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Category: Arts & Humanities

Two UW–Madison professors awarded prestigious MacArthur ‘Genius grants’

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WKOW - Channel 27

Two University of Wisconsin–Madison professors have been named MacArthur Fellows, receiving one of the nation’s most prestigious honors.

Angel Adames Corraliza studies tropical weather patterns, focusing on atmospheric physics and climate model simulations. He says his research helps improve understanding of the planet and can ultimately save lives.

Sébastien Philippe, the second recipient, studies the harms and risks of building, testing and storing nuclear weapons. Using archival research, data modeling and his experience as a nuclear safety engineer, he examines the damage caused by nuclear testing. His work has influenced policy and improved compensation for people exposed to nuclear radiation.

Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl 2026 halftime show could finally bring Puerto Rican history into the spotlight

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Teen Vogue

To purposely further adhere his politics and his art, Bad Bunny involved University of Wisconsin-Madison associate professor of history Jorrell Meléndez-Badillo in the DtMF album rollout. The distilled history lessons from Meléndez-Badillo’s acclaimed book “Puerto Rico: A National History” were used as visualizers and displayed onscreen during the Residencia. His anti-colonial storytelling clarifies moments like the SCOTUS Insular cases, which afforded Puerto Rican U.S. citizens only some constitutional rights. He also emphasizes that these decisions were made in the early 1900s, when both journalistic coverage of Puerto Ricans and public intellectual discourse of them (including the President), was almost unilaterally disparaging and racist. This proliferated the idea that Puerto Ricans could never be American because of their “ignorance, laziness, and inferior ability to self-rule” (Melendez-Badillo, ch. 6).

These UW-Madison faculty have been awarded MacArthur fellowships

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Wisconsin State Journal

wo more MacArthur fellows were added Wednesday to UW-Madison’s growing list of faculty who have received the prestigious award.

Since 1985, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has granted eight UW-Madison professors the fellowship, which often is referred to as a “genius award.”

2 UW-Madison professors named MacArthur Foundation ‘genius’ fellows

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Wisconsin State Journal

Two UW-Madison professors have been named MacArthur Foundation fellows, called “genius awards,” for their work in studying weather patterns in the tropics and investigating the effects of nuclear weapons.

UW-Madison professors Ángel F. Adames Corraliza, who is an atmospheric scientist, and Sébastien Philippe, a nuclear security specialist, were selected Wednesday for the prestigious fellowships. Fellows receive $800,000 paid out over five years for any use.

MacArthur 2025 ‘genius’ grant winners include 2 UW-Madison professors

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation named atmospheric scientist Ángel Adames Corraliza, 37, and nuclear security specialist Sébastien Philippe, 38, as recipients of the prestigious MacArthur fellowship. Also known as the “genius grant,” the national award is given annually to a small group of people across a range of disciplines who show exceptional creativity in their work and future ambitions.

Prodigy Greg Zelek joins UW-Madison Concert Choir for harmonious organ-chorus performance

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The Daily Cardinal

The Overture Concert Organ Series opened on Oct. 2 with a performance by Madison Symphony Orchestra Principal Organist Greg Zelek and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Concert Choir, conducted by Director of Choral Studies Dr. Mariana Farah.

At 31, Zelek is an organ prodigy and has played all over the world. He is one of a handful of full-time symphony organists in the US and has the privilege of performing on the Overture Center’s own stunning, custom-made organ.

Meet the 22 artists, scientists and authors who will each get $800,000 MacArthur genius grants

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Associated Press

For Ángel F. Adames Corraliza, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the award is also a recognition of the talent and grit coming from Puerto Rico, where he is from, despite the hardships his community has endured. His research has uncovered many new findings about what drives weather patterns in the tropics, which may eventually help improve forecasting in those regions.

Adames said usually one of his classes would be ending right when the foundation would publish the new class of fellows, so he was planning to end the lecture early to come back to his office. He said he’s having trouble fathoming what it will be like.

“I am low-key expecting that a few people are just going to show up in my office, like right at 11:02 a.m. or something like that,” he said.

