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February 7, 2022

Research

Western monarch numbers rose, but is that good news?

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Popular Science

Skye Bruce, a PhD student at University of Wisconsin-Madison, focuses on monarch landscape ecology, which is essentially the study of the best possible ways to conserve the species’ habitats. In her work she seeks to answer questions such as: Do monarchs need lots of habitat in the landscape in order to find a patch? Do they need continuous, non-isolated habitat like a lot of butterflies and other insects do? Or can they find these isolated patches?

The Riveting and Murky Quest to Hack the Meditating Brain

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The Daily Beast

Much of what scientists have found so far isn’t so surprising, but it does confirm long-held associations about what parts of the brain fire up during meditation. One meta-analysis of 110 studies showed the imprint mindfulness can have on the brain, such as increased activation in areas associated with focused problem-solving, self-regulation, self-control. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have been able to teach machines how to recognize meditative states in humans through measurements of brain patterns. We are not far from a reality in which researchers could teach people how to mirror a mindful brain state through a process similar to Powers’ Decoded Neurofeedback.

Higher Education/System

Teachers are leaving and few people are choosing the field. Experts are sounding the alarm

Posted on
CNN

Arizona State University’s Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College has seen enrollment in teacher prep programs increase every fall since 2017, according to data provided by the college. University officials partly attribute the rise to a state-funded scholarship that allows young educators to finish their program debt-free if they commit to teaching in schools across the state for a certain amount of time. (Other universities, like the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s program, have similar offers of financial support if students pledge to teach in the state for three to four years.)

Campus life

Q&A: ‘Stranded on State’s’ Jake Jennings, Matthew Shaw put the spotlight on students

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Daily Cardinal

Every weekend, thousands of students flood to State Street to meet up with friends, grab a bite to eat, or just have a good time. Do you ever wonder what they all could be thinking?For over a year, Jake Jennings and Matthew Shaw have been getting to the bottom of it. The two friends came together to start an account on Instagram called “Stranded on State.”

UW-Madison’s newest sorority: Zeta Tau Alpha

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Daily Cardinal

Bringing a new sorority chapter to a university is no easy feat, UW-Madison ZTA President Rhyan Peed told The Daily Cardinal. She explained that there are a multitude of unexpected challenges that can arise during the complex process.

Is Our Wisconsin doing its job from behind a screen?

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Daily Cardinal

“When I did it as a freshman, it was the third or fourth day after we moved in,” Yadev said. “I really liked the intentions behind it; you could tell, based on the questions they were asking, that the staff wanted us to understand that a lot of us came from different backgrounds and have different identities that affect how we experience the world. I personally had never experienced something like that in high school.”

Why are green toy soldiers appearing in UW-Madison’s Science Hall?

Posted on
The Capital Times

The Green Dawn Global Takeover has over 68,000 members on its subreddit. “Your mission is to strategically place army men throughout your hometown or any remote region you come upon during your journeys,” the forum’s description reads. “Use caution. This is a covert operation and discretion is advised.”

State news

‘Home is here’: Northeast Wisconsin’s surge in diversity forged by opportunity, grit and inclusion

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Wisconsin Public Radio

Quoted: The rapid growth of the Hispanic population is part of a national trend that demographers cite as a natural increase, growth that’s driven by an established population rather than immigration, said David Egan-Robertson, demographer at the Applied Population Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

In other words, it’s the result of families like the Villas, Guzmans and Castros deciding to stay in the region and raise the next generation of northeast Wisconsin’s children.

Still, Egan-Robertson acknowledged that one reason for the rise in numbers for the Hispanic population and for other groups is increased participation in the 10-year survey, because of the U.S. Census Bureau’s improved system of gathering the information.

“In some ways, maybe the diverse population was there in 2010, but the way the Census Bureau captured it then, it really wasn’t giving the full scope of the race and population,” Egan-Robertson said. “In 2020 they got their act together and expanded the amount of data they captured.”

