UW In The News

Mathematician talks about odds of winning Powerball jackpot

Laura Albert McLay is an associate professor of engineering and an expert on mathematical modeling and analytics at the University of Wisconsin. She talks about the chances of winning the Powerball jackpot on Live at Four.

What to do if you win the record Powerball Jackpot

Quoted: UW-Madison associate business professor Justin Sydnor says while it’s fun to imagine yourself buying a yacht or a new house, the first thing you should do after winning a lottery of any amount is hire a financial adviser and a lawyer, then pay off any outstanding debts.

Madworks Seed Accelerator accepts applications for start-up training class in Madison

Madworks Seed Accelerator, which operates in the heart of the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, has begun taking applications for its sixth start-up training class.

Thanks to satellite data, scientists have finally figured out why Greenland’s ice sheet is melting

Greenland’s vast ice sheet continues to melt, and thanks to two recently-launched satellites we’re beginning to understand why it’s happening so quickly. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison believe increased cloud cover over the ice sheet itself may be to blame for up to a third of the ice melt that is occurring, a new study indicates.

Seeing stars…and more

In the basement of the Villager Shopping Center on Madison’s south side, eight children are hard at work trying to pick up tiny candy insects and other familiar small sweets meant to mimic seeds. They are wielding popsicle sticks banded together like tweezers to simulate bird beaks.

Raised voices

Dr. Seth Dailey knows it’s hard to underestimate the power of  voice. “Think about the number of people you make judgments about based on their voice,” says Dailey, a UW-Madison surgeon who specializes in vocal disorders. “We do it all the time. It’s part of the perceptual package. It affects how people can do their jobs with altered voice production. Vocal issues are more important than ever before in human history.”

Madison365: UW-Madison targets achievement gap with scholarships – WORT 89.9 FM

Students of color attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison find themselves in a setting that is racially homogeneous, despite efforts by the institution to attract and retain more diverse faculty and incoming classes. Madison365 contributor Alexandria Mason reported on several scholarships the university offers to provide support for students from underrepresented groups.

Wisconsin researchers land $5 million grant for study of state epilepsy patients

Researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin and University of Wisconsin-Madison have won a four-year, $5 million federal grant to study the brain networks of epilepsy patients. Their study, called the Epilepsy Connectome Project, will involve state-of-the-art brain imaging of about 200 adult temporal lobe epilepsy patients from across the state.

Future of fetal tissue bill uncertain in Wisconsin Senate

As anti-abortion advocates put pressure on Wisconsin lawmakers to pass a bill banning research on aborted fetal tissue, a top Senate Republican says it’s uncertain whether it will be brought to the Senate floor by the end of the legislative session.

Top artisan butchers hope their best work passes the ultimate test

When persnickety German customs agents kept saying “baloney” to American artisan butchers trying to get their best cured meats to Frankfurt for a prestigious competition, event organizers answered the challenge by creating a satellite event in Madison.

On Campus: Professor says ‘Making a Murderer’ shows justice system flaws beyond Steven Avery case

The UW-Madison law professor who helped free Steven Avery after a wrongful conviction in the 1980s says “Making a Murderer,” the Netflix documentary about his 2007 homicide trial, illustrates problems in the criminal justice system that affect many cases beyond Avery’s.

Hunt for Ebola’s wild hideout takes off as epidemic wanes

Quoted: Tony Goldberg, an epidemiologist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, is one such advocate. He no longer subscribes to the view that “we have to blanket the continent of Africa with field-deployable DNA sequencers and sample everything that crawls, flies or swims and eventually we’ll come across it. I used to think that way,” he says, “but I’m cooling off to that approach.”

The Trouble With Talking Toys

Quoted: “Personally, I think it’s quite problematic,” Heather Kirkorian says of the potentially misleading claims by toymakers. She studies child development at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and thinks Sosa has put her finger on a troubling trend.

Biosecurity board grapples with how to rein in risky flu studies

BETHESDA, MARYLAND—Fuzzy definitions, deep disagreement about risks and benefits, and an unfortunate acronym: All bedeviled an expert panel as it met here last week to examine whether the United States should fund certain risky pathogen experiments. Researchers largely praised a massive, recently released risk assessment of so-called gain-of-function (GOF) research, and a draft plan for reviewing the riskiest studies. Many had concerns about the details, however, and the meeting provided little clarity on one key issue: if and when the U.S. government will decide whether to lift a now 15-month-old moratorium on a handful of U.S.-funded virology experiments.