Many 2025 ‘Genius’ Fellows affiliated with universities

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Inside Higher Ed

Since the fellowship launched in 1981, fellows have included writers, scientists, artists, social scientists, humanists, teachers and entrepreneurs. While no institutional affiliation is required, the award went to the following 2025 fellows with ties to a college or university:

  • Atmospheric scientist Ángel F. Adames Corraliza, an associate professor in the Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, for investigating the mechanisms underlying tropical weather patterns.
  • Nuclear security specialist Sébastien Philippe, assistant professor in the Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, for exposing past harms and potential future risks from building, testing and storing launch-ready nuclear weapons.

UW research resumes on social media effects after funds frozen

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Badger Herald

Funding for a long-term study on the effects of social media on 325 Wisconsin teenagers aged 13-15 resumed on Monday after funding for the study was frozen by the Trump administration in March of this year, according to UW News.

The study is operating on a five-year $7.5 million grant from the National Institute of Health who terminated the grant on the basis that the grant no longer “effectuates agency priorities,” according to UW News.

Lake Winnebago wild rice restoration project continues despite federal funding cut

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Wisconsin Public Radio

For Jessica Skeesuck, vice chair of the Brothertown Indian Nation, restoring wild rice goes beyond just helping the environment.

“It is an important food from a nutritional value perspective, but also from a very important cultural perspective for many tribes, including Brothertown Indian Nation,” Skeesuck told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.”

Skeesuck and Jessie Conaway, an outdoor educator at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, are co-leads on the Intertribal Lake Winnebago Wild Rice Revitalization Project.

UW-Madison lab creating archive of historic, significant locations for Black Madisonians

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Spectrum News

New research going on at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is focused on how Black residents find and build community in the City of Madison, which is predominantly white.

About a dozen students are part of the first research lab within UW-Madison’s Department of African American Studies. It’s called the Soulfolk Collective.

Trump education cuts quietly declare that opportunity should be rationed on race

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Written by Anthony Hernandez, a faculty member in the Department of Educational Policy Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He received a research award from the National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation for his study on leadership in higher education.

UW system plan nixes ethnic and cultural studies requirement

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Wisconsin State Journal

Universities of Wisconsin proposal to redesign general education curriculum would eliminate requirements that students take an ethnic or cultural studies class.

UW system administrators are trying to standardize general education requirements to comply with reforms approved during the biennial budget negotiations aimed at making it easier for students to transfer credits between the 13 universities.

UW panel discusses impact of housing quality on equity, well-being

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The Badger Herald

The University of Wisconsin’s Institute for Research on Poverty hosted a webinar Sept. 30 to examine the impact of housing quality on families and communities — focusing on health, stability and the lasting effects of discriminatory policies such as redlining.

The event featured presentations from senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Erik Hembre, Emory University assistant professor of epidemiology Christine Ekenga and Boston University assistant professor of sociology Steven Schmidt.

Dairy farmers discuss ongoing farming struggles at World Dairy Expo

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Spectrum News

Wisconsin is welcoming guests from around the globe as the 2025 World Dairy Expo is now underway in Madison.

According to a report from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension Farm Management program, Wisconsin exported $3 billion of agricultural products in 2024, making agriculture a major economic driver for the state.

Wisconsin country musician releases ‘Fear the Beer,’ a tribute to Milwaukee Brewers

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Wisconsin Public Radio

When he’s not writing Brewers-themed songs at a breakneck pace, Gibson fronts Nate Gibson & the Stardazers, a local band that plays country, honky-tonk, rockabilly and bluegrass tunes from the Starday Records label. He is also an archivist at the Mills Music Library at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and hosts a long-running classic country music show at community radio station WORT 89.9 FM.

Experts discuss modern censorship at journalism ethics conference

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The Daily Cardinal

A panel of media professionals discussed the implications of modern-day censorship at the annual University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Journalism Ethics conference Friday.

“Journalism is a public good,” said Timothy Karr, senior director of strategy and communications at The Free Press. “The government needs to step in to figure out how it can help support that.”

