Just 5 or 6 feet below ground, it’s about 50 degrees year-round, and that heat production becomes more consistent the deeper you go, said Gregory Nemet, professor of energy and climate policy at UW-Madison. It makes sense for large developments like the Belle Farm Neighborhood to use energy sources like geothermal, as the infrastructure needed is minimal, Nemet said: essentially digging a hole in the ground and installing coils and connecting that to an HVAC system for heating and cooling.
Author: gbump
New bill would eliminate taxes on student loan relief in Wisconsin
Sen. Kelda Roys of Madison and Sen. Jeff Smith of Brunswick, along with Rep. Deb Andraca of Whitefish Bay and Rep. Alex Joers of Middleton, said the bill would exclude student loans from Wisconsin state income tax by adopting the student debt loan relief tax exclusion passed under the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
Finally, Lake Mendota freezes
The subzero temperatures and low wind speeds have finally forced Lake Mendota to relent.
Madison’s newest labor unions face next fight: getting a contract
A union drive can be “a kind of arduous process,” but it’s only “the end of the beginning,” said Michael Childers, a business and labor education professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It’s common for workers to wait a year or more between election and contract, and many unions allege that the employer behaves illegally during the bargaining process.
UW-Madison receives $150 million to study Alzheimer’s disease
The National Institutes of Health is investing $150 million in the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s research on Alzheimer’s disease — the largest award from the federal agency in the university’s history.
As the U.S. shivers through a deep freeze, the world beyond is worryingly toasty
The idea is the jet stream — the upper air circulation that drives weather — is wavier in amplified global warming, said University of Wisconsin-Madison climate scientist Steve Vavrus. And those wave changes in the upper air knock the polar vortex out of its place and toward the United States, Cohen said.
China Moves Closer to Population Crisis
In a global context, University of Wisconsin-Madison demographer Fuxian Yi wrote on social media Wednesday that even if China stabilizes its birth rate at 1.0, its population will drop to under 400 million in 2100 compared to 366 million for the U.S., as predicted by the U.S. Census Bureau
The Volodymyr Zelensky-Donald Trump Divide Looms at Davos – The New York Times
“Chinese authorities and some international economists believed that China’s economic downturn in the past few years was caused by the “zero Covid” policy,” Yi Fuxian, a scientist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and an expert on Chinese demographics, told DealBook. “But China’s economic recovery was much weaker than expected last year, as the core drivers of the downturn were aging and a declining work force.”
Alzheimer’s study at UW-Madison may improve odds for dementia treatment
With predictions for a doubling of U.S. dementia patients by 2040, the need to better understand Alzheimer’s and its debilitating “relatives” has intensified. That’s why the five-year, $150 million federal grant awarded to the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health is critical to learning more about root causes, possible disease pathways and better clinical care.
Bert Newton Adams
After a post-doctoral fellowship at UNC, Dr. Adams joined the Sociology faculty of University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1965. For nearly 50 years he taught courses on Social Theory and large lecture classes on Marriage and the Family, reaching some 20,000 UW students.
A dozen (or so) ideas to cure cabin fever for the coming frigid weather
Update your calendar with winter fun. Mark Feb. 3 for the Frozen Assets Festival on Lake Mendota (cleanlakesalliance.org/frozen-assets/), Feb. 7-10 for the UW-Madison Winter Carnival at Memorial Union (union.wisc.edu/events-and-activities/special-events/wintercarnival/) and Feb. 9-11 for the Garden and Landscape Expo at the Alliant Energy Center (wigardenexpo.com).
As a new generation rises, tension between free speech and inclusivity on college campuses simmers
“We believe in a diverse set of thoughts,” says Kaleb Autman, a Black student at the University of Wisconsin whose group is demanding a zero-tolerance policy on hate speech. “But when your thought is predicated on the subjugation of me or my people, or to a generalized people, then we have problems.”
Did a Young Democratic Activist in 1968 Pave the Way for Donald Trump?
“The rise of party activists is the theme of the last 20 years,” says Byron Shafer, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin who wrote the definitive history of the 1968 reforms in Quiet Revolution: The Struggle for the Democratic Party and the Shaping of Post-Reform Politics. “And a lot of it does come from what happened back then.”
