Joan Hinton was a physics graduate student at the University of Wisconsin when she was tapped for Los Alamos. She worked on a team building the first reactor able to use enriched uranium as fuel. Hinton also witnessed the Trinity Test. Just weeks after the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagaski, killing more than 200,000 people, Hinton drove physicist Harry Daghlian to the hospital after he was exposed to a lethal amount of radiation from a plutonium core. He died about three weeks later.
Author: mjklein3
Only 26 Black Women Have Ever Become Astrophysicists in the U.S. Here’s One’s Story
UW–Madison alum Aomawa Shields recounts her alternative career path in a new memoir about life, space and motherhood.
Just 5 Universities Produce One-Eighth of the Nation’s Tenure-Track Professors
The researchers found that the University of California at Berkeley, Harvard University, the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and Stanford University produce nearly 14 percent of the nation’s tenure-track faculty members.
One of the most significant Jewish holidays is here. What to know about Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah is often treated as a time to reflect on the previous year and focus on hopes for the coming year, according to Jordan Rosenblum, the Belzer Professor of Classical Judaism and Max and Frieda Weinstein-Bascom Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
The 7 best meditation apps you can use for free
Like Smiling Minds, the Healthy Minds Program emphasizes its scientific credentials. The app is developed by a nonprofit called Healthy Minds Innovation, which is affiliated with the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The City That Hates Exercise the Most in Every State
Exercise trends vary considerably across the country, from state to state as well as from city to city. Using data from County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute joint program, 24/7 Tempo identified the least physically active metropolitan area in each state.
9 top-rated natural deodorants to try in 2022
“A lot of [natural deodorants] also have coconut oil, which has some natural antibacterial properties, as well as shea butter, which is going to make [the formula] thicker and allow the deodorant to create a film over the armpit so it’s not secreting as much sweat,” said Dr. Apple Bodemer, a board-certified dermatologist and associate professor of dermatology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. However, she warned that deodorants containing these ingredients can be “tricky” since they can stain fabric.
The Unmaking of American History by the Woke Mob
In his August column for the American Historical Association’s journal, Perspectives on History, James H. Sweet warned that academic history has become so “presentist” that it is losing touch with its subject, the world before yesterday. Mr. Sweet, who is the association’s president and teaches at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, observed that the “allure of political relevance” is drawing students away from pre-1800 history and toward “contemporary social justice issues” such as “race, gender, sexuality, nationalism, capitalism.”
Couple’s home value rose nearly $300K after it was shown by white colleague
Paige Glotzer, the author of “How the Suburbs Were Segregated: Developers and the Business of Exclusionary Housing – 1890-1960,” told ABC News that they see a deeply rooted connection in Connolly and Mott’s lawsuit to racially exclusive housing covenants that once prohibited Black residents from living in Homeland, a still predominantly white neighborhood. Glotzer is also an assistant professor and the John W. and Jeanne M. Rowe Chair in the History of American Politics, Institutions, and Political Economy at University of Wisconsin-Madison. Glotzer is also Connolly’s former Ph.D. advisee.
Wild mushrooms are curious organisms that require respect
KidsPost asked Anne Pringle, a scientist who studies fungi at the University of Wisconsin, about fungi’s image problem. “Unfortunately, there aren’t really a lot of warm fuzzy mushroom stories out there,” Pringle says.
Women Shouldn’t Do Any More Housework This Year
Most people don’t think of their own households as reproducing sexist societal dynamics, research by Allison Daminger, a sociology professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has shown. That would be too painful. Instead, we find ways to rationalize the housework disparity, making excuses like “She’s a perfectionist” and “He’s laid back.”
Who is Sarah Nurse? Team Canada forward becomes first female to be featured on cover of NHL video game
Nurse played college hockey for four years at the University of Wisconsin. As a Badger, Nurse helped the team win the WCHA Championship, scoring two goals on the way to defeating Bemidji State.
Seven Million Years Ago, the Oldest Known Early Human Was Already Walking
John Hawks, who studies human evolution at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and was not involved in either femur study, has questioned whether Sahelanthropus‘s skull and teeth mark it as an upright hominin. He finds the disconnect between femur analyses puzzling and more than a little frustrating—particularly since the fossil in question was discovered two decades ago.
GOP officials refuse to certify primaries: “This is how Republicans are planning to steal elections”
“Had this unfolded on this kind of timeline in 2020, it really could have created problems, because there would have been questions about whether the state could have actually named a slate of electors,” Robert Yablon, a law professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School, told the Times. “You could imagine there being disputed slates of electors that were sent to Congress, and it could have been a big mess.”
States may revive abortion laws from a time when women couldn’t vote
In the 1840s, when it passed its abortion law, its lawmakers took the radical step of considering giving women the right to vote in the state Constitution, before deciding against it, according to the Office of Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Wisconsin.
Increasing women police recruits to 30% could help change departments’ culture
University of Wisconsin Law Professor Keith Findley is a member of Madison’s Police Civilian Oversight Board. He says a plethora of research shows that women on the force have a positive impact on police departments and communities. He says they are often better at communicating and de-escalating tense situations.
Flying is the hardest part of traveling while fat: Here are 9 ways to make it easier
With the help of Ho and Chaney – as well as Sami Schalk, associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and my own experience as a plus-size international travel writer – we’ve compiled a series of tips that can help anyone, regardless of their size, feel a little more comfortable and confident about their next flight.
“I choose window seats so I can lean against the wall more,” said Schalk.
Climate Ruling Offers Opening to Challenge USDA Antitrust Role
Legislation could come soon challenging USDA regulations, said University of Wisconsin-Madison law professor emeritus Peter Carstensen. As for the meat and poultry rules, “right now, that’s where all the action is,” he said.
