Category Science & Technology
Scientists get to the heart of fool’s gold as a solar material
As the installation of photovoltaic solar cells continues to accelerate, scientists are looking for inexpensive materials beyond the traditional silicon that can efficiently convert sunlight into electricity. Read More
Grad program honored for closing science-society gap
The University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Neuroscience and Public Policy Program was honored by the Society for Neuroscience with the Neuroscience Graduate Program Achievement Award. Read More
Morgridge scientists find way to ‘keep the lights on’ for cell self-renewal
One remarkable quality of pluripotent stem cells is they are immortal in the lab, able to divide and grow indefinitely under the right conditions. It turns out this ability also may exist further down the development path, with the workhorse progenitor cells responsible for creating specific tissues. Read More
New master’s program in energy conservation is first of its kind
A new professional master's program will launch at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in fall 2015 and become the first in the world specifically designed to train analytically minded students to evaluate energy efficiency and other resource-conservation initiatives. Read More
UW team’s plants return to Earth after growing in space
Researchers at Simon Gilroy's lab in the Department of Botany at the University of Wisconsin–Madison expect to greet a truck this afternoon that is carrying small containers holding more than 1,000 frozen plants that germinated and grew aboard the International Space Station. Read More
UW-Madison scientist receives award to save babies, a diaper at a time
She woke up in her hospital room feeling nothing short of desperation. Katie Brenner remembered giving birth to a tiny daughter hours earlier but the doctors and nurses had whisked the preterm infant away for care. She hadn’t seen little Ruthie since. “I want to meet my daughter,” the normally polite Brenner demanded of the hospital staff. Her little girl is now a healthy 6-year-old and for that, Brenner is thankful. But she knows the story ends much differently for too many families. Doing something about it has inspired her scientific career. Read More
They know the drill: UW leads the league in boring through ice sheets
Hollow coring drills designed and managed by UW–Madison’s Ice Drilling Design and Operations (IDDO) program are used to extract ice cores that can analyze the past atmosphere. Shaun Marcott, an assistant professor of geoscience at UW–Madison, was the first author of a paper published today in the journal Nature documenting carbon dioxide in the atmosphere between 23,000 and 9,000 years ago, based on data from an 11,000-foot hole in Antarctica. Read More
Report, experts analyze surging STEM activity at UW–Madison
A recent report on instructional activity in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) disciplines at the University of Wisconsin–Madison shows significant advances in enrollment and degrees since 2000, which campus experts attribute to a number of factors, including job placement, greater career opportunities and enhanced teaching methods. Read More
Plump turtles swim better: First models of swimming animals
For the first time, researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Florida Atlantic University (FAU), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have measured the forces that act on a swimming animal and the energy the animal must expend to move through the water. Read More
WISCIENCE to expand possibilities for science education, outreach
The University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Institute for Biology Education is announcing its expansion to become the Wisconsin Institute for Science Education and Community Engagement, or WISCIENCE. The new mission extends across the natural sciences and expands responsibility for facilitating cross-campus collaboration and coordination in the areas of science outreach and support for groups underrepresented in science. Read More
Engineering alumni honored with Distinguished Achievement Awards
The University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Engineering will honor the achievements of eight distinguished alumni during the 67th annual Engineers’ Day celebration Friday, Oct. 24. Read More
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. Read More
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. Read More
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. Read More
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. Read More
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. Read More
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. Read More
Media Advisory: Newsmaker who called out Microsoft CEO to speak Friday
Maria Klawe, president of Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California, will discuss ways to increase women's participation in science and technology careers on Friday, Oct. 17. Read More
Media Advisory: Coverage opportunities at Wisconsin Science Festival
This tip sheet highlights key events of the 2014 Wisconsin Science Festival, held Oct. 16-19, and opportunities for coverage. All events below will be in the Discovery Building at 330 N. Orchard St. Read More