests a previously unknown mechanism behind the function of antimicrobial peptides, which are being tested in early-stage clinical trials for treating infections resistant to classical antibiotics.
Website redesign makes human resources information more accessible
All UW–Madison employees are affected by human resources topics such as pay, health benefits, time off, and saving for the future. A redesign of the UW–Madison Office of Human Resources website is now providing information on these topics and more in a user-friendly format.
‘Behind the Canvas’
"Behind the Canvas" explores American artist Jim Dine’s latest contribution to the Chazen Museum of Art’s permanent collection. Dine's four-panel mural exploring and honoring the art of classical antiquity took more than two years to make and crossed the ocean before its eventual installation in Madison. With footage capturing Dine at work in his Paris studio, the film documents the artist’s creative process as well as the transportation and highly technical installation of the work.
Director chosen to manage UW–Madison’s budget
Jennifer Klippel, a highly experienced campus budget leader and analyst, will be responsible for developing and managing UW–Madison’s $3 billion annual budget as director of the Budget Office.
Sambamurthy selected as Wisconsin School of Business dean
Vallabh Sambamurthy, a professor and associate dean at the Broad College of Business at Michigan State University, has been selected as the Albert O. Nicholas Dean of the Wisconsin School of Business.
Ancient gene duplication gave grasses multiple ways to wait out winter
New research provides valuable insight into how winter-adapted grasses gain the ability to flower in spring, which could be helpful for improving crops, like winter wheat, that rely on this process.
Second of two pay adjustments for UW–Madison faculty and staff effective this month
The first 2 percent increase took effect in July 2018. The second 2 percent increase became effective Dec. 23, 2018 for employees paid on an hourly basis and Jan. 1, 2019 for employees paid monthly.
Bortin’s landmark in journalism saw Russia open up
UW–Madison alumna Meg Bortin went from being a non-journalism major to becoming a correspondent and editor at Reuters and the International Herald Tribune. In 1992, she helped found the first independent English language daily newspaper in Russia: The Moscow Times.
Study: Division I college athletes outpace student peers in mental health
The finding is surprising, as previous research examining smaller groups of international, elite or college athletes had offered mixed results on athlete mental health.
NOAA plan to improve weather forecasting includes UW–Madison
Neil Jacobs, assistant secretary of commerce for environmental observation and prediction at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), visited Madison to gather input and lay out a vision to improve U.S. weather forecasts to better meet the needs of society.