In the last decade, UW-Madison’s Antarctic-based research center has made major innovations. We get the latest research on neutrinos and the depths of far away galaxies.
November 29, 2022
Research
Wisconsin researchers have tracked neutrinos to distant galaxy, supermassive black hole: Discovery comes from UW-Madison’s IceCube Neutrino Observatory below surface of South Pole
For the first time ever, an international team of scientists has traced neutrinos coming from the galaxy NGC 1068 in the constellation Cetus. The “ghost particles” appear to be accelerated toward Earth by a supermassive black hole.
In a scientific breakthrough, the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s 1-billion-ton IceCube Neutrino Observatory, buried around 1 mile under the ice at the South Pole, detected the neutrinos.
“A Stroke Of Serendipity” – A Technology Developed For The Bioethanol Industry Has Economic And Environmental Benefits For Beef And Dairy Production
Forbes
The economic and environmental significance of Enogen feed advantages was evaluated by the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Animal and Dairy Sciences and Agronomy Departments along with Rock River Laboratory. They looked at milk content and expected revenue as well as corn silage costs. What they found was that by using Enogen corn, a dairy could save $132 to $208 per milking cow per year.
Higher Education/System
Wisconsin’s pandemic-era high school students are now in college. Some need more help
Noted: At UW-Madison, the most selective school in the state, it’s too early to say what, if any, academic recovery will be needed, according to John Zumbrunnen, the university’s vice provost for teaching and learning. There hasn’t been a spike in tutoring sessions. Nor has there been a higher rate of D and F grades awarded. But the university offered two semesters of a pass/fail grading policy, which “muddies the data picture for us.”
That’s not to say Zumbrunnen hasn’t fielded concerns from some instructors. In math, there’s been a slightly larger share of students placing into pre-calculus instead of calculus. A STEM instructor told him this year’s crop of students scored lower on a basic exam than in past years. He’s heard from a social sciences instructor who felt that students this fall weren’t quite as ready to read at a college level than in past years.
Campus life
Wisconsin women’s volleyball team earns top regional seed, No. 3 in NCAA Tournament
The University of Wisconsin women’s volleyball team once again earned a bid to the NCAA tournament for the 10th-straight season.
The team was selected as the top regional seed and No. 3 seed overall.
UW alum, international journalist Jacob Kushner gives lecture
Badger Herald
Kushner’s lecture, “Into Africa: Reporting on the Return of Other Peoples’ Things,” addressed the debate over Africa’s lost heritage and the nuances of the issue, including whether certain artifacts should be displayed in museums. Kushner discussed his recent National Geographic pieces regarding the Humboldt Forum in Germany.
937 UW-Madison students receive guaranteed financial help
NBC 15
“They don’t need to worry about burdening their parents,” Faith said. “Often times they won’t take out any student loans when they go to college. It may free them up to go to grad school more easily.”
State news
Report: Public development subsidy deals should guarantee better jobs, working conditions
Wisconsin Examiner
A proposed development that would bring a new soccer stadium to downtown Milwaukee should include guarantees of good wages and a path to union representation for workers in the stadium district in return for public subsidies, a new report recommends.
The report, “Worker Power Levels the Playing Field,” was released Tuesday by COWS, a think tank at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It says taxpayer-funded support for the proposed Milwaukee soccer stadium project, dubbed the Iron District, should come with strings that ensure local hiring and strong job standards even after the project is built out.
“It’s important for Milwaukee to see itself as a national leader in this way and to reapply the lessons from the Deer District as new development is considered,” says Laura Dresser, associate director of COWS. Dresser is coauthor of the report along with Pablo Aquiles-Sanchez, a COWS research analyst.
Wisconsin elections officials consider changes to military voting after incident involving Milwaukee election worker
Quoted: “It just is really not possible to engage in much fraudulent activity without being noticed very quickly,” said Barry Burden, a political science professor and director of the Elections Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Crime and safety
UWPD rounds out the football season with a decrease in citations at Camp Randall
Daily Cardinal
Wisconsin football took on Minnesota in an annual rivalry Sunday where a number of students received citations or were ejected from the game at Camp Randall.
Health
UW nurses face a setback in their attempt to restore union recognition, but the fight is far from over
Spectrum News
UW Health does not have to recognize a union that nurses have fought to restore, according to a ruling from the state’s labor commission released Friday.
The decision is a setback for the health care workers who have spent the last few years pushing for recognition. However, the effort is far from over.