Arts & Humanities

World traveling UW-Madison professor shares a new novel and play

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Wisconsin State Journal

Author, UW-Madison professor and world traveler Amy Quan Barry says she strives to have depth and range to her writing. Her releases this month of both a novel and play certainly seem to validate that goal. “When I’m Gone, Look for Me in the East,” is Barry’s third novel due out Feb. 22. A few days later, her first play, “The Mytilenean Debate,” begins its run at Forward Theatre. She will discuss both works during an upcoming in-person event through the Wisconsin Book Festival.

Health

UW-Madison professor says signs of fraud in prenatal care coordination companies are ‘horrific’

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Wisconsin Public Radio

A University of Wisconsin-Madison professor who studies reproductive health said the findings of a recent news story highlighting potential fraud among Milwaukee’s prenatal care coordination companies were “really atrocious and really horrific.”

Tiffany Green, an assistant professor in the departments of Population Health Sciences and Obstetrics and Gynecology, specializes in racial disparities within reproductive health.

Athletics

‘Really special’: US goalie Alex Cavallini, 30, makes most of first Olympic start with shutout of Switzerland

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

lex Cavallini’s goaltending career has had several highlights.

Now she has added another milestone.

Before Sunday, Cavallini had an accomplished international career as a member of five world championship teams, most recently serving as the primary goalie during the 2019 title for the U.S. women’s hockey team. As a freshman with the Wisconsin Badgers, she was part of the 2011 national championship team, alongside current national team teammates Hilary Knight and Brianna Decker. Cavallini also holds the distinction of being the first woman drafted by the United States Hockey League (USHL).

How offensive coordinator Bobby Engram found right fit with Wisconsin football

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Wisconsin State Journal

Bobby Engram wasn’t looking to leave his post as the Baltimore Ravens’ tight ends coach. He was in a strong organization, coaching one of the best players at the position in the league and learning from a highly respected coach. But the opportunity to become the offensive coordinator at the University of Wisconsin was too good to pass up.

Team USA Doesn’t Have a Starting Goalie. That’s By Design.

Posted on
Wall Street Journal

Hensley has been perhaps the most consistent back-up in the world this fall, saving 93.2% of the 103 shots she faced over seven games in 2021. Unlike Cavallini and Rooney—who played college hockey at powerhouse teams from the University of Wisconsin and University of Minnesota, respectively—Hensley cut her teeth at tiny Lindenwood University, outside of St. Louis, Mo. She set just about every goaltending record there was for the Lions and parlayed that success into a spot on the U.S. national team in 2016.

UW Experts in the News

‘Thought is stronger than any weapon’: Inside the new Bangkok library stocked with banned books

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Coconuts Bangkok

But censorship continues today, often indirectly. Academic Tyrell Haberkorn, a professor of Southeast Asian Studies at University of Wisconsin Madison, said the authorities use many methods to censor books. “There are different ways of banning books.

Official ways, such as when lists of banned books have been published in the Royal Gazette after 6 October 1976,” she said, referring to the black massacre of students on the campus of Thammasat University. “And unofficial ways, when Special Branch police or other state agents intimidate writers, publishers, or printers,” she said.

Has the Pandemic Pushed Universities to the Brink?

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The Nation

As the University of Wisconsin philosophy professor Harry Brighouse points out:

Instructional quality is the most neglected—and perhaps the most serious—equity issue in higher education. Good instruction benefits everyone, but it benefits students who attended lower-quality high schools, whose parents cannot pay for compensatory tutors, who lack the time to use tutors because they have to work, and who are less comfortable seeking help more than it benefits other students.

Obituaries

Sullivan, Dr. Linda Jo (LJ)

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

Awarded Emeritus Faculty status from the University of Wisconsin, Linda worked as a Clinical Professor in the School of Veterinary Medicine from 1990-2019. Her impact at UWwas enormous as she touched so many lives and was well-loved by her students and colleagues alike.

Fritz, Kentner

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

Kent spent most of his career working at the University of Wisconsin, where he helped to set up their first small computer lab.