UW In The News

UW professor’s fairytales in clay are from then and now

“I gave the (sculptural) piece to a student to fire, because I didn’t even really care” about it, said the German-born Gerit Grimm, who was teaching in California at the time and now heads the ceramics program at UW-Madison.

UW-Madison team helps find remains of U.S. fighter pilot shot down in France during WWII

“This is the culmination of decades of thoughts, wishes to have him have a proper burial,” said Dr. Ryan Wubben, a member of UW-Madison’s Missing in Action Recovery and Identification Project and director of UW Med Flight. “It was an incredibly powerful and meaningful moment.”

U.S. Olympic hockey teams have a Wisconsin flavor

Wisconsin will be well-represented on the other side of the world next month, when the U.S. men’s and women’s hockey teams compete in the Winter Olympics in South Korea.

A 2-Year-Old Chimp Named Betty Died From Common Cold Virus We Didn’t Even Know Chimps Could Catch

Since time immemorial, humans have had a knack for being complete and utter dicks to the other animals we share our planet with. Often, we even manage to screw things up for other species without meaning to. A study published earlier this month in the journal of Emerging Infectious Disease has retroactively uncovered one such incident: That time we gave a town of chimpanzees a cold bug that ultimately left five dead, including an adorable 2-year-old baby named Betty (pictured above).

A Whale Eye Gift Makes For The “Best Christmas Ever”

The end of the year is a time of holiday gift giving, and finding just the right gift can sometimes feel like an impossible task. But folks at an animal eyeball lab say that a gift they’ve just received, partly thanks to NPR, has made this the “best Christmas ever.”

Madison’s tech economy fares well in nationwide survey

Basically, though, keeping the UW-Madison strong is a key element in producing new generations of tech-savvy students and in playing a role in developing new technology, (Jeff) Naughton, the emeritus professor, said.

Oldest fossils ever found suggest life in the universe is common

“The difference in carbon isotope ratios correlate with their shapes,” said John Valley, professor of geoscience at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and co-author of the study. “Their C-13-to-C-12 ratios are characteristic of biology and metabolic function.”

Gaps, Guardrails And The Fast-Advancing Math Of Partisan Gerrymandering

Jordan Ellenberg, a University of Wisconsin-Madison math professor, co-organized one of Duchin’s conferences in Madison in October 2017, and has written a New York Times op-edon the science of gerrymandering. He sees a high efficiency gap as a “red flag.” But he doesn’t see the test as a basis for a constitutional standard that guides when courts can send state legislators back to the drawing board.

Life in the Universe Is Common, Oldest Fossils on Earth Suggest

“The difference in carbon isotope ratios correlate with their shapes,” said John Valley, professor of geoscience at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and co-author of the study. “Their C-13-to-C-12 ratios are characteristic of biology and metabolic function.”

When Is the Best Age for Americans to Claim Social Security?

Noted: In fact, poverty rates accelerate as people reach their early 80s, says Pamela Herd, Professor of Public Affairs & Sociology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. “Some of what’s going on is that people are losing other sources of income,” Herd explains. “So when you hit 85, you may have run through private savings at that point. Social Security becomes your financial lifeline.”

UW-Madison Scientists Help Confirm Oldest Fossils

Some scientists have questioned whether the fossils were just minerals. But researchers from UW-Madison and the University of California, Los Angeles have used a hi-tech device called a secondary mass ion spectrometer (SIMS) to determine the fossils are indeed ancient bacteria and microbes.John Valley. Image courtesy of William Graf/University of Wisconsin-MadisonUW-Madison geology professor John Valley co-led the study.

The Hyperloop Industry Could Make Boring Old Trains and Planes Faster and Comfier

Just look at the work done by Badgerloop, a student-run hyperloop team out of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The group’s maglev design uses Halbach arrays in a novel fashion, says technical director Justin Williams, allowing for passive movement, as opposed to superconducting magnets that require a flow of electricity to work. It could significantly reduce the amount of energy required to propel a levitating train. The team won an innovation award at Elon Musk’s hyperloop competition in January.

Packing picnics for Mars: UW astrobotanist launches seed experiment in space

If humans eventually travel to Mars and beyond, scientists must figure out how to feed them.

UW-Madison Scientists Help Confirm Oldest Fossils

University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists have helped confirm that tiny fossils detected in an Australian rock are the oldest fossils ever found.

