Category Science & Technology
Gene sequencing advance bolsters biofuels potential
A collaborative research project between the U.S. Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) and the Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute has advanced the quest for efficient conversion of plant biomass to fuels and chemicals. Read More
CALS to celebrate National Landmark Status of old dairy barn
The public is invited to a program on March 28, 2007 at 7:15 p.m. to celebrate the designation of the UW–Madison’s 109-year-old dairy barn as a National Historic Landmark. Read More
UW-Madison engineer to head DOE fusion energy office
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has named a University of Wisconsin–Madison engineering professor to lead its Office of Fusion Energy Science, located within the DOE Office of Science. Read More
Symposium to link stem cell research, public policy
Public policy issues related to human embryonic stem cell research will be the topic of a half-day symposium co-sponsored by the Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the WiCell Research Institute on Friday, March 2. Read More
Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery seed grant winners named
The research program of the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery at the University of Wisconsin–Madison gets underway today (Feb. 21), as officials announce the results of a campus-wide competition for the institutes' Discovery Seed Grants. Read More
National Entrepreneurship Week recognized on campus
The Office of Corporate Relations (OCR) at the University of Wisconsin–Madison is hosting a number of programs for Entrepreneurship Week USA, a national effort to inspire and encourage young people to consider entrepreneurship as a career choice and to celebrate America's unique culture of inventiveness. Read More
Geography professor honored with lifetime achievement award
Longtime University of Wisconsin–Madison geographer Waltraud Brinkmann has been selected as the recipient of the 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Climate Specialty Group of the Association of American Geographers. Read More
Nanoscale packaging could aid delivery of cancer-fighting drugs
A University of Wisconsin–Madison pharmacy professor aims to improve the delivery of cancer-fighting drugs by targeting them more selectively to tumors and boosting their solubility in water. Read More
Hidden gems: New composites are stiffer than diamond
Using a unique combination of barium titanate and tin, University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers have made the first known material that's stiffer than diamond. Read More
Researcher seeks ‘missing piece’ in climate change models
To most people, soil is just dirt. But to microbiologists, it is a veritable zoo of bacteria, fungi and nematodes. It's also a vast carbon dioxide factory. As these microorganisms consume carbon-based materials found in soil, they release carbon dioxide gas into the atmosphere as a normal part of their metabolism. Read More
IceCube telescope construction exceeds season goals
As the austral summer wanes, so does the highly successful 2006-07 work season at the IceCube Neutrino Observatory in Antarctica, which draws to a close Thursday, Feb. 15. Read More
Single-handed fishing kit reels in first place in invention competition
The Adaptive Fishing Kit, a kit that converts a standard fishing rod and reel so people can use it with only one arm, took the top prize and $10,000 in the 2007 Schoofs Prize for Creativity during the Innovation Days idea and invention competition at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Read More
Nanotechnology meets biology and DNA finds its groove
UW-Madison scientists have developed a quick, inexpensive and efficient method to extract single DNA molecules and position them in nanoscale troughs or "slits," where they can be easily analyzed and sequenced. The technique, which according to its developers is simple and scalable, could lead to faster and vastly more efficient sequencing technology in the lab, and may one day help underpin the ability of clinicians to obtain customized DNA profiles of patients. Read More
Study profiles rate of autism in Wisconsin
A Wisconsin autism surveillance project reported today (Feb. 8) that approximately five out of every 1,000 Wisconsin children born in 1994 display symptoms indicative of autism. Read More
Nobelist MacDiarmid was UW–Madison graduate
Nobel laureate chemist Alan G. MacDiarmid, who died Wednesday at the age of 79, was a two-degree graduate of the University of Wisconsin–Madison and was slated to receive an honorary degree from UW–Madison at the spring 2007 commencement. Read More
Second annual Darwin Day coming Saturday
The 198th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth will be celebrated on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2007 on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus. Read More
CALS Dean Molly Jahn: Biosciences can transform state economy
Few people have a better firsthand take on the value of university-industry collaboration than Molly Jahn, the University of Wisconsin–Madison's new dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. Read More