Blue Sky Science: Can stem cells be used to repair brain damage…

Q – Can stem cells be used to repair brain damage or help someone with Alzheimer’s, dementia or Parkinson’s?— Kate Krueger, 47, Madison

A – The simple answer to the question is yes. It is possible to regenerate parts of the brain with stem cells, just like we can in other organs.

Badgers legend Krumrie elected to College Football Hall of Fame

Tim Krumrie’s long wait is finally over. Some 24 years after becoming eligible for the game’s highest honor, the man who set the standard for defensive players at the University of Wisconsin is set to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Krumrie’s election became official Friday with the National Football Foundation’s announcement of the 16 members — 14 players and two coaches — that comprise the College Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2016.

Debut novel questions whether soldiers ever truly come home

Late in “A Hard and Heavy Thing,” University of Wisconsin-Madison law student Matthew J. Hefti’s debut novel, Levi Hartwig is drinking with his dad in a bar, more than a year after returning from stints as a soldier in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Start-up companies are fueling new jobs in Wisconsin, according to new study

Companies less than a year old accounted for all of Wisconsin’s net new job creation in 2012, according to a new study conducted by two University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers.

Is filing a patent worthwhile?

Quoted: File your patent early or opt for secrecy. Martin Ganco, associate professor of management and human resources at the Wisconsin School of Business, advises, “A small-business owner should consider filing a patent as early as they have a patentable technology. It can be in the early stages. It is a common mistake to think that a fully functioning prototype is needed to apply for a patent. In rare cases, if the patent provides weak protection, it may be better to opt for not patenting and opt instead for secrecy.”

2015: The Year in Visual Stories and Graphics

Top story – Japan’s New Satellite Captures an Image of Earth Every 10 Minutes – features imagery from Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies.

UW involved in large study on the genetics of blindness

An international study involving 26 centers around the world has produced a more detailed picture of the genetic factors involved in age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in the elderly. The University of Wisconsin-Madison was one of the 26 centers involved in the study which was just published in the journal Nature Genetics.

After state budget cut, energy research hub awarded $3.5 million grant

The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation will provide $3.5 million to fill a budget hole and help a hub for energy research keep operating at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Funding for the Wisconsin Energy Institute had been cut in the state budget lawmakers approved this summer. Gov. Scott Walker removed the funding as part of a proposal to cut back state support for the university system and give it more autonomy.

The Importance Of Reading Fiction In School

Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson speaks with University of Wisconsin-Madison education professor Gay Ivey about the importance of teaching fiction to kids, and what they learn from it that they can’t get elsewhere.

Wisconsin Lifts Ill Baby Crane Back to Health

University of Wisconsin veterinary staff have bid farewell to a young sandhill crane they saved from possible death.The crane, then a sick baby, was spotted in late July in Cherokee Marsh, a wetland in Dane County, Wis. The bird walked with difficulty, drawing the attention of an observer and a team from the Humane Society’s Four Lakes Wildlife Center.

UW Researcher’s Study Says Arrival Of Humans Disrupted Plants, Animals

A study co-authored by a Wisconsin researcher says that when humans showed up on Earth, changes came to a plant-animal association that had lasted 300 million years.

Back to school for the public good

From Jeffrey Russell, Dean of Continuing Studies: A democracy requires government to function effectively, and public employees are the ones who make that happen.It’s easy to take government services for granted. Most of us don’t think twice about the clean water that comes from our faucets, the trash that’s picked up on schedule or the effort that goes into caring for our most vulnerable citizens.One key to doing these jobs well is lifelong learning. In a rapidly changing world, public employees must commit themselves to mastering the latest developments in their fields so that government runs as efficiently as possible.

From homelessness to commencement

Keena Atkinson went from sleeping in her car to graduating from UW-Madison in just six years with the help of the UW Odyssey Project. Brett Bachman reports.

@1403 Aims to Foster Innovation on UW-Madison Campus and Beyond

Since taking office two years ago, University of Wisconsin-Madison chancellor Rebecca Blank has championed the effort to make more resources available to members of the campus community who have ideas for new companies.

On Campus: Student launches site to chronicle ‘Black Voice’ at UW-Madison

Jordan Gaines, a senior from Milwaukee, launched The Black Voice — blackvoicesuw.wordpress.com and @BlackVoicesUW on Twitter — earlier this month as an online media outlet to collect students’ news coverage, opinion writing, art and poetry.

UW doctoral students win 8 Fulbright scholarships, most in the country

Eight UW-Madison doctoral students have won Fulbright scholarships to study overseas, more than any other school in the country.