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May 2, 2022

Research

Bioethanol: We have way too much corn.

Slate

In February, Tyler Lark, a scientist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, published a study analyzing the impact of the RFS. Lark and his colleagues researched the impact the policy had on crop prices and farm expansion between 2008 and 2016, comparing the real-world situation with a counterfactual one where biofuel production was kept at levels mandated in an earlier version of the RFS.

Straight coils for twisty reactors give new shape to nuclear fusion

New Atlas

Lonigro and her colleagues came to this realization by experimenting with a mathematical technique called “spline representation,” which they used to improve the computer code that generates designs for magnetic coils. This led to the design of magnets with straighter sections but still a strong and accurate enough magnetic field to confine the plasma. As a demonstration, the scientists designed straighter and simpler new magnets for an experimental stellarator at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Higher Education/System

UW doesn’t need free speech survey — Laurence Schiffman

Wisconsin State Journal

Letter to the editor: After reading the proposed questions, I am convinced that UW System is more concerned with student attitudes than with educated opinions. The faculty should be able to generate a clear policy of tolerance that includes the concepts embodied in the First Amendment. There should be consequences if it is not followed.

Campus life

Crime and safety

Balcony collapses due to rotting wood during Mifflin Street Block Party, sending 2 to hospital

Wisconsin State Journal

Rotting wood that was covered up with metal panels — and therefore missed by city inspectors in a safety check — caused a second-story balcony to collapse Saturday during the Mifflin Street Block Party, sending two people to the hospital after about a dozen revelers plummeted 15 feet to the ground, according to a City Council member and police.

Agriculture

Athletics

Yes to endorsement deals, pay for grades, NCAA enforcement

Wisconsin State Journal

Star athletes at UW-Madison are finally getting a piece of the enormous revenue surrounding Badgers sports, especially men’s basketball and football. That’s only fair. Other players with lower profiles deserve greater financial incentives, too. We love the idea, floated by the chancellor earlier this month, of offering student athletes cash awards for good grades. That will help continue Wisconsin’s strong reputation for graduating most of its players in all of its sports.

Opinion

UW Experts in the News

The Key to Attracting Venture Capitalists: Show Passion

WSJ

That is the conclusion of 12 studies by researcher Chia-Jung Tsay, an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She gave investors different types of records of pitch competitions—such as video only or audio only—and asked them to guess which entrepreneur had won each round. The investors who made the best guesses saw only visual images of people making pitches, with no sound or information about the pitch itself.

Was Russia’s decision to cut off natural gas exports a mistake?

Vox

Russia’s decision to cut off gas exports to Poland and Bulgaria — the latter of which had remained undecided in its stance regarding Russia up until the recent ban — is a risky move meant to act as a warning to other European countries.

But some experts have written off the move as a miscalculation.According to Yoshiko Herrera, a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison specializing in Eurasian politics, it may have the opposite intended effect.

How to make self-affirmations work, based on science

The Washington Post

What’s more, people can mistakenly think affirmations are about “seeking perfection or seeking greatness,” said Chris Cascio, an assistant professor at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who has studied the practice. Instead, Cascio said, the key concept of affirmations is: “As you are, you are good enough and you’re valued being you.”

Wisconsin legislators call it quits at near-record pace

Associated Press

University of Wisconsin-Madison political scientist Barry Burden said legislative departures are often higher in redistricting years, when the Legislature redraws lawmakers’ district lines to reflect population changes. This year’s maps were delayed as Democrats and Republicans fought over them in court. The state Supreme Court didn’t finalize the maps until earlier this month on the day candidates could pull nomination papers. The districts remained largely unchanged but Burden said the delay likely made it difficult for incumbents to plan.

Obituaries

Raymond C. Matulionis

Wisconsin State Journal

Ray received a Masters from the University of Minnesota and eventually his PhD from the University of Wisconsin. This was the beginning of a long career at the University where Ray worked in professional development and as a professor with the department of Engineering.

Carl George Silverman, M.D.

Wisconsin State Journal

After completing his training in Cleveland, OH, Carl moved to Madison in 1967 and joined the Jackson Clinic, now UW Health, where he spent 33-years as a general internist while supervising students as Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Wisconsin Medical School.

David Paul Moberg

Wisconsin State Journal

Subsequently he was hired as Associate Director of the Center for Health Policy and Program Evaluation (CHPPE) in 1986. Paul spent the next 20-years building up CHPPE, which then merged with the Population Health Institute in the School of Medicine and Public Health. He had a leadership role in both Institutes where he led research and made lifelong professional contributions with colleagues passionate about public health.

Dr. Renate Elisabeth Madsen

Wisconsin State Journal

Over the next 33-years she became a highly respected anesthesiologist at UW-Madison Hospital and a role model for many female doctors. She maintained her professional licensure and provided medical advice for many friends and family until age 90.