Scientists Debate If It’s OK To Make Viruses More Dangerous In The Lab

Virologist Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, whose lab did one of the flu experiments that caused such controversy, said his work convinced government agencies that they needed to spend the money to replenish the emergency vaccines that have been stockpiled for this particular bird flu virus, because it does indeed seem capable of mutating in ways that could start a pandemic. “This information is important for policymakers,” he said, adding that such experiments allow scientists “to obtain information that we could not obtain by other methods unless it actually occurred in nature.”

Stunning Fossil Discovery Proves Life on Earth Began At Least 3.5 Billion Years Ago

“People are really interested in when life on Earth first emerged,” John W. Valley, a professor of geoscience at University of Wisconsin-Madison and author on the study told said in a statement. “This study was 10 times more time-consuming and more difficult than I first imagined, but it came to fruition because of many dedicated people who have been excited about this since day one … I think a lot more microfossil analyses will be made on samples of Earth and possibly from other planetary bodies.”

Donors pledge up to $20 million for faculty support, student scholarships at UW-Madison

UW-Madison could receive another $20 million for student scholarships and faculty support thanks to mega-donors John and Tashia Morgridge.

Can the International Criminal Court Be Saved From Itself?

Last month, the International Criminal Court opened two investigations, including a sensitive one in Afghanistan, and a call has been made to allow it to intervene in Myanmar. But such a flurry of announcements mainly testifies to the impasse at which the court finds itself.

–Thierry Cruvellier is the author of “Court of Remorse: Inside the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda” and “Master of Confessions: The Making of a Khmer Rouge Torturer,” and a visiting professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison

Review: A New Astronomy Through ‘The Telescope in the Ice’

To the PI, failure is the albatross that hangs around one’s professional neck. The PI in this case is Francis Halzen, of the University of Wisconsin, an “oracular” presence, Mr. Bowen tells us, whose formidable intellect gushes forth in scientific forums: “Ideas splashed across his mind so fast that his mouth couldn’t keep up.”

Secret Link Uncovered Between Pure Math and Physics

“There are not many techniques, even though we’ve been working on this for 3,000 years. So whenever anyone comes up with an authentically new way to do things it’s a big deal, and Minhyong did that,” said Jordan Ellenberg, a mathematician at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Madison bike-sharing program grows as industry changes

The industry’s economic side is “where all the questions are these days,” said Hart Posen, a University of Wisconsin-Madison associate professor of business who tracks sharing economies. It’s still too early to know whether bike-sharing businesses can be profitable, Posen said.

77-year-old UW-Madison graduate participates in commencement ceremony 50 years later

More than 1,100 UW-Madison students walked across the stage to pick up their diplomas at Sunday’s commencement ceremony. But for one student, that moment was 50 years in the making.

The hunt for a future killer

One morning seven years ago, Tony Goldberg was working in the tropical forests of Uganda’s Kibale National Park, when a colleague arrived at his research station with two students in tow. They were searching for bats. Goldberg, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of epidemiology, had been visiting the station for several years, long enough to have noticed the jet-black figures that fluttered away from the kitchen building whenever he disturbed their daytime sleep.

Reading a Story With Unnamed Sources

But two journalism experts we interviewed said if unnamed sources are used too frequently or unnecessarily, journalists risk losing the trust of audiences. Kathleen Culver, director of the Center for Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison told us stories targeting President Donald Trump’s inner circle that deal in “palace intrigue” and utilize unnamed sources to tell lurid tales of strife within the White House may be wearing on readers’ credulity for such stories.

For the Love of Black Boys: Derrick Barnes and His Ode to the Fresh Cut

Derrick Barnes: The Cooperative Children’s Book Center School of Education at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, puts out a staggering report on the dearth of characters of color in children’s books every year. There has been a gradual increase in books written by and about black people. I love that. But there needs to be diversity on all levels of publishing.

Cichy: A Badger for Life

The most incredible and uplifting and inspiring football season of my life began in a way that I would’ve never expected. It started with a scream.

UW graduate returns for commencement – 50 years later

After earning his doctorate in agricultural economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Luciano Barraza could not stick around for graduation ceremonies.

Doctor launches podcast in father’s honor, a new resource for Alzheimer’s disease

Dr. Chin is a University of Wisconsin Health Geriatrician who works with the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center on the new podcast “Dementia Matters.”It’s a podcast that offers basic information about Alzheimer’s disease.

UW-Madison Grad Celebrates Degree 50 Years Later

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is recognizing one graduate 50 years after he received his degree.

Badger alum created first working transistor 70 years ago

If you’re reading this story on a cell phone, tablet or laptop, the technology in your hand is thanks to the University of Wisconsin alum’s startling invention 70 years ago Saturday.