Syndicated to: Wisc.edu
Arctic climate models play key role in pending polar bear decision
The pending federal decision about whether to protect the polar bear as a threatened species is as much about climate science as it is about climate change. Read More
Fund for late professor lifts Engineers Without Borders into the black
Katie Simon had a lot to be nervous about in March 2007 when she became the president of the University of Wisconsin–Madison chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB), an organization that applies the knowledge of engineers to improving the quality of life for developing communities. Read More
Increased ethanol production to worsen Gulf of Mexico ‘dead zone’
The rush in the United States to produce corn-based ethanol as an alternative fuel will likely worsen pollution in the Gulf of Mexico and expand the annual "dead zone" that kills fish and other aquatic life, according to new research. Read More
Seriously funny: An interview with former Daily Show producer and UW–Madison alumnus Ben Karlin
Some thought that Ben Karlin ’93 was walking away from success when he left his job as executive producer for TV’s The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. But, as he explains in this conversation with On Wisconsin, he was simply charting a comedic path that includes a new book and his own production company. Read More
Lowly Icelandic midges reveal ecosystem’s tipping points
A UW–Madison zoologist describes in the journal Nature an ecosystem population dynamics model built on the flies of Iceland’s Lake Myvatn, showing how even slight human-induced changes can irreversibly alter the balance of nature. Read More
Textiles professor embraces community service, collaboration
Larry Eisenberg was in the middle of a remodeling and expansion project, and he needed some new carpeting - $85 million worth of it, in fact. Read More
UW students help El Salvadoran towns build wastewater system
New Year's Eve in Nejapa, El Salvador, looks a lot like the Fourth of July. At Griselda Guzman's house, homemade fireworks lighted the front yard, where the guests dancing outside her pale yellow home included 11 University of Wisconsin–Madison engineering students and three advisers. Read More
Can RFID technology promote a safer blood supply?
Radio frequency identification technology, or RFID, has inspired many novel applications of late, including efforts to study magazine reader patterns, access restricted areas, locate stolen vehicles and track luggage at major airports. Read More