Trump’s lead in Iowa never looked clearer
Billy Blathras, 20, a student at University of Wisconsin–Madison, drove in last night with some of his fellow college Republicans to phone bank. “From my experience with the calls, most of them when we get an answer are for President Trump, which isn’t really too surprising considering his kind of commanding lead over the rest of the field,” he said
Vote to volunteer: Poll workers sorely needed this election year
About 1 million people typically step up to work the polls in a presidential election, said Barry Burden, director of the Elections Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
This pristine lake has endured for 2m years. Why are its fish in crisis?
The tributary streams used by Hovsgol grayling for spawning are also drying up. “They no longer have water in them during the spring spawning season,” says Olaf Jensen, an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Nearly 80% of the 96 streams that once flowed into Lake Hovsgol are dry during the key months when the fish migrate.
The Rise of the N.F.L.’s 2-Point Conversion: A Guide to Strategy
A comprehensive analysis by FiveThirtyEight recommended going for two, especially late in the game, but a separate analysis by a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor, Laura Albert, concluded it’s best to kick the extra point. Even on similar questions, slightly different assumptions or data can lead to different answers.
Madison pinpoints 8 sites for Amtrak station, drops airport and UW from consideration
With efforts to bring passenger rail service to Madison once again gaining momentum, the city has identified eight potential sites for a rail station, located along three corridors Downtown, near the coming Madison Public Market and by the former Oscar Mayer plant.
All UW students benefit from diversity programs — Audrey Tluczek
Letter to the editor: As a proud UW-Madison alum and emerita professor, I’m deeply dismayed by the GOP’s efforts to strong-arm the Board of Regents into diminishing diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Bernard Cecil Cohen, former UW-Madison acting chancellor and noted political scientist, dies
Cohen, who studied foreign policy and mass media’s role in shaping it, spent three decades at UW-Madison, first joining the faculty in 1959 and later serving as chair of the political science department. Cohen later transitioned into administrative roles, including associate dean of the Graduate School in the 1970s and vice chancellor of academic affairs in the 1980s.
Badgers men’s hockey continues breaking records with sweep of Notre Dame
The Badgers won both games against the Fighting Irish to secure the No. 1 spot in the Big Ten and extend their winning streak to nine.
Opinion | The movement to save Madison’s trees is nothing new
One of his big fights, which he eventually lost, but really won, was against the UW-Madison’s decision to take a piece of Bascom Hill’s John Muir Woods to build a new social sciences building just north of the hill’s celebrated Carillon Tower.
Stratatech downsizes, pulls plug on invention for burn victims
The first female UW-Madison faculty member to start a biotech business, Allen-Hoffmann left her role as CEO of Stratatech after the acquisition and has since retired from her subsequent role as vice president of regenerative medicine at Mallinckrodt. She did not respond to a request for comment.
UW-Milwaukee looking to sell chancellor’s residence as school grapples with deficit
The university announced Thursday that officials will seek permission from Universities of Wisconsin regents to sell the residence along the Lake Michigan shoreline. Real estate website Zillow estimates the six-bedroom home is worth about $1.4 million. The university’s real estate foundation purchased the home in 2012 for $955,000.
Video: A snowy drive through the UW Arboretum
State Journal reporter Barry Adams drives through the UW Arboretum the day after southern Wisconsin’s first major snowstorm of the season.
Charles O. Jones, a dean of American political scientists, dies at 92
Dr. Jones, an emeritus professor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, devoted decades to explaining the American democratic process — why citizens vote as they do, how politicians wield or fail to wield their power while in office, and how the branches of government interact.
We Are in a Big Covid Wave. But Just How Big?
Wastewater testing works at all because “everybody poops,” said David O’Connor, a virologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
These Satellite Maps Reveal Rampant Fishing by Untracked ‘Dark Vessels’ in the World’s Oceans
“These previously invisible vessels radically changed our knowledge about the scale, scope and location of fishing activity,” writes Jennifer Raynor, an author of the study and a natural resource economist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, in the Conversation.
