UW-Madison is among the top five universities in the country for research spending — the highest ranking the institution has earned since 2014.
A National Science Foundation survey released Tuesday ranked UW-Madison No. 5 out of 925 universities for the $1.93 billion it spent for research in fiscal year 2024, which ran from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024.
UW-Madison’s Geology Museum
Glowing rocks, dinosaurs and meteorites await visitors to this free museum, offering visitors an up-close look at the minerals and stones that comprise the natural world around them. Dinosaurs and fossils guide guests through physical history, beckoning those who want to know more about extinct species. The museum is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
A common quip about nuclear fusion is that the technology is perpetually 30 years from deployment. Fusion research has not been funded to the same levels as other, already-realized clean technologies like solar, wind and fission, but new billion-dollar investments signify interest is picking up.
University of Wisconsin-Madison fusion spinoff company Type One Energy aims to bring nuclear fusion to the grid within a decade, backed by funding and a physics-based model.
Though acting remains the career goal, Nate Buescher is also focused on life beyond the screen. He recently started his freshman year in Madison, studying biology. “I’m already kind of dabbling in the acting portion of my life. Might as well just try something new, just trying to expand my world,” he said.
The decision to come to Wisconsin was an easy one. “I’m really familiar with the Midwest. I like the cold weather, even though that sounds a little weird,” he said. “I was lucky enough to get a pretty good scholarship at Madison, and it’s also been a dream school of mine for a really long time.”
Despite the proposed changes, Wisconsin wetlands are likely to fare better than most states. A 2001 law provided robust protections for isolated wetlands or those that aren’t directly connected to streams and rivers, said Steph Tai, a law professor with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School.
“Anyone who’s looking to fill in wetlands within Wisconsin is still going to have to go through permitting through our DNR,” Tai said.
Two Wisconsinites were given their first Pro Bowl selections, including one rookie who spent most of his college career at the University of Wisconsin, when the National Football League named its teams for the 2026 NFL Pro Bowl Games.
Julie Klinger, a geographer at the University of Wisconsin who studies extraction and resource frontiers, says these things deserve more scrutiny. “Particularly as we’re moving into a time where there is much more overt taxpayer-funded support of critical mineral mining and processing projects, the taxpayer does need to have quite a bit more information,” she said.
