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Author: gbump

Tom Still: Getting more business ‘starts’ for Wisconsin requires action on several fronts

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Wisconsin State Journal

As the 2024 “Empowering the Wisconsin Idea” report noted, UW-Madison is sixth in the nation in research and development spending but not as vibrant in fostering startups. Other universities with R&D budgets comparable to Madison are the University of Michigan, Ohio State University, the University of Minnesota and the University of Washington. All four generate far more startups

In fact, all but three of 14 universities examined by the report were tied to more startups — including some with a fraction of the UW-Madison’s research budget.

Charlene Kate Kavanagh

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

Dr. Kate went on to become an Assistant Professor in the School of Medicine and School of Nursing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Michael L Symons

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Wisconsin State Journal

Mike retired from the UW-Madison Physical Plant in 2008 after more than 30 years of service.

12 UW-Madison inventions that changed the world

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Wisconsin State Journal

The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, known for helping UW-Madison commercialize discoveries such as vitamin D enrichment, a blood thinning drug and stem cells, may seem like a solid presence on campus whose existence was never in doubt.

But WARF, the nation’s first university technology transfer office, had to fight for survival from its founding in 1925 until at least 1980, when the federal Bayh-Dole Act said universities could retain patent rights on federally funded research.

This unsung team’s ‘thankless job’ is crucial to Wisconsin football

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Wisconsin State Journal

Head football equipment manager Jeremy Amundson and assistant equipment manager Sam Wrobel led a team of 14 student managers this season. This equipment staff collaborates with not just players and coaches but other Wisconsin departments to help provide the resources and assistance needed for the Badgers to perform at their best.

UW-Madison employees call for separate, paid bereavement leave

Posted on
The Capital Times

Under UW-Madison’s current policy, employees can use accrued sick leave, vacation days, banked leave or personal holidays after a family member dies. A new proposal encourages the university to add a separate, paid bereavement leave category for all employees, including faculty, staff, graduate student employees, postdoctoral fellows and others.

‘Don’t look for just one magic cure’ to your seasonal depression

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

Dr. Ellen Marks is the interim director of Mental Health Services at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She, too, said SAD derives from a range of factors and should be approached holistically.

Marks said SAD exists on a spectrum and can affect people with varying levels of severity. She encourages the normalization of SAD through education and discussion.

Madison changed in 2024, with new leaders, BRT and a shocking tragedy

Posted on
The Capital Times

UW-Madison started offering six weeks of paid time off to eligible employees in July, after the birth or adoption of a child. Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin celebrated the move. “The truth is that this isn’t going to be terribly expensive to implement,” Mnookin said in April, when the policy was announced.

The university community said farewell to a long-standing fixture on campus when “the Shell” was torn down this fall. UW-Madison’s athletics department plans to build a new indoor football practice facility next to Camp Randall stadium. The $285 million project is needed to remain competitive with peer institutions, especially at a top-tier football program in a northern climate, athletics department officials said.

Opinion | GOP takes another kick at the University of Wisconsin

Posted on
The Capital Times

Despite losing 14 seats in the fall election, GOP legislators still feel empowered to hold the state’s largest economic engine hostage to the whims of its most petty members. Republicans on the state Building Commission ganged up on UW-Madison last week and threw another obstacle in the path of the long-awaited and already-approved new engineering building.

UW med school dean reflects on abortion training, faculty diversity

Posted on
The Capital Times

As he first announced nearly a year ago, Robert Golden will soon step down as dean of the School of Medicine and Public Health. He’s held that role since 2006, overseeing more than 5,400 faculty and staff, nearly 2,400 students and postgraduate trainees, and over $640 million in research grants.

Coyotes, red foxes ‘coexist peacefully’ in Madison, researchers say

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The Capital Times

David Drake leads the Urban Canid Project at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Since 2014, researchers with the project have studied where coyotes and red foxes live in the Madison area, when they are active and how they interact with each other, in addition to humans and pets. University students help Drake set up traps around the city from November to March, so they can put radio collars on animals and track them.

“We’ve gotten some really good data,” said Drake, a professor and Extension wildlife specialist at UW-Madison’s Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology.

William Lawrence Church

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Wisconsin State Journal

He retired as Volkman-Bascom Distinguished Teaching Professor of Law after teaching for 50 years at the University of Wisconsin Law School. He received numerous awards for excellence in teaching.

Female school shooters like the one in Madison are extremely rare, data shows

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Wisconsin State Journal

Janet Hyde, UW-Madison professor emerita of psychology and gender and women’s studies, believes socialization explains the gender gap. Hyde is an expert in both the psychology of gun violence and women.

“Of course, we don’t know the details about the motives in this particular one, but in general, women are socialized, girls are socialized, to care for others,” Hyde said. “This is such a violation of what girls are socialized to do — they’re socialized to play with baby dolls, and they’re socialized to become nurses. It’s great to be a caring person, but that’s why we see so few female shooters, because it violates the socialization.”

Wisconsin scientists seek to explain strange headaches at US embassies

Posted on
The Capital Times

Christian Franck, a mechanical engineering professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, leads PANTHER, an multi-institution research hub based at UW-Madison, focused on understanding, detecting and preventing traumatic brain injuries. The hub brings together experts from different disciplines.

PANTHER has received over $50 million from the U.S. Office of Naval Research since 2017, including an additional $10 million recently to investigate how pulsed microwaves might injure the brain.

Madison school shooter was 15-year-old girl, police say

Posted on
The Capital Times

Fifteen ambulances responded to the shooting. Four victims were transported to St. Mary’s and three to University of Wisconsin-Madison hospitals, Madison Fire Chief Chris Carbon said.

Officers from the Madison Police Department, the University of Wisconsin-Madison Police Department, Wisconsin State Patrol and Dane County Sheriff’s Department were on site. Barnes said he also had been in contact with the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Mary Teresa Zellmer

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Wisconsin State Journal

For several years, Mary worked with the Theater Department at UW-Madison, a highlight of which was traveling throughout the U.S. with performing theater students.

New bird flu case found at poultry farm in Wisconsin

Posted on
WKOW-TV 27

Extension Specialist for Poultry Science at UW Madison, Ron Kean, is urging farmers to take extensive measures to prevent the virus from spreading to their flocks.

“Keeping them indoors, if possible, certainly cleaning and disinfecting anything that’s coming into the flock,” said Kean. “People tend to be a big carrier, we think. So, changing clothes, changing shoes, especially, or designated footwear.”

Trump lawyers, aid to make initial appearance in court on Thursday in Wisconsin ‘fake electors’ case

Posted on
NBC-15

If the case goes to trial, finding non-biased jurors may delay the case, UW-Madison Political Science Professor Howard Schweber said.

“It’s really hard to say how it will play out, but the confident prediction can be that it’s going to be a circus,” Schweber said. “These state prosecutions may be the best opportunity that we ever have to develop a record of what happened.”

Letter | Stamp out hunger on campus

Posted on
The Capital Times

Letter to the editor: According to Open Seat Food Pantry, a student organization at UW-Madison that seeks to address food insecurity, it is estimated that 12% of UW-Madison students are food insecure. The Office of Student Assistance and Support houses Badger FARE, a program that only provides $75 per academic year for those who meet the criteria. The school additionally provides frozen meals, but distributes them through churches, limiting its effectiveness.

Margaret Mott

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

While nurturing her family, she worked as a Staff Nurse at Methodist Hospital; UW-Madison Student Health Services as a Nurse Clinician (earning the first certification in Wis) and Health Information Materials Coordinator until her retirement in 2000.