Chancellor Rebecca Blank announced plans Monday to begin a careful, phased reopening of the University of Wisconsin-Madison over the summer.
UW to slowly restart research activities, offer mix of courses for fall
The Capital Times
May 21, 2020
Top Stories
Research
After Wisconsin Republicans forced election, study links in-person voting to spike in COVID-19 cases
Salon
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin and Ball State University found a “significant association between in-person voting and the spread of COVID-19 two to three weeks” after the election. Those findings were published by the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Hurricanes are getting stronger, and climate change may be a factor
CNET
Hurricanes are getting windier. That’s the sobering conclusion of a study led by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientist James Kossin at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The paper appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal on Monday.
Visualizing Science: How Color Determines What We See
Eos
“When people approach a visualization, they have expectations of how visual features will map onto concepts,” said Karen Schloss, a psychologist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery. Schloss and her team are working to tackle these implementation issues and understand trade-offs between deeply ingrained, communal familiarity and the next generation of color tools.
The world might just capture enough CO2 to avert disaster, study says
Metro News
Study leader Dr Christopher Zahasky, who is now an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison but conducted the work at Imperial, said: ‘Nearly all IPCC pathways to limit warming to 2C require tens of gigatons of CO2 stored per year by mid-century.
Campus life
Questions linger about when Dane County will allow full reopening; UW bans large gatherings
Wisconsin State Journal
Meanwhile, UW-Madison on Wednesday issued an order that will limit access to a number of popular gathering spots on campus just as the warmer weather starts to draw people outside after two months of safer-at-home restrictions.
State news
Wisconsin Supreme Court order opened bars and restaurants, but an analysis shows only a 3% increase in total movement statewide
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Quoted: Nasia Safdar, an infectious disease expert with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said factors such as improved weather and the end of at-home schooling in some districts have likely contributed to a general trend of increased movement.
“I think there were things that helped people stay put in the beginning of this, which is that there was a lot of fear and uncertainty and the weather wasn’t great,” she said. “I’m sure people are experiencing some cabin fever despite their best intentions.”
Thomas Oliver, a health policy expert, also at UW-Madison, said the increased movement in Wisconsin and mixed messaging sent by the patchwork of rules from authorities at all levels is concerning.
“It was inevitable you would see slipping adherence to the recommended guidelines regardless, but now we have so many contradictory and competing guidelines,” he said.
Oguzhan Alagoz, an expert in infectious disease modeling at UW-Madison, said the pictures he saw after the court order of unmasked people standing close together inside bars is troubling and likely to lead to more cases.
Crime and safety
UW-Madison adopts new order to enforce physical distancing in campus gathering spots
WISC-TV 3
The University of Wisconsin-Madison has adopted a new order ahead of the campus’ reopening that enforces physical distancing and other public health measures.
Changes on UW-Madison’s campus to deal with Covid-19
WKOW-TV 27
UW-Madison has issued a new order that will limit access to popular places on campus. It’s part of an effort to keep people safe during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Man attempts strong-armed robbery in Library Mall, grabs woman
Badger Herald
Man described as white, in 30s, with heavy build.
Athletics
NCAA sets course for return of voluntary workouts in football, basketball
Wisconsin State Journal
The NCAA has started clearing the path for athletes to return to campus for voluntary workouts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Alexis Mauermann, Kristen Campbell among Badgers women’s hockey team award recipients
Wisconsin State Journal
Seniors Alexis Mauermann and Kristen Campbell received two of the University of Wisconsin women’s hockey team’s major awards for the 2019-20 season.
There may be a chance for Badger Football this Fall after all
NBC-15
UW spokesperson John Lucas tells NBC15 News that while Dane County Public Health’s ban on public gatherings does not apply directly to “units of a state agency,” the university will continue to work with Madison and the county to develop a plan for school sports to eventually restart.
UW Experts in the News
Has NASA Found A Parallel Universe ‘Where Time Flows Backwards?’ The Truth Behind The Headlines
Forbes
He (Ibrahim Safa) is also quoted as saying that while it has been an exciting time for physicists trying to explain these events, “it looks like we’ll have to wait for the next generation of experiments, which will increase exposure and sensitivity, to get a clear understanding of this anomaly.”
A new artificial eye mimics and may outperform human eyes
Science News
The researchers’ current method of creating individual ultrasmall pixels is impractical, says Hongrui Jiang, an electrical engineer at the University of Wisconsin–Madison whose commentary on the study appears in the same issue of Nature. “For a few hundred nanowires, okay, fine, but how about millions?” Engineers will need a much more efficient way to manufacture vast arrays of tiny wires on the back of the artificial eyeball to give it superhuman sight, he says.
NSF Plots a Course for the Next Decade of Earth Sciences Research
Eos
“This is a community consensus report,” said Andrea Dutton, a professor of geology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. “We are representing the community, and this is their voice in the report.”
Wisconsin reopening decision boosts bars; many people still quarantine
USA Today
Nasia Safdar, an infectious disease expert with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said factors such as improved weather and the end of at-home schooling in some districts probably contributed to a general trend of increased movement.
New Bionic Eye Could Surpass the Real One: It’s Got Night Vision Capability!
The Science Times
However, Hongrui Jiang, an Electrical Engineer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said that the method the researchers are using in creating individual ultrasmall pixels is impractical.
Scientists Reveal a Proof-of-Concept Bionic Human Eye
Futurism
“I think in about 10 years, we should see some very tangible practical applications of these bionic eyes,” Hongrui Jiang, an electrical engineer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who was not involved in the research, told Scientific American.
What We Lose When We Hide Our Smiles Behind a Mask
Time
According to Paula Niedenthal, a psychologist who heads up the Niedenthal Emotions Lab at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and has studied facial expression extensively, there are three types of smiles: those that express pleasure at a reward or surprise, like when you get to see your friends in person after a prolonged separation (soon, please); those that convey a desire to be friendly, or at least non-threatening, which she calls smiles of affiliation; and those that show dominance, like the one Dirty Harry gives when he asks a certain punk if he feels lucky.
Coronavirus threatens autistic people living in group homes
Spectrum
“Autistic people have very specific routines they like to follow,” says Lauren Bishop, assistant professor of social work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “When those things are taken away as a result of a national crisis, it can make the crisis that’s already stressful even more stressful.”
UW-Madison Related
Expanding AmeriCorps could turn new grads into contact tracers
The Washington Post
Pearson-Green enrolled in City Year two years ago, while in his junior year at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.