UW In The News

UW-Madison unveils new computer sciences building to accommodate student demand

Exploding interest in computer and data sciences over the last decade at the University of Wisconsin-Madison led to hundreds of students on course waitlists and a lack of lecture halls large enough to accommodate demand.

The growing pains will begin to ease with the opening of Morgridge Hall this semester. The gleaming seven-story building is the home of the School of Computer, Data and Information Sciences. It houses the two most popular majors on this 50,000-student campus.

Surveys show we trust each other less. Does that make Wisconsin less ‘Midwest nice’?

University of Wisconsin-Madison psychologist Markus Brauer studies how social groups interact, and he told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” that the state’s political divisiveness helps explain some of the trust issues.

“If there are people who belong to other political parties, then there is the possibility that they may not share the same common values, which then undermines trust,” Brauer said. “So generally, partisan strength and perceived political polarization actually undermine social trust in others.”

How do modern-day couples divide the work of decision-making?

Allison Daminger was in graduate school when she learned that men and women use their time differently: On average, men spend more time on paid work, and women spend more time on unpaid work.

“I remember wondering whether the time-use numbers were telling the full story,” says Daminger, who is now an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. “What about differences in how men and women use their mind on their family’s behalf?”

Doors open for UW-Madison’s new School of Computer, Data & Information Sciences

The new building for the School of Computer, Data, and Information Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has opened its doors.

This facility, called Morgridge Hall, brings various departments together under one roof for the first time. It inspires collaboration, as students and colleagues can simply bump into each other in the hall and get ideas for projects they are working on.

UW-Madison opens new building to house computer and data sciences school

UW-Madison welcomes first year and transfer students during convocation ceremony

UW-Madison welcomed freshmen and transfer students to campus on Tuesday at a new student convocation.

Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin, campus leadership, faculty and staff all helped with the kickoff event at the Kohl Center.

Why your pets should never ride loose in the car

If your pet is loose in the car, they might do something unpredictable or extra adorable — and that can be a big problem. When “you see someone in the driver’s seat with a small dog on their lap, that is obviously such a big distraction and such a big risk factor for causing a crash,” said Molly Racette, a veterinarian and professor of emergency and critical care at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

65,000 Pennsylvania kids have a parent in prison or jail − here’s what research says about the value of in-person visits

Written by Julie Poehlmann, a professor of human development & family studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Wisconsin’s tiniest livestock — honeybees — are threatened by mites, pesticides and lack of food

“Honeybees are like livestock,” Hannah Gaines Day, a University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher who studies how pollinators interact with the environment and agricultural operations, told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.” “They’re like little, tiny livestock that the beekeeper is taking care of, and so they have someone looking out for them and feeding them and giving them medicine if they need it if they’re sick. But the wild pollinators don’t have that.”

Can a pandemic movie be an engine for empathy?

Can filmmakers make a good pandemic film five years after the globe-changing year of 2020?  The recently released “Eddington” makes an attempt, but focuses on a hyper local experience with a fictional small town in New Mexico. On the Buzz to talk about the movie is Jeff Smith, a professor specializing in cinema studies in the Department of Communication Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Is it OK to write songs with AI? UW-Madison expert says it depends

“I think it is always hard to come down on the side of ‘no, this technology should not be used in this space,’” said Jeremy Morris, a professor of communication arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “I think the more interesting question is ‘how do we use it and how does that come to define the things we listen to?’”

Teens come up with trigonometry proof for Pythagorean Theorem, a problem that stumped math world for centuries

Gloria Ladson-Billings, professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has studied how best to teach African American students. She told us an encouraging teacher can change a life.

“Many of our young people have their ceilings lowered, that somewhere around fourth or fifth grade, their thoughts are, ‘I’m not going to be anything special.’ What I think is probably happening at St. Mary’s is young women come in as, perhaps, ninth graders and are told, ‘Here’s what we expect to happen. And here’s how we’re going to help you get there.'”

Longtime Wisconsin donors get family name on Badgers’ new indoor practice facility

Earth-size stars and alien oceans – an astronomer explains the case for life around white dwarfs

Written by Juliette Becker, an assistant professor of astronomy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Hip-hop’s role in today’s classrooms

“The reason why it resonated with students … is because it felt like an opportunity for them to be met on their own ground and to have a kind of shared ground with which to meet instructors or meet ideas,” says Nate Marshall, award-winning poet and assistant professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “Ultimately, like, the role of an educator is to connect the students in order to serve the students. So, if that’s not your way to connect with them, that’s cool. You find other ways.”

