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Madison man charged in November hate crime

Wisconsin State Journal

On November 28, the man, 20, and two other men disrupted a student organization meeting in the Humanities building, making racist and profane comments and threatening people in multiple rooms, according to UW-Madison Police spokesperson Marc Lovicott. The man was originally arrested Dec. 1.

Wisconsin constitutional amendments defeated. Here’s what it means.

The Capital Times

“I think constitutional amendments are something you see when we have control of the governor’s office and the Legislature in different political parties, because it’s a way for the Legislature to put things before the voters without having the governor’s approval or signature,” said Bryna Godar, staff attorney at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s State Democracy Research Initiative.

UW Board of Regents will consider faculty layoffs for first time as UW-Milwaukee advances plan

Wisconsin State Journal

The final decision is up to the UW Board of Regents. This will be the first time the Regents will consider using a decade-old policy that allows universities to lay off faculty members whose program has been eliminated or because of financial difficulty, a policy made possible by the elimination of tenure protections from state law.

Wisconsin project digs through records and dirt to find MIA soldiers

The Capital Times

Eighty years later, Stevens was finally buried in Florida National Cemetery. His daughter attended the service in March, along with Ryan Wubben and other members of a University of Wisconsin-Madison group who helped find Stevens’ remains.

“It’s an interesting feeling that the success of your project results in a funeral,” said Wubben, the field physician for the University of Wisconsin Missing in Action Recovery and Identification Project.

June Blanchard

Wisconsin State Journal

June went on to become a Professor of Law at the University of Wisconsin, where she taught and advocated for women’s rights for over two decades until her retirement.

Making friends as an adult can be hard. Here’s how some Madisonians do it

Wisconsin State Journal

Strong social connectedness is a “protective factor” against depression and promotes stress resilience, said Shilagh Mirgain, UW Health distinguished psychologist. That makes it almost imperative to make friends, she said. She also said the health impacts of loneliness are as bad as smoking a dozen cigarettes a day. Friends help the immune system function more effectively and encourage a stable mood.

William R. Risley

Wisconsin State Journal

In 1986 he accepted a dual appointment at the University of WisconsinMadison in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese and the Department of Liberal Studies, Division of University Outreach. A consummate teacher-scholar, Professor Risley loved teaching undergraduate and graduate students, who appreciated his extensive knowledge, warmth and wit. While directing the University’s Spanish and Portuguese outreach programs, he enjoyed offering adult continuing education classes in the evenings and developing courses in new areas, especially in Latin American literature. He retired from the profession in 2011.

UW Health doctors use AI to take notes, cut screen time at visits

The Capital Times

A group of doctors at UW Health are trying out a tool that uses artificial intelligence to take notes on their visits, allowing them to focus more on patients and less on screens. Proponents say the approach could not only improve patient experience but also reduce burnout among overworked physicians.

Madison expands air quality monitors to pinpoint causes of pollution

The Capital Times

When Tracey Holloway studied Madison’s air quality last year under a contract for Madison Gas and Electric, she walked away surprised that “transportation and coal-fired power plants weren’t a bigger part of the pie.”

Holloway is a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of energy analysis and policy, and a science advisor to Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway. The mayor announced the installation of the new monitors on July 22.

Both Trump and Harris are missing many moderate voters, poll says

The Capital Times

Allison Prasch, a political rhetoric scholar from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, thinks Walz’s approach to policy might be refreshing for voters turned off by the extremes.

“Walz has an ability to speak to voters in such a way that it brings the focus back to what we might call kitchen table issues — cost of child care, grocery budget, thinking about health care — and I think that that has a way of connecting with voters who understandably are exhausted by this looming, never-ending cycle of existential crisis,” Prasch said.

Will Tim Walz help Kamala Harris’ bid for the White House?

The Capital Times

“I think Democrats have had a messaging problem,” said UW-Madison political rhetoric scholar Allison Prasch. “There is this narrative that ‘we know what’s best for you,’ and if you vote for (former President) Donald Trump, you’re stupid or you don’t pay attention. And that’s just incorrect, and the more that you communicate that to voters, the more they won’t want to listen to you.”

How to lower or eliminate your risk of knee arthritis, according to a new study

CNN

This finding is an exciting discovery, said Dr. Kathryn Miller, an associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison.

“We’ve always had this idea that muscle mass matters and helps protect joints,” said Miller, who was not involved with the study. “Now here is one study that starts to build on the idea that muscle mass is important to function and also to possibly decrease the risk of developing osteoarthritis.”

My Week at the Buzzy Meditation Retreat That Promises Bliss on Demand

Time

Richard J. Davidson, founder and director of the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, notes that even modest amounts of meditation—under 10 hours of practice in beginners—can change brain plasticity. But he cautions against commercializing the jhanas prematurely. “People saying this benefits them is all well and good, but without real scientific evidence, we have no idea,” he says. “Anyone trying to monetize this should raise red flags.”

