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May 25, 2021

Research

An All-American Cheese From the Atomic Age

Posted on
Saveur

The year was 1947. The place, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Bacteriology professor Stanley Knight had long admired the research of Nobel laureate H.J. Muller, whose body of work within and after the Manhattan Project focused on mutations in living things exposed to radiation. Muller’s research had been weaponized, but his findings got Knight thinking: Could the science behind radiation-induced mutations be used for productive ends—to make a better piece of cheese? It was a highly Wisconsonian quest.

Higher Education/System

Opinion: Paying for college is difficult, but UWM is trying to do something about it

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Alyssa Huglen’s May 17 story in the Journal Sentinel highlights a problem that has long concerned us at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee: Students with limited financial resources take longer to graduate and are less likely to graduate than their peers, and many struggle with debt from college loans. But what the story did not address are the extensive efforts UWM is making to help students from low-income families.

For Colleges, Coronavirus Vaccine Mandates Often Depend on Which Party Is in Power

Posted on
The New York Times

“I think that those that are in the blue states are not following the law,” said Tommy G. Thompson, the University of Wisconsin system’s interim president, who previously served in George W. Bush’s cabinet as secretary of health and human services, which includes the F.D.A. “All those individuals that have mandated it are really on thin ice.”

Campus life

State news

Arts & Humanities

45 Memorial Day Songs: War Songs for Memorial Day

Posted on
Parade

1. The Animals, “We Gotta Get Out of This Place”The Animals‘ 1965 hit “We Gotta Get Out of This Place” wasn’t written explicitly about the Vietnam War, but many troops who fought in the stalemate adopted it as a rallying cry for the futility of their efforts and the lack of support veterans received if they were lucky enough to return home after battle. “We had absolute unanimity is this song being the touchstone,” Vietnam War veteran and University of Wisconsin Communications Systems Director Doug Bradley said in a 2006 interview. “This was the Vietnam anthem. Every bad band that ever played in an armed forces club had to play this song.”

Athletics

Rielly lifts Maple Leafs to 2-1 win over Canadiens in Game 3

Posted on
AP

The Canadiens dressed Caufield after generating just three goals in the first two games of the series in Toronto. The 20-year-old rookie sniper scored four times in 10 games towards the end of the regular season, including one in overtime against the Leafs, following a dominant career with the U.S. National Team Development Program and two standouts seasons in college at the University of Wisconsin.

UW Experts in the News

Lung Samples From 1918 Show a Pandemic Virus Mutating

Posted on
The Atlantic

Scientists have long speculated about why the 1918 pandemic’s second wave was deadlier than the first. Patterns of human behavior and seasonality could explain some of the difference—but the virus itself might have changed too. “And this starts to put some meat on the bone” of that hypothesis, Andrew Mehle, an influenza researcher at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, who was not involved in the study, told me.

George Floyd’s murder fueled the Black Lives Matter movement. Activists are clashing over what comes next

Posted on
USA Today

Pamela Oliver, a professor emerita of sociology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison who has studied protest movements for 40-plus years, said the generations-old struggle for Black rights had gained significant momentum until the events of 9/11 diverted national attention. Activists have been trying to make up lost ground ever since, she said – including the additional loss of some white allies in 2016 after the fatal ambush of five police officers in Dallas by Micah Johnson, a Black man.

UW-Madison Related

The Native Scholar Who Wasn’t

Posted on
The New York Times

At the same time, her younger sister, Justine, had begun building a career of her own in academia based, in part, on claiming a Cherokee identity. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin — where she received support from the McNair Program, which helps college students from underrepresented backgrounds — Justine began a doctorate in religion at Harvard University. In 2010, she was offered a visiting faculty position at the St. Paul School of Theology. A news release announcing the hire identified Justine as Cherokee and noted, “It is believed that she also will be the first full-time Native American woman to serve in any full-time faculty position in theological education in North America.”

The Gwyneth Paltrow Of Underboob Sweat

Posted on
Bustle

During college at the University of Wisconsin, she wanted to work in fashion and applied to a bunch of internships without having any kind of connection. She ended up interning at Chanel for two summers, and then worked at Dolce & Gabbana as a PR assistant.