Sludge Videos Are Taking Over TikTok–And People’s Mind
This is because the brain has to switch back and forth to give each one attention, says Megan Moreno, an adolescent medicine physician who studies media and digital health at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Over time, too much stimulation may be detrimental to your ability to concentrate on any one task. “We are in this world with lots of little micro interruptions,” Moreno says. “It is hard to piece together the stories, and it’s harder to retain them, because you have to do so much work to put them together.”
Recruiting international students is about money — Marlene Buechel
Letter to the editor: Just days after the UW Board of Regents caved and reversed its vote on the significant reduction to efforts of diversity, equity and inclusion, the UW system brazenly announced it is looking to double its numbers of international students in the next five years. How impressive, right?
Wisconsin volleyball crowd sizes at the Field House reach another high in 2023
The average number of tickets scanned at Badgers home matches in 2023 was 6,261, the highest on record and a 4.6% climb over 2022.
UW to head up $150 million national study on Alzheimer’s disease
UW-Madison is heading up a $150 million study at Alzheimer’s disease centers around the country that seeks to shed more light on mixed dementia, or having more than one kind of the neurological disease.
Wisconsin bill seeks to curtail AI deepfakes in political ads
Dietram Scheufele, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor whose work includes looking at AI and political communication, noted the new technology comes at the same time there’s been a rise in disinformation delivered by foreign adversaries to disrupt the U.S. electoral system.
UW Health reflects on 2023
CEO Dr. Alan Kaplan said that despite the challenges facing health care providers, UW Health saw a “very strong” year. “Our vision at UW Health is providing remarkable care to our patients and our community,” he said. “Our more than 24,000 providers and staff made that vision a reality for a record number of patients over the last year.”
UW-Madison receives grant to lead national Alzheimer’s study
Study leader Sterling Johnson said the study is a significant milestone in Alzheimer’s research.
Sweden Issues Ominous Warning to Citizens
Mikhail Troitskiy, professor of practice at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told Newsweek that the strategies of countries like Sweden and other NATO allies are being accentuated because Ukraine aid from countries like the U.S. could end. Russia might view this as an opening for “spillover” into other foreign lands.
To Fight Absenteeism, Schools Turn to Private Companies
By the 1890-91 school year, more than 200 of Massachusetts’s 351 towns had an average daily attendance of 90%, and only 11 were below 80%. During the following decades, mandatory schooling spread nationwide. William Reese, a professor of history at the University of Wisconsin, found that just 6% of adolescents were in high school in 1890 but that by 1930 half of them were.
AI copilots and cloud labs turbocharge research
Strateos, a Menlo Park-based cloud lab provider, says it has been able to reduce the experimental time cycle of protein engineers at University of Wisconsin Madison from 8 days to 6 hours by combining an “AI-driven protein design platform” with a cloud lab.
Wisconsin election clerks fear ‘ping pong’ of ever-changing rules
A University of Wisconsin-Madison study of local clerks’ experiences after the contentious 2020 election found that over 60% of those surveyed said the turmoil wouldn’t affect their decision to continue serving. Some found that the experience actually strengthened their resolve to keep administering elections.
Republicans propose state constitutional amendment limiting DEI initiatives
Local governments and state agencies would be prohibited from discriminating against or granting preferential treatment to anybody on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin under a proposed constitutional amendment Republicans began circulating last week.
Alternate approaches can help attract foreign students to Wisconsin
The goal is not to replace any Wisconsin students but to help make up for the fact there are 20,000 fewer students at UW campuses than there were 10 years ago, thanks to a declining pool of in-state high school students and some attrition in interest in earning a four-year degree. International students make up about 4% of UW enrollment — much of it concentrated at UW-Madison — while neighboring states Minnesota, Illinois, Michigan and Iowa report higher shares, in most cases double or more.
Republicans propose bill to fund UW-Madison engineering building, UW facilities, a key part of DEI deal
Lawmakers will bring forward a bill to fund the construction of UW-Madison’s new engineering building, among other projects, that was one of the most significant aspects of the deal struck last month between the Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman and Assembly Speaker Rep. Robin Vos, R-Rochester.
Wisconsin Badgers star AJ Storr making a big impact on and off the court
AJ Storr’s journey to becoming a standout player for the Wisconsin Badgers is more than just a basketball story; it’s a tale of family, inspiration, and giving back to the community.
