Category Employee News
Compact UV lasers could identify substances from a distance
For soldiers in the field, the ability to identify an object or substance based on how it responds to light could mean the difference between life and death. They could, for example, determine from a safe distance if an approaching person or vehicle is carrying an explosive device or dangerous biological agent.
Changes in land use, climate and agriculture undermine efforts to clean up Madison lakes
Efforts to clean up the Madison lakes are being hampered by more asphalt, row crops and intense rainstorms and higher manure concentrations on the landscape, according to a new study from the Water Sustainability and Climate project at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Two UW–Madison alumni honored as inspirational leaders by Heinz Awards
When a 7.0 magnitude earthquake rocked Haiti in January 2010, former Marine and 2005 UW–Madison graduate Jacob Wood, along with fellow veteran William McNulty, assembled a rapid-response team to provide aid. Their success gave rise to Team Rubicon, an organization of volunteer veterans armed with a new mission: providing swift and effective disaster relief.
UW-Madison offering Shakespeare MOOC
On April 26, on the heels of William Shakespeare’s birthday, the University of Wisconsin–Madison will launch its third free Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) of 2015, “Shakespeare in Community,” to an audience of more than 12,700 enrolled participants.
In Sierra Leone, a chance to learn from Ebola
When Yoshihiro Kawaoka and members of his research team first arrived in Sierra Leone in December 2014, the consistent wail of ambulance sirens was a frightening reminder that the Ebola virus was there, too.
Technology, film underscore 17th annual Undergraduate Symposium
The lights dimmed in Union South’s Marquee Theater Thursday afternoon, but it wasn’t for a feature-length movie screening. This year’s Undergraduate Symposium, the annual showcase event for undergraduate research, was the first to feature film shorts as part of its lineup of presentations.
UW-Madison expert on infant learning elected to American Academy
Jenny Saffran, a University of Wisconsin–Madison professor of psychology and an expert on how infants learn, is among leaders in academia, business, public affairs and the arts elected to membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, it was announced today (April 22, 2015).
Wisconsin contributions helped Hubble Space Telescope soar
It was “the flea on the tail of the dog.” Roughly 30 years ago, that was how University of Wisconsin–Madison astronomy Professor Robert C. Bless described the High Speed Photometer (HSP), a detector then under development at UW–Madison for the soon-to-be-launched Hubble Space Telescope.
WARF grants to showcase innovation
As part of its 90th anniversary celebration, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) is funding up to five projects that best fete UW–Madison’s legacy of innovation.
Messing named director of Waisman Center
Albee Messing, a University of Wisconsin–Madison professor of comparative biosciences and an international leader in research on Alexander disease, has been named director of the Waisman Center, UW–Madison School of Medicine and Public Health Dean Robert Golden announced April 14.
UW launches new performance management policy and program
As part of the new HR Design structure (and as described in the HR Design Strategic Plan), the Office of Human Resources (OHR) is rolling out a new performance management policy and best practices program. Implementation will begin in July 2015, and full compliance is expected across campus by July 2016.
Deep national history of immigration predicts wide cultural comfort displaying emotion
People who live in countries built on centuries of migration from a wide range of other countries are more emotionally expressive than people in more insular cultures, according to research led by University of Wisconsin–Madison psychology Professor Paula Niedenthal.
‘My Earth’ energy-tracking app encourages sustainable behaviors
For a generation motivated by technology and fast-moving information, a professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison has created an energy-tracking app to make reducing day-to-day energy usage more accessible.
Better battery imaging paves way for renewable energy future
In a move that could improve the energy storage of everything from portable electronics to electric microgrids, University of Wisconsin–Madison and Brookhaven National Laboratory researchers have developed a novel X-ray imaging technique to visualize and study the electrochemical reactions in lithium-ion rechargeable batteries containing a new type of material, iron fluoride.
Cramer named director of Morgridge Center for Public Service
Kathy Cramer, a professor in the Department of Political Science and longtime active proponent of civic engagement and outreach at UW–Madison, has been named permanent director of the Morgridge Center for Public Service.
Eight UW–Madison student services professionals win SPA awards
Alberta Gloria is a passionate professor of counseling psychology and chair of the Chican@/Latin@ Studies Program at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She walks alongside her students each step of the way, creating an academic "family" that roots them in a cultural and academic context while pressing them to look at the bigger picture.
Patent office director offers views on intellectual property, diversity
The director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office spent Wednesday conversing with the UW–Madison community about the opportunities and challenges of intellectual property protection.
Go Big Read selects ‘Just Mercy’ for 2015-16
Archbishop Desmond Tutu calls Bryan Stevenson “America’s Mandela.” Stevenson has spent his career fighting for racial justice and wants his fellow Americans to realize that something is inherently wrong with the land of the free and the home of the brave having the highest incarceration rate in the world.
Stem Cell Symposium to focus on tissue engineering, limb regeneration
Limb regeneration, stem cells, limb development, tissue engineering: These will be the focus of the 10th Annual Wisconsin Stem Cell Symposium on Wednesday, April 22, hosted by the University of Wisconsin–Madison Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center and the BioPharmaceutical Technology Center Institute (BTCI).