Ad running in Wisconsin gives new name to weather events worsened by climate change: ‘unnatural disasters’

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“The idea that we’re breaking heat records, having record floods — this is all consistent with what scientists have been projecting for decades. But the terminology is still what we used in the 1900s: ‘natural disasters,'” said Tracey Holloway, a professor in the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences and a member of Science Moms. “We’re building terminology that captures the reality of what’s happening.”

Wisconsin Democrats praise selection of Tim Walz as Kamala Harris’ running mate

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Barry Burden, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said Walz was “mostly likely to have a positive electoral impact in Wisconsin” out of the final handful of candidates Harris had considered. He said Walz “conveys more of a working-class background” that could appeal to rural voters around the Midwest.

“He is best positioned to relate to Wisconsin voters and will be a familiar figure to people who live in northwest Wisconsin and are within the Twin Cities media market,” said Burden, who is also director of UW’s Elections Research Center.

Tom Still: Competitive federal grants aren’t target of Aug. 13 constitutional referendums

Wisconsin State Journal

One such proposal will come from the WiSys, a nonprofit supporting organization of the Universities of Wisconsin. It is the technology transfer office for 11 public universities, meaning it protects the intellectual property of academic inventors and aims to move such discoveries into the marketplace. The WiSys proposal, which got a Phase 1 nod from NSF, seeks to make Wisconsin a global leader in sustainable agriculture and involves about 30 partners.

How female politicians’ first names can work for and against them, according to science

CNN

The science comes together in a “balancing act for women,” according to Dr. Stav Atir, assistant professor in the Management and Human Resources Department at the University of Wisconsin School of Business, who has studied how gender affects the way we talk about professionals.

Atir was lead author of a study that found people were more than twice as likely to describe a male professional by surname in “high-status” fields, including politics. In the medical field, other research indicates that female physicians are more than twice as likely to be called by their first names instead of “doctor,” compared with their male counterparts.

‘Astonishing’ Antarctica heat wave sends temperatures 50 degrees above normal

CNN

It’s possible more heat waves like this will happen in future winters, which could leave the icy continent less fortified for its hottest season – summer – and more vulnerable to melting during subsequent heat waves, said David Mikolajczyk, a research meteorologist with the Antarctic Meteorological Research and Data Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

What’s causing the abundance of earwigs in Madison?

Wisconsin State Journal

But the bug can be indicative of a larger pest problem and can often have a foul odor, according to the Dane County UW-Extension.

“I am getting a number of submitted photos of plants with holes in the leaves and no obvious culprit,” said Lisa Johnson, horticulture research specialist with the UW-Extension. “These are likely to be earwigs or slugs. Populations of both are high this year due to excess moisture.”

Stephen D. Caldwell

Wisconsin State Journal

While a student in economics at the UW-Madison he began working in 1971 for the UW Department of ADP, which later became DoIT. He started as a computer operator, then advanced to programmer and analyst for the Registrar. His last position was with the UW Mail Team as senior analyst for all email iterations.

Opinion | A fond farewell to the Shell

The Capital Times

The Shell, formerly the Camp Randall Memorial Sports Center, has been a part of my life since my freshman year at the UW in 1958. The building was only 2 years old when every Friday we ROTC cadets went through our “drill and ceremonies,” learning how to march in formation, do about-faces, stand at ease and all the other basics of a well-tuned Army platoon, while getting prepared to become second lieutenants four years later.

Dale Kooyenga and Jason Fields: Madison plus Milwaukee equals promising tech hub

Wisconsin State Journal

Madison serves as the innovator — home to UW-Madison, where research is king. The school ranks eighth in the nation for research expenditures among public and private universities. According to the National Science Foundation, UW invests more than $1.5 billion annually. UW also ranks high in patents granted – 12th in the nation in 2023. Additionally, the city’s startup scene is consistently ranked among the top 150 globally.

Artificial intelligence task force releases action plan for state labor force

Channel 3000

“Very often these tools can invent false facts,” said UW-Madison Assistant Professor Annette Zimmermann. “That’s very misleading and very dangerous, particularly in professions that impact a lot of people.”

Zimmermann researches the ethical implications of AI at UW. She says it’s crucial to give workers a seat at the table when making decisions about how to use AI.

How an obscure federal law could be used to ban abortion nationwide

The Capital Times

In 1996, Congress added language to include the distribution of child pornography over the internet, not just the mail. This section is important to pay attention to, said Howard Schweber, a law professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“Let us assume, in the moment that Donald Trump wins reelection … a Trump Justice Department could choose to enforce the law and make it an actual crime to post on the internet any information about abortion,” Schweber said.

Mars Wrigley, other candymakers attend popular UW-Madison sweets class

The Capital Times

The vacuum provides cool air to help the chocolate set as creamy layers are added to create the sweet treat, said Rich Hartel, a food science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Hartel runs the university’s Candy School — also known as the Confectionery Technology Course — which started in 1963 and has become so popular that it has a waitlist of people who want to attend.