Trout Lake Station documentary highlights local, global impact of Wisconsin research

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Wisconsin Public Radio

For nearly a century, Trout Lake Station in Boulder Junction has been at the center of environmental research in Wisconsin. Now, a new documentary aims to show how the year-round field station’s work extends far beyond lake shorelines.

Operated by the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for Limnology, Trout Lake Station has been supporting research since 1925.

Finding joy and confidence in writing with new ‘Whoopensocker’ collection

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PBS Wisconsin

PBS Wisconsin Education, in partnership with the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Education, recently launched Whoopensocker, a new educational resource collection for upper elementary learners that provides an on-ramp to writing through group games and scaffolded lessons.

Whoopensocker was first developed as a six-week teaching artist residency by Erica Halverson, a professor in the department of curriculum and instruction at the UW-Madison School of Education. Halverson teamed up with PBS Wisconsin Education to make a multimedia version of the program that’s accessible to more educators around the state and in spaces where an artist residency may not be available.

Will Camp Randall keep moonlighting as a music venue?

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Madison Magazine

The success of this summer’s Morgan Wallen and Coldplay concerts suggests that the stage is set for the University of Wisconsin’s football stadium to continue serving as a venue for big-name acts.

The comeback is nearly three decades in the making. Before this summer, Camp Randall Stadium last held a major music concert in 1997: the year Princess Diana died, the first “Harry Potter” book was published and the WNBA debuted. On Oct. 6, The Rolling Stones thrilled more than 27,000 local fans at Camp Randall as part of their Bridges to Babylon Tour.

Badgers partner with MMSD to get students excited about reading and develop better literacy habits

Posted on
WKOW - Channel 27

Badgers were spotted at Sandburg Elementary on Monday helping students get excited about reading.

The partnership between the Wisconsin Badger football program and Madison Metropolitan School District helps UW athletes give back to the community through the support of the district’s reading literacy initiative.

Federal cuts to foreign language grants leave UW-Madison programs, students in limbo

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Wisconsin State Journal

UW-Madison graduate student Olivia Kusuma received a competitive federal grant allowing her to study advanced Indonesian this fall for her research on Southeast Asian American communities.

Kusuma is one of more than 50 UW-Madison students who, after weeks of waiting in limbo, got notice this month that the Trump administration canceled the university’s federal Foreign Language and Area Studies.

Middle Earth in Madison? UW exhibit honors the legacy of fantasy map maker Karen Fonstad

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The Daily Cardinal

Hundreds of community members poured into the sun-soaked cartography library at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Science Hall in the last 10 days of July, gingerly perusing through decades of fantasy maps, all created by one woman.

The exhibit, curated by UW-Madison alum and University of Oregon professor Mark Fonstad, showcased the maps, annotated books and meticulous research notes behind Karen Wynn Fonstad’s, his mother, atlases of worlds including “The Lord of the Rings” and “Dungeons & Dragons.”

Wisconsin lawmakers weigh adopting controversial definition of antisemitism

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Wisconsin Public Radio

While officially adopted by the IHRA in 2016, the definition has been in use for about 20 years, according to Chad Alan Goldberg, a sociologist and professor of Jewish studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He said it’s a response to rising antisemitism in recent decades, with an additional increase since the war between Israel and Hamas after Hamas’ attacks on Oct. 7, 2023.

“It’s coming in a context of heightened concerns about antisemitism,” he said. “Proponents … think it would be a good idea because they think it would make it easier to identify and combat anti-Jewish hate speech and hate crimes, anti-Jewish harassment, vandalism and assault.”

Michael Schultz, ‘longest-working man in show business,’ comes back home for film award

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

After graduating from Riverside, Schultz went to the University of Wisconsin-Madison to pursue what he thought was his dream of being an astronaut. But he quickly realized he wasn’t cut out for it (“calculus was kicking my butt”) and wound up spending half of his sophomore year in theaters, watching movies by filmmakers like Claude Lelouch and Akira Kurosawa.

