Syndicated to: Wisc.edu
Spring commencement to remain at Camp Randall in 2015
On a beautiful Saturday last May, 6,000 undergraduates and master’s students celebrated their graduation from the University of Wisconsin–Madison with a crowd estimated at over 44,000 family members and friends at Camp Randall Stadium. Read More
When the isthmus is an island: Madison’s hottest, and coldest, spots
In a new study published this month in the Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers highlight the urban heat island effect in Madison: The city’s concentrated asphalt, brick and concrete lead to higher temperatures than its nonurban surroundings. Read More
Go Big Read brings Malala Fund co-founder to campus
Shiza Shahid believes girls are the most powerful force of change in the world. That is what drives the work she does alongside Malala Yousafzai — her friend and this year’s Go Big Read author — to help millions of girls around the world get access to an education. The UW–Madison community will hear from Shahid on Monday, Oct. 27, when she visits campus to meet with students and give a public talk as the centerpiece of Go Big Read, the university’s common-reading program. Read More
103 years of tradition lives on for UW–Madison’s Homecoming
The game day opponent may be a first-timer, but this year’s University of Wisconsin–Madison Homecoming tradition is 103 years in the making. Thousands of alumni will return this week for the annual commemoration of Homecoming at UW–Madison, when UW graduates join future alumni and the campus community for a weeklong celebration of spirited Badger traditions. Read More
See-through sensors open new window into the brain
Developing invisible implantable medical sensor arrays, a team of University of Wisconsin–Madison engineers has overcome a major technological hurdle in researchers’ efforts to understand the brain. The team described its technology, which has applications in fields ranging from neuroscience to cardiac care and even contact lenses, in the Oct. 20 issue of the online journal Nature Communications. Read More
UW physicist receives American Ingenuity Award for IceCube effort
Francis Halzen, the University of Wisconsin–Madison physicist who was the driving force behind the giant neutrino telescope known as IceCube at the South Pole, has been named a winner of the 2014 American Ingenuity Award. Read More
UW-Madison chemist named Packard Fellow
Trisha Andrew, a University of Wisconsin–Madison assistant professor of chemistry, is one of 18 early career scientists from around the country named a Packard Fellow for Science and Engineering. The award includes a grant of $875,000 over five years to pursue research and is given in recognition of the potential significance of scholarship and innovation from the nation’s most promising young scientists and engineers. Read More
Climate change alters cast of winter birds
Over the past two decades, the resident communities of birds that attend eastern North America’s backyard bird feeders in winter have quietly been remade, most likely as a result of a warming climate. Writing this week in the journal Global Change Biology, University of Wisconsin–Madison wildlife biologists Benjamin Zuckerberg and Karine Princé document that once rare wintering bird species are now commonplace in the American Northeast. Read More
Newsmaker who called out Microsoft president to speak at UW–Madison
Last week, when Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told women in tech fields to wait to be rewarded rather than ask for raises, he was quietly but forcefully challenged by his interviewer, Maria Klawe. The next day, facing a storm of criticism, Nadella backpedaled, saying by email, “Maria’s advice was the right advice. If you think you deserve a raise, you should just ask.” Klawe, president of Harvey Mudd College will speak Friday at Union South about increasing women’s participation in science and technology careers on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus. Read More
WCER: Five decades of improving teaching and learning
One of the first centers of its kind, the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER) is preparing to celebrate 50 years of educational policy research and initiatives. Read More
WARF grants more than $70 million to support UW–Madison
The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), the nonprofit foundation that helps steward the cycle of research, discovery, commercialization and investment at UW–Madison, has granted the university $59 million for the 2014-2015 fiscal year. Read More
Highlights start early in four-day Wisconsin Science Festival
You name it, and the fourth annual Wisconsin Science Festival has it all — dance, star-gazing, fossils, art, museum and stage shows — spread over four days and venues in 25 Wisconsin cities. While the curious of all ages are immersed in hands-on exploration, and visitors marvel at the research underway and specimens on display around campus and the state, several of the festival’s marquee events may be of interest to faculty and staff on campus. The festival runs from Thursday through Sunday, Oct. 16-19. Read More
UW to help Wisconsin companies develop international internships
To compete in today’s global marketplace, Wisconsin companies need people who have the skills to operate abroad. Studies, however, indicate that this need is not being fully met. A $50,000 grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) will enable the University of Wisconsin–Madison to work with eight to 12 small- and medium-sized Wisconsin companies on developing the global talent they need, while creating more opportunities for UW–Madison students to cross the bridge from academics into practice. Read More
Balancing birds and biofuels: Grasslands support more species than cornfields
In Wisconsin, bioenergy is for the birds. Really. In a study published today in the journal PLOS ONE, University of Wisconsin–Madison and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) scientists examined whether corn and perennial grassland fields in southern Wisconsin could provide both biomass for bioenergy production and bountiful bird habitat. The research team found that where there are grasslands, there are birds. Grass-and-wildflower-dominated fields supported more than three times as many bird species as cornfields, including 10 imperiled species found only in the grasslands. Read More
Company developing radio frequency technology to localize breast tumors
Breast cancer may inspire more public discussion, advocacy and charitable giving than almost any other disease besides HIV and AIDS. But people rarely talk about the specific experiences to which cancer patients are subjected. Read More