College track star dies by suicide, family launches foundation in her name
A family and college community are mourning the loss of a 21-year-old track star at University of Wisconsin-Madison who died by suicide. Sarah Shulze, a cross-country athlete, died on April 13, according to a statement from her parents and two sisters.
Here are the 28 Andrew Carnegie Fellows for 2022
Monica M. White University of Wisconsin–Madison
Burned and vandalized: A history of cherry blossoms bearing the brunt of xenophobia
But when they arrived in 1910, the Agriculture Department discovered upon inspection that they were diseased and infested with insects, according to the National Park Service. The trees were burned. Some anthropologists, including Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney, a professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, are skeptical about whether the trees were, indeed, infested.
Meet the Science moms working to save the planet for future generations
Moms may just be one of our most potent weapons against the climate crisis. Dr. Rios-Berrios joined forces with several climate scientists and parents in Science Moms, a nonpartisan group launched by the Potential Energy Coalition in 2021.
“One of the things I love about the Science Moms program is that the website and outreach make it easy for moms to get involved. It takes this complicated topic and breaks it into bite-size pieces,” says Science Mom’s Tracey Holloway, Ph.D., a professor in the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies and the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and mom to two.
Julia Marshall, influential San Francisco State art educator, dies at 74
Her MFA in sculpture came from the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
The human genome is finally complete
This is an impressive tour de force and a landmark accomplishment,” Lloyd Smith, a biochemist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who was not involved with the T2T project, told The Daily Beast. “It takes tremendous commitment, perseverance, and deep technical knowledge to decipher these most difficult to access regions of the genome.”
Barron’s 100 most influential women in finance: Katy Huberty
Katy Huberty has spent two decades at Morgan Stanley analyzing technology hardware stocks. Her coverage has included Apple, Dell Technologies, and Seagate Technology Holdings, among many others. Now director of equity research for the Americas, Huberty is thinking about how to scale her IT hardware team’s data-heavy approach to stock analysis to all of Morgan Stanley’s 49 research teams.
A Morgan Stanley lifer, Huberty, 44, joined the firm after college at the University of Wisconsin. Today, she sees technology diffusing into every corner of the market.
Alaska to use final-four primary, ranked-choice general election for Congress. Will others follow?
Quotes Barry Burden, director of the Election Research Center at the University of Wisconsin.
Mysterious wave of COVID toes still has scientists stumped
Lisa Arkin saw more swollen, discolored toes during the early months of the pandemic than she had during her entire career. Arkin, a pediatric dermatologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, treated just a couple of patients with temporary skin lesions called pernio, or chilblains, each year. But in April 2020, when COVID-19 cases first surged, she saw 30 chilblain patients.
Antarctica hit 70 degrees above average in March, an apparent world record
“Not a good sign when you see that sort of thing happen,” said University of Wisconsin meteorologist Matthew Lazzara.
Lazzara monitors temperatures at East Antarctica’s Dome C-ii and logged 14 degrees (-10 degrees Celsius) Friday, where the normal is -45 degrees (-43 degrees Celsius): “That’s a temperature that you should see in January, not March. January is summer there. That’s dramatic.”
The Washington Post’s Jessica Contrera wins 2022 Anthony Shadid Award for Journalism Ethics
The Center for Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has named Washington Post reporter Jessica Contrera winner of the 2022 Anthony Shadid Award for Journalism Ethics for her extraordinary stories on child sex trafficking in America.
Into the wild: Animals the latest frontier in COVID fight
To infect any living thing, the virus must get into its cells, which isn’t always easy. Virology expert David O’Connor likens the process to opening a “lock” with the virus’ spike protein “key.”
“Different species have different-looking locks, and some of those locks are not going to be pickable by the key,” the University of Wisconsin-Madison scientist said.
Across the Country, Faculty Fight to Defend Academic Freedom
As of this writing, 39 institutions have adopted the resolutions. They range from Big Ten universities like Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, Penn State, and the University of Wisconsin–Madison to such red-state universities as those of Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas. (Resolutions against laws/bills that would prevent teachers from dealing with racism and other politically charged subjects.)
9 big questions about Russia’s war in Ukraine, answered
“NATO expansion was deeply unpopular in Russia. [But] Putin did not invade because of NATO expansion,” says Yoshiko Herrera, a Russia expert at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Madison, Wisconsin: What you can get for $1.25 million (real estate)
Madison is the state’s capital and has seen a rise in population over the past decade. The city is the 80th largest in the country and is named after founding father James Madison. A look at some home prices.
‘Give the children their poems and stories of their own people’
A reading list hints at the richness and breadth of African American children’s writing before Brown v. Board of Education. Op-Ed by Brigitte Fielder, associate professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She is the author of “Relative Races: Genealogies of Interracial Kinship in Nineteenth-Century America.”
Standardized test scores drop in Milwaukee and statewide last spring, with participation way down
Bradley Carl, assistant scientist at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research at UW-Madison, said it would be helpful to have thresholds or criteria that allow districts or even DPI to compare last year’s numbers to pre-pandemic years, but that hasn’t been established, Carl said, so parents, researchers, mayors and others are “left to wonder and make sense of it.”
What My Brain Scan Revealed About the Science of Persuasion
What exactly happens when we change our mind? Pursuing this question is how I found myself, one recent morning, lying in a fancy brain scanner known as an fMRI machine and watching cartoons at the Waisman Center at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
Ancient-DNA Researchers Set Ethics Guidelines for Their Work
“I will say that it’s encouraging to see a group of scientists like this say we have talked about this standard of behavior and we’re willing to agree to it,” said John Hawks, a paleoanthropologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who was not involved with the paper. “It’s a step forward for them to say at least we’re going to follow the law.”