UW-Madison researchers find automation apps can enable dating abuse

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that automation apps, like iPhone’s ‘shortcuts’, can be a vehicle potential abusers use to control their partner’s activities on their mobile device.

Rahul Chatterjee, an assistant professor of computer science at UW and founder of the Madison Tech Clinic, said Madison Tech Clinic helps individuals who have been virtually stalked or harassed by their partners.

Wisconsin scientists are leaders in testing psilocybin treatments for mental health

“A lot of the participants in our trials have tried one or more different types of either behavioral treatments or pharmacological treatments,” Christopher Nicholas said. “They’re looking for another option.”

He’s optimistic psychedelics paired with therapy will give patients a new tool. He worked on a 2023 study that found participants’ depression scores improved about six weeks after a single dose of psilocybin.

Here’s the corporate strategy behind switching from merit increases to flat raises

“The labor market has cooled and so companies now are starting to feel they have more leeway, more leverage with their employees,” said Barry Gerhart, a professor of management at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Golden oyster mushrooms escaped captivity. Now, they’re spreading across Wisconsin.

A new report published by University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers in the journal Current Biology may hold clues to an unfolding mushroom mystery: the origins and possible consequences of the invasive golden oyster mushroom.

In ancient teeth, clues of human evolution — and perhaps a new species

John Hawks, a paleoanthropologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who was not involved in the work, said the find is exciting because it opens a window into a critical and mysterious period of human evolution between 2.5 million and 3 million years ago. He said he’s eager to see the work published but noted that such finds raise as many questions as they answer.

US has slashed global vaccine funding – if philanthropy fills the gap, there could be some trade-offs

Written by Amy E. Stambach, a professor of cultural anthropology and international studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

A homegrown food trend has turned into an invasive species crisis

“Invasive golden oyster mushrooms, a wood decay fungus, can threaten forests’ fungal biodiversity and harm the health of ecosystems that are already vulnerable to climate change and habitat destruction,” said Aishwarya Veerabahu, a mycologist and graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who recently co-authored a study on the species.

We tracked illegal fishing in marine protected areas – satellites and AI show most bans are respected, and could help enforce future ones

Written by Jennifer Raynor, an assistant professor of natural resource economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

UW-Madison research drives startups. Federal science cuts stall our mission.

Written by Jordan Ellenberg, the John D. MacArthur Professor of Mathematics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The golden oyster mushroom craze unleashed an invasive species – and a worrying new study shows it’s harming native fungi

Written by Aishwarya Veerabahu, a Ph.D. candidate in botany at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Y’all, we need to talk about ‘y’all’

“It feels like home when I hear it,” says Kelly Elizabeth Wright, an assistant professor of language sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who grew up in Tennessee. “It’s from where I was raised. But it makes me feel included and welcome. And I think that’s part of why people are embracing it, because it has this capacity to make others feel included and welcome.”

Bad Bunny makes a ‘political statement’ as Puerto Rico residency begins

“The theme and the ethos of this record is sort of affirming that Puerto Rican culture in the face of cultural and physical displacement of Puerto Ricans,” said Meléndez-Badillo, who teaches at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is attending one of the concerts this weekend.

Just how harmful is vaping? More evidence is emerging

Data on the long-term health effects is limited, because vapes are relatively new and constantly evolving. Many people who use them are in their teens or 20s; it might take a while before further effects become apparent.

Even so, “common sense tells you — your mom would tell you — that a superheated chemical inhaling right into your lungs isn’t going to be good,” said Dr. James H. Stein, a professor of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine. Increasingly, research is pointing to the reality that while vapes do not contain the same dangerous chemicals as cigarettes, they come with their own harms.

Why it’s so hard to warn people about flash floods

The shape of a cloud, where water accumulates in the cloud, and how dry the air is between the cloud and the ground in different locations, are all factors that might influence how much rain hits the ground in a certain location, according to Chris Vagasky, a meteorologist and manager of the Wisconsin Environmental Mesonet at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“Getting those very precise measurements at those very precise locations is something that we’re still working on, improving that science,” Vagasky says. Progress hinges on more advanced computer modeling and a better understanding of how precipitation forms in clouds.

UW-Madison’s Black Males in Engineering Video Series wins prestigious Telly Award

The Black Males in Engineering (BME) video series, led by UW-Madison School of Education faculty member Dr. Brian Burt, recently received a Silver Telly Award in the Campaign – Education & Training category. The honor recognizes non-broadcast video campaigns created for general educational purposes and underscores the series’ impact on addressing critical gaps in STEM education support.