Paul B. Linden
Following his Air Force service Paul worked at the University of Wisconsin School of Business in Madison and was a program director at the Fluno Center.
‘She’s a 1-of-1’: Historic Wisconsin women’s basketball freshman breaking barriers, stereotypes
The Badgers have been excited to see her continue to defy people’s misconceptions, and learn more about the glass ceiling-shattering guard. While she remains the lone Indian-American player in Power Five, Patibandla has been embraced by her teammates while continuing to celebrate her culture.
5 things to watch for with Universities of Wisconsin in 2024
And you can expect the sagas of long-standing issues with the UW system — anticipated budget shortfalls, enrollment and the future of the branch campuses — to continue as well. Here are five things to keep an eye on in 2024.
James B. Beyer
He received a PhD in 1961 from the University of Wisconsin in Electrical Engineering and taught for 34 years at UW-Madison. A highlight was receiving a Fulbright Scholarship in 1968 and spending an adventurous year in Germany with Elaine and 4 young children.
Here’s how many people actually attended Wisconsin home football games in 2023
The first season of the Luke Fickell coaching era at the University of Wisconsin brought slightly larger crowds than were at Camp Randall Stadium in 2022.
Wisconsin’s first nut crop fights climate change, farmers say
Researchers and farmers have been trying to crossbreed these two species of hazelnuts for over 100 years, said Jason Fischbach, emerging crops outreach specialist with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension. Since 2007, Fischbach has worked to develop a commercially viable version of this crop through the Upper Midwest Hazelnut Development Initiative. He partnered with farmers who grew the plant from seedlings to breed the best varieties.
Harry C. Hinze
Harry worked in the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology at the UW-Madison from 1961 until retiring as an Associate Professor in 1995, at which time he was honored with an Emeritus appointment.
Young Voters Are Worried About a Biden-Trump Rematch in 2024
Brynn Teeling, a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who attended a town hall in Iowa for Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign, said she was “extremely frustrated” with the prospect of a Biden-Trump rematch, citing Mr. Biden’s age and Mr. Trump’s divisiveness.
The new FAFSA is meant to make applying for college aid easier, but not everyone can access it yet
The beta testing-like process has complicated financial aid advisors’ communication with students, said Helen Faith, director of the Office of Financial Aid at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Earth Could Outlive the Sun
In 5 billion years, our sun will balloon into a red giant star. Whether Earth survives is an “open question,” Melinda Soares-Furtado, an astrophysicist at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, says. Sure, Earth could be swallowed by the sun and destroyed. But in some scenarios, Earth escapes and is pushed farther out into the solar system.
Get fit, save money: These cities are top spots for fulfilling your resolutions
If you resolve to stay healthy, Madison, Wis., is a good choice. With five general hospitals — including UW-Madison School of Medicine — and more than 20 medical clinics, finding healthcare is accessible in Madison. The city also boasts a low percentage of uninsured residents and a high doctor-patient ratio.
Evers rebukes Vos on DEI, praises redistricting case ruling
Gov. Tony Evers criticized Republican-led attempts to weaken DEI programs and applauded a recent court ruling ordering new legislative maps in Wisconsin.
New technology developed at UW-Madison aims to detect developmental disorders before birth
Professors and students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have developed groundbreaking technology that could assist doctors in identifying developmental disorders before a child is born.
Snow Scholars prepare for winter storms
Snow Scholars is a snow shoveling business founded by UW-Madison students. They serve other students, as well as residents in the Madison community.
Risks of Storing Medication in the Bathroom Cabinet
Michelle A Chui, PharmD, PhD, a professor in pharmacy administration at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Pharmacy, told Health she doesn’t think medicines can spoil in your medicine cabinet from shower or bath moisture, or general humidity in the home.
Tony Evers: Republicans are ‘not going to scare me out of’ DEI
Gov. Tony Evers said threats from Republican legislators are “not going to scare me out of” employing diversity, equity and inclusion programs in state government.
The use of programs to foster inclusion and support for marginalized communities at the Universities of Wisconsin and other state agencies have come under fire from conservatives in recent months.
Gov. Tony Evers: State DEI efforts to continue despite Republican criticism
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers said he has no plans to change state government’s use of diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, positions, despite increased criticism of the practice from Republican lawmakers.