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Ballots being mailed for first-ever classified staff election
Classified staff members will soon receive ballots for UW–Madison’s first-ever Classified Staff Executive Committee. Nine people will be elected from a field of 92 candidates, representing nearly 5,000 employees. Completed ballots must be returned or postmarked by Oct. 30. Read More
Ilona Kombrink, celebrated professor of voice, dies at 80
Every story about Ilona Kombrink had a sort of mythic quality. Her career as a University of Wisconsin–Madison voice professor was literally the stuff of legends, whispered down the halls of the Humanities Building in her wake. Read More
Study puts freshwater biodiversity on the map
When it comes to economic growth and environmental impacts, it can seem like Newton's third law of motion is the rule - for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction - and that in most cases, the economy prospers and the environment suffers. Read More
The sun also flips: 11-year solar cycle wimpy, but peaking
In a 3-meter diameter hollow aluminum sphere, Cary Forest, a University of Wisconsin–Madison physics professor, is stirring and heating plasmas to 500,000 degrees Fahrenheit to experimentally mimic the magnetic field-inducing cosmic dynamos at the heart of planets, stars and other celestial bodies. Read More
Film festival explores environmental futures amid rapid global change
Profound questions about possible futures - precipitated by a changing climate, shifting energy resources, and the movement and displacement of people across the globe - will be explored during the Tales from Planet Earth film festival in Madison Nov. 1-3. Read More
Business students launch app to ‘Fetch’ grocery deals
Wes Schroll was frustrated with his Target coupons. Sure, they were tailored to his purchase history, and the expiration date was far away. Yet, by the time his next trip to Target rolled around, he’d misplaced them again. A lifelong entrepreneur and Wisconsin School of Business student, he knew there had to be a better way to find deals. Read More
Growth industry: New faculty member supports local produce
When Julie Dawson starts making farm visits, she may face a problem many of her fellow University of Wisconsin–Madison agricultural extension specialists don’t: battling city traffic and finding a place to park. Read More
Microbiome meets big social science: What’s the potential?
Over the last decade or so, biologists have mustered an ever-growing appreciation for the essential role of microbial communities in a diversity of environments. Read More
Pink flamingos will ‘Fill the Hill’ again Wednesday
Flamingos have been native to Bascom Hill since 1979. They’ll be flocking to their grassy home once again, this time as part of Share the Wonderful, the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s annual campaign. Read More
From football to flies: lessons about traumatic brain injury
Faced with news of suicides and brain damage in former professional football players, geneticist Barry Ganetzky bemoaned the lack of model systems for studying the insidious and often delayed consequences linked to head injuries. Read More
First-year student remembered for love of music, nature
Cassidy Fritsch came to UW–Madison with a track record of academic success and a readiness to get involved. In just over six weeks on campus, she had already joined several organizations that spoke to her concern about the natural world: the Veterinary Science Club and the GreenHouse Residential Learning Community. Read More
Standing up to Socrates: Philosophy major invites more women to the table
When Macy Salzberger joined the Socratic Society, an undergraduate club for University of Wisconsin–Madison students interested in discussing philosophy, she was hoping to find like-minded friends eager to engage with her on complex topics: contemporary ethics, the nature of consciousness, and more. What she found, instead, was a fierce style of argument—and hardly any women. Read More
WARF’s Bremer remembered as technology transfer legend
Sustained by a passion to improve people's lives, Howard Bremer's enduring commitment to innovation fueled his work and his life. Bremer, 90, a WWII U.S. Navy veteran and patent attorney with degrees in law and chemical engineering from the University of Wisconsin–Madison passed away Friday, ending a remarkable career at the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation that spanned 53 years. Read More
Everyone loves a parade: Homecoming 2013
2013 marked the 103rd year of the University of Wisconsin–Madison Homecoming Parade, this year presented by Lowe's. Read More
The chemistry of color: Energy researcher develops dye-based solar cells
University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers working at the intersection of basic and applied science focus on key factors like cost, environmental impacts ... and sometimes, color. Read More
Recent Sightings: Light bulb moment
From left to right, undergraduates AnaElise Beckman (wearing pink shirt), Michael Zaiken and Alexandra Cohn prepare a bacteria culture for their Biobulb project… Read More
Davis gift to Human Ecology to benefit design students
During her 30 years as a professor in the School of Human Ecology, Ruth Danielson Davis showcased student work in the rooms, hallways, and cabinets of the Human Ecology Building. Now, a $4.6 million gift from her estate to the School of Human Ecology will play a major role in getting student work even more exposure in the future. Read More
Hawkins named director of Chancellor’s Scholars
A familiar face will lead the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Chancellor’s and Powers-Knapp Scholarship Programs. Gloria Hawkins, assistant dean for multicultural affairs in the UW School of Medicine and Public Health since 1994, will move from the west end of campus to an office in Bascom Hall. She plans to begin her new position as an assistant vice provost and director of the programs on Dec. 1. Read More
UW’s bug-eating advocate had global impact
When Gene DeFoliart had his brainstorm in 1974, not even he thought his brainchild would be an easy sell. As a professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, DeFoliart was focusing on how insects spread viral disease. Now he was captivated by an opposite proposition: using insects to foster human health — using them, to be specific, as food. Read More