Journalism in the age of AI

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Isthmus

Within weeks of arriving in Madison, Tomas Dodds has already launched an exciting lab on campus: the Public Tech Media Lab. Dodds, a native of Buenos Aires, was happily working at Leiden University in the Netherlands, where he was a research fellow at the AI, Media & Democracy Lab and the Institute for Advanced Study, when he saw a job opening at UW-Madison’s J-school.

According to Dodds, a main goal of the Public Tech Media Lab, which already counts faculty associates from around the globe, will be to teach journalists how to use open source technologies to create their own AI systems that align with their values and needs. The idea is to make newsrooms less dependent on big tech companies that have their own private interests.

Helping teens navigate online racism − study shows which parenting strategy works best

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The Conversation

Parents struggle to help teens deal with online racism. Online racism is different from in-person racism because the people behaving that way usually hide behind fake names, making it hard to stop them. Studies found that teens of color see more untargeted racism – memes, jokes, comments – and racism targeting others online than racism targeted directly at them. But vicarious racism hurts, too.

How do modern-day couples divide the work of decision-making?

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Madison Magazine

Allison Daminger was in graduate school when she learned that men and women use their time differently: On average, men spend more time on paid work, and women spend more time on unpaid work.

“I remember wondering whether the time-use numbers were telling the full story,” says Daminger, who is now an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. “What about differences in how men and women use their mind on their family’s behalf?”

How Madison students approach online fashion trends

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The Cap Times

Pema Hutter-Rennilson and her friend, Lupine Wolf, sit together on a sidewalk bench on State Street on a sunny Tuesday afternoon. The two wear long army-green bottoms, tank tops and statement jewelry.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison students say they like to curate their own fashion sense.

“It helps me be more confident,” Hutter-Rennilson said about having their own style.

Can a pandemic movie be an engine for empathy?

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WORT FM

Can filmmakers make a good pandemic film five years after the globe-changing year of 2020?  The recently released “Eddington” makes an attempt, but focuses on a hyper local experience with a fictional small town in New Mexico. On the Buzz to talk about the movie is Jeff Smith, a professor specializing in cinema studies in the Department of Communication Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Is it OK to write songs with AI? UW-Madison expert says it depends

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The Cap Times

“I think it is always hard to come down on the side of ‘no, this technology should not be used in this space,’” said Jeremy Morris, a professor of communication arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “I think the more interesting question is ‘how do we use it and how does that come to define the things we listen to?’”

Teens come up with trigonometry proof for Pythagorean Theorem, a problem that stumped math world for centuries

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CBS News

Gloria Ladson-Billings, professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has studied how best to teach African American students. She told us an encouraging teacher can change a life.

“Many of our young people have their ceilings lowered, that somewhere around fourth or fifth grade, their thoughts are, ‘I’m not going to be anything special.’ What I think is probably happening at St. Mary’s is young women come in as, perhaps, ninth graders and are told, ‘Here’s what we expect to happen. And here’s how we’re going to help you get there.'”

UW-Madison’s new Afghan Student Association launches this year

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Wisconsin Public Radio

Hera Salehi’s adjustment to college life wasn’t easy. Salehi grew up in Afghanistan. Although she had been living in the United States for a while, she had trouble finding her place when she enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Madison two years ago.

But Salehi saw how student groups and organizations helped nurture community at the large Midwestern university. It inspired her to start the Afghan Student Association to help connect other Afghan students and the larger community.

What parents should know about the Sun Prairie Area School District and Meta collaboration

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Channel 3000

Catalina Toma is a communication professor at UW-Madison and says that preventative measures like this are beneficial.

“By some accounts, amongst American teenagers, about a third have suffered some sort of cyberbullying victimization online. And about 15%, according to the latest reports, have engaged in cyberbullying. So these incidents do happen, and there’s a lot of evidence about how damaging cyberbullying can be,” said Toma.

The home of UW–Madison’s game day hype committee

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Madison Magazine

Sure, there are other marching band houses on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus: Tuba Haus, Clarinest, Pi Palace (for the saxophones), Bone Zone (trombones). Nine in all. But only Trumpet Haus — Thaus, for short — lays claim to being the unofficial game day hype committee. This is where a lucky few trumpet players in the UW Marching Band call home.

