Category Science & Technology
All hands on deck to understand, predict, prevent abrupt ecological change
“It’s a generally thorny problem and we are often scrambling to react,” says lead principal investigator Monica Turner. “In fact, understanding abrupt change in ecological systems is among the biggest challenges in contemporary ecology.” Read More
Communication and policy the focus of two science festival events
Two mini-symposia held during the Wisconsin Science Festival will teach early career scientists and nonscientists alike the value of sharing research broadly and how science interacts with and influences governmental policies. Read More
A little myelin goes a long way to restore nervous system function
New research shows that in long-lived animals, renewed but thin myelin sheaths are enough to restore impaired nervous systems and can do so for years after the onset of disease. Read More
New course brings storytelling techniques to science
A new course teaches early-career scientists how to communicate their work outside of the lab, and is designed to turn real research into engaging stories, visuals and presentations. Read More
Wisconsin Sea Grant research explores walleye for aquaculture
A two-year research project funded by UW–Madison-based Wisconsin Sea Grant compares the production of walleye, a native Wisconsin fish, and saugeye, a natural hybrid of walleye and sauger, in an aquaculture system. Read More
Learning computer ‘assistant’ can simplify complex chip design challenges
Researcher Zongfu Yu is using the power of machine learning to make the design process more efficient — and in the process, more accurate and cost-effective. Read More
H7N9 influenza is both lethal and transmissible in animal model for flu
“This is the first case of a highly pathogenic avian virus that transmits between ferrets and kills them,” says prominent UW–Madison influenza researcher Yoshihiro Kawaoka. “That’s not good for public health.” Read More
Making sense of bridges loaded with sensors
Vibration data collected from sensors attached to the pedestrian bridge over North Park Street will be analyzed, in hopes of improving monitoring methods for bridges and buildings. Read More
WARF announces annual grant figures and Innovation Award winners
The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation has invested $61.9 million in UW–Madison research for the 2017-18 academic year, and provided $19 million in grants to the Morgridge Institute for Research. Read More
UW-Madison launches data science initiative
“The pace of change in the data science field is extremely rapid, and we think the data science initiative is one very good way to keep UW–Madison research on pace with those changes,” says Associate Vice Chancellor Steve Ackerman. Read More
Fish respond to predator attack by doubling growth rate
“In water, the surviving perch grow twice as fast, because they are smelling something that signals the presence of predators,” says researcher Terence Barry. Read More
New technique could slash energy use in making silicon
A chemistry professor has come up with a more sustainable way to make silicon at much lower temperatures for the kind of advanced batteries used in electronics such as phones, cameras and laptop computers. Read More
UW researchers discover an evolutionary stepping stone to beet-red beets
The new findings can aid beet breeding programs and provide tools and information for scientists studying how to turn tyrosine into its many useful derivatives, which include morphine and vitamin E. Read More
Renowned biochemical engineer Edwin N. Lightfoot passes away
Edwin Lightfoot, Hilldale Professor Emeritus of Chemical Engineering, passed away Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, at age 92. Read More
UW awarded $12.5 million to study astrophysical plasma here on Earth
The new Wisconsin Plasma Physics Laboratory, or WiPPL, will research fundamental properties of plasma in order to better understand our universe, where the hot gas is abundant. Read More
Major NSF-sponsored materials research collaboration receives $15.6M grant
The grant provides six years of funding for the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, where researchers investigate fundamental, large-scale and complex questions in materials science. Read More
UW System researchers played role in Nobel-winning gravitational wave discovery
Today’s announcement of the Nobel Prize in Physics, awarded to researchers Rainer Weiss of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Kip Thorne and Barry Barish of the California Institute of Technology, bears University of Wisconsin System connections. Read More
UW wins $7 million grant to wean crops from nitrogen fertilizers
Researchers from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the University of Florida will use a $7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to study how some plants partner with bacteria to create usable nitrogen and to transfer this ability to the bioenergy crop poplar. Read More
From moon rocks to flash talks, explore 100+ Wisconsin Science Festival events
Now in its seventh year, the festival continues to engage communities in the enterprise of science and discovery and aims to communicate the power of knowledge and creativity, promote innovation and cultivate the next generation of global citizens. Read More
Office of Naval Research awards UW–Madison $6.1 million for computer security research
The result of the project will be better performance, easier management of software, and — perhaps most importantly — enhanced security. Read More