Category Employee News
Wisconsin’s new ‘bug guy,’ insect detective arrives on campus
His favorite insect is one he has actually never seen alive in the wild. It lives on snowfields and glaciers in the American West, aptly named an ice crawler. But PJ Liesch, the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s new “bug guy,” continues to search for it. “I’ve been out West looking for them a couple of times and haven’t had any luck, so they’re kind of one I have on my bucket list, just to see one of those out in the wild,” says Liesch. The insect specialist officially took over as manager of the UW–Madison Insect Diagnostic Lab this summer.
UW-Madison to launch new transportation workforce center
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is launching a new center aimed at bolstering the Midwest transportation industry by providing training and opportunities for more people to pursue careers in transportation.
UW to serve as national hub for mentor training as part of diversity consortium
The University of Wisconsin–Madison will serve as a national hub for research mentor and mentee training for the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) recently announced by NIH as part of a national Diversity Program Consortium. The NIH will award the Diversity Program Consortium nearly $31 million in fiscal year 2014 funds to develop new approaches that engage researchers, including those from backgrounds underrepresented in biomedical sciences, and prepare them to thrive in the NIH-funded workforce.
Spring commencement to remain at Camp Randall in 2015
On a beautiful Saturday last May, 6,000 undergraduates and master’s students celebrated their graduation from the University of Wisconsin–Madison with a crowd estimated at over 44,000 family members and friends at Camp Randall Stadium.
When the isthmus is an island: Madison’s hottest, and coldest, spots
In a new study published this month in the Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers highlight the urban heat island effect in Madison: The city’s concentrated asphalt, brick and concrete lead to higher temperatures than its nonurban surroundings.
Seven receive Fulbright awards for doctoral research
The U.S. Department of Education has awarded grants totaling $306,628 to seven doctoral students at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, through the Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad (DDRA) program.
Professor honored for green chemistry research
University of Wisconsin–Madison chemistry professor Shannon Stahl is one of five scientists nationwide to receive a Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in recognition of his research on using oxygen from the air in chemical reactions.
See-through sensors open new window into the brain
Developing invisible implantable medical sensor arrays, a team of University of Wisconsin–Madison engineers has overcome a major technological hurdle in researchers’ efforts to understand the brain. The team described its technology, which has applications in fields ranging from neuroscience to cardiac care and even contact lenses, in the Oct. 20 issue of the online journal Nature Communications.
UW physicist receives American Ingenuity Award for IceCube effort
Francis Halzen, the University of Wisconsin–Madison physicist who was the driving force behind the giant neutrino telescope known as IceCube at the South Pole, has been named a winner of the 2014 American Ingenuity Award.
UW-Madison chemist named Packard Fellow
Trisha Andrew, a University of Wisconsin–Madison assistant professor of chemistry, is one of 18 early career scientists from around the country named a Packard Fellow for Science and Engineering. The award includes a grant of $875,000 over five years to pursue research and is given in recognition of the potential significance of scholarship and innovation from the nation’s most promising young scientists and engineers.
Climate change alters cast of winter birds
Over the past two decades, the resident communities of birds that attend eastern North America’s backyard bird feeders in winter have quietly been remade, most likely as a result of a warming climate. Writing this week in the journal Global Change Biology, University of Wisconsin–Madison wildlife biologists Benjamin Zuckerberg and Karine Princé document that once rare wintering bird species are now commonplace in the American Northeast.
Newsmaker who called out Microsoft president to speak at UW–Madison
Last week, when Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told women in tech fields to wait to be rewarded rather than ask for raises, he was quietly but forcefully challenged by his interviewer, Maria Klawe. The next day, facing a storm of criticism, Nadella backpedaled, saying by email, “Maria’s advice was the right advice. If you think you deserve a raise, you should just ask.” Klawe, president of Harvey Mudd College will speak Friday at Union South about increasing women’s participation in science and technology careers on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus.
WCER: Five decades of improving teaching and learning
One of the first centers of its kind, the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER) is preparing to celebrate 50 years of educational policy research and initiatives.
To practice mindfulness, start by counting your breaths
It's as simple as breathing in and breathing out.
Highlights start early in four-day Wisconsin Science Festival
You name it, and the fourth annual Wisconsin Science Festival has it all — dance, star-gazing, fossils, art, museum and stage shows — spread over four days and venues in 25 Wisconsin cities. While the curious of all ages are immersed in hands-on exploration, and visitors marvel at the research underway and specimens on display around campus and the state, several of the festival’s marquee events may be of interest to faculty and staff on campus. The festival runs from Thursday through Sunday, Oct. 16-19.