How hip-hop has grown in Madison in the face of opposition

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The Cap Times

The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s scholarship program, First Wave, brings hip-hop pedagogy into the community by encouraging their scholars to engage with Madison’s youth. Meanwhile, an artist-led youth movement seeks to cultivate an underground hip-hop scene that directly engages with Madison’s unofficial “hip-hop ban” during the 2010s. 

Congregation at the oldest building on Capitol Square raising money for new roof

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Wisconsin State Journal

“It’s an absolutely gorgeous church (with) great historic distinction,” said Barbara Copeland Buenger, a member of the church’s roof committee and a professor of art history emerita at UW-Madison. “To have something of such beauty and historical value is really magnificent given the modern character of the city.”

Creating Mexican Fiesta at Summerfest grounds is labor of love, in just 3 days. Take a look inside

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Also installing his art that day was Victor Hugo Jimenez, 22, a recent University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate. He will be displaying his pieces in a new merchandise area near the Generac Stage, where people can buy T-shirts and baseball caps to commemorate the festival with motifs such as Our Lady of Guadalupe, retro cars and cowboy boots.

Hip-hop’s role in today’s classrooms

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USA Today

“The reason why it resonated with students … is because it felt like an opportunity for them to be met on their own ground and to have a kind of shared ground with which to meet instructors or meet ideas,” says Nate Marshall, award-winning poet and assistant professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “Ultimately, like, the role of an educator is to connect the students in order to serve the students. So, if that’s not your way to connect with them, that’s cool. You find other ways.”

UW-Madison researchers find automation apps can enable dating abuse

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WKOW - Channel 27

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that automation apps, like iPhone’s ‘shortcuts’, can be a vehicle potential abusers use to control their partner’s activities on their mobile device.

Rahul Chatterjee, an assistant professor of computer science at UW and founder of the Madison Tech Clinic, said Madison Tech Clinic helps individuals who have been virtually stalked or harassed by their partners.

Lifelong Learner: Lifelong learning helps seniors age joyfully

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Wisconsin State Journal

Embracing an attitude of lifelong learning can help seniors combat the effects of aging and find meaning in every day. In a study by Scientific American, seniors who regularly engaged in learning over three months performed similarly to adults 30 years younger on cognitive tests.

Whether it’s online learning, art classes or stargazing in Wisconsin state parks, educational opportunities can help make your golden years shine.

Educator’s book ties personal history and the Black experience

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Wisconsin Examiner

Brown has critiqued some of the ways DEI has been carried out. When he read an audit of Universities of Wisconsin DEI programs conducted by the Legislative Audit Bureau on behalf of the Legislature, he was struck that there seemed to be no consistent definition throughout the system for DEI.

But he also considers the anti-DEI wave a backlash to the protests in 2020 after the police killing of George Floyd. “That woke up the world,” Brown says. “There was a coming together, and it wasn’t even politicized like that.”

UW-Madison grad comedian Hannah Berner talks shop ahead of Wisconsin tour

Posted on
Wisconsin Public Radio

Hannah Berner never set out to be a comedian.

The 33-year-old stand-up originally had her sights set on tennis. She played all four years at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After graduating, Berner gravitated towards making funny videos on social media. From there, she eventually found a passion being on stage and making people laugh.

A ray of hope for public broadcasting

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The Cap Times

While at NPR, Jack Mitchell co-created the long-running afternoon news program “All Things Considered” and was its first producer and newscaster.

Mitchell’s retired now as emeritus professor at the UW School of Journalism and Mass Communication, where he taught after stepping down as WPR’s director in 1997. In the meantime, he’s authored several books, including my favorite, “Wisconsin on the Air: 100 years of public broadcasting in the state that invented it.”

Jack a few days after the Corporation for Public Broadcasting announced it was closing its doors after Congress took away its $1.1 billion annual funding (about $1.60 per person.)