Athletics
Luke Fickell hired as head coach of Badgers football: UW-Madison calls it a ‘new era’ for Badgers football program
The University of Wisconsin-Madison has hired Luke Fickell as its new head football coach. Fickell comes to Wisconsin from the University of Cincinnati’s football program and will replace interim Badgers coach Jim Leonhard.
Wisconsin posts job openings for three football coaches, including both coordinators
University of Wisconsin officials on Monday posted five job openings involving the football program, including three coaching positions.
Both coordinator positions have been posted, as well as an assistant coaching position, the head of strength and conditioning and an assistant strength and conditioning position.
Luke Fickell talks recruiting, the transfer portal and Wisconsin’s high academic standards
Luke Fickell’s coaching staff will be a work in progress for the next few weeks.
One area that the University of Wisconsin’s new football coach plans to hit the ground running is recruiting.
Fickell was set to return to Cincinnati on Monday night and when he gets back to town Tuesday is expected to bring a couple of key pieces of his old staff: recruiting assistants Max Stienecker and Pat Lambert.
Wisconsin football lists open coaching jobs, including Jim Leonhard’s and Bobby Engram’s
Wisconsin State Journal
Postings for athletics jobs must be open for at least one week before a hiring can be made, according to school regulations. The job advertisements list Dec. 5 as the deadline for applications.
UW athletics has wrong priorities — William Niedermeier
Wisconsin State Journal
Letter to the editor: As a Badgers football season ticketholder for more than 40 years, I am sorely disappointed in UW’s disregard of the sentiments of the players and the fans in overlooking the efforts and support of coach Jim Leonhard. I have abandoned any interest in supporting the UW Athletic Department.
Luke Fickell to make significantly more than Paul Chryst as Wisconsin football coach
Wisconsin State Journal
New University of Wisconsin football coach Luke Fickell will get a 50% bump in pay from his old job in his first season, and a salary more than $2 million higher than his predecessor.
Wisconsin introduces Luke Fickell as head football coach
Channel 27
Fickell comes to Wisconsin after six seasons as the Cincinnati football head coach. The 2021 national coach of the year said he had Wisconsin on his radar over the last couple of years.
‘There is no roadmap’: Fickell takes over Badgers in wild new world of NIL money
Channel 27
Now, there’s another layer in major conference sports: Name, Image, and Likeness deals (NIL). Players are now allowed to cash in on endorsement deals, and with the transfer portal, are essentially free agents every year.
All-session tickets at UW Field House sold out for NCAA Tournament matches
Channel 3000
The UW Field House will be filled to the brim when the Badgers take the court on Friday.
Football coaching staff jobs posted as Badgers prepare to introduce Luke Fickell as new head coach
Channel 3000
Job postings for offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, director of football strength and conditioning, assistant strength and conditioning coach, and another assistant coach went up on the university’s jobs site Monday morning. The postings list an opening date of Monday, November 28 and a closing date of Monday, December 5.
‘You’ve got to be real’: Fickell acknowledges challenges, excitement in taking over Badgers football program
Channel 3000
New Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell had a whirlwind first day in Madison on Monday, touring Camp Randall Stadium with his family, meeting with university officials and donors, and answering a lot of questions about what’s next for the program.
Business/Technology
Fujifilm Cellular Dynamics to expand in Madison with new headquarters
Wisconsin State Journal
Fujifilm Cellular Dynamics, the company founded 18 years ago by UW-Madison stem cell pioneer James Thomson, plans to triple its footprint in Madison by building a new headquarters on the Far West Side.
UW Experts in the News
The reason why it is no longer recommended to drink two liters of water a day
AS USA
Dale Schoeller, a professor emeritus of nutrition at the University of Wisconsin (Madison) who participated in the research, has spent years studying water and metabolism. “Total water turnover with water from beverages and a lot of your water comes from the food you eat,” he said.
Fine arts, communications degrees qualify as STEM for immigrants
Inside Higher Ed
But whether graduates of STEM-designated degree programs take advantage of the extended visa option may not matter. That’s because colleges find that reclassifying degrees as STEM benefits them in other ways. For example, in 2016, when John Karl Scholz was dean of the College of Letters and Sciences at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, he sought to reclassify his institution’s economics program. Speaking with Inside Higher Ed this month, Scholz, who is now provost, shared the impact.
“The new designation is helpful in recruiting and supporting students who are considering multiple institutions for their graduate work,” Scholz said, adding that Madison’s economics programs had always been more quantitatively focused, and the reclassification reflected that.