As solar power makes up a bigger piece of our electricity puzzle, there’s a worry about a trade-off, especially in rural areas: If we build more solar farms, are we losing land for crops?
But University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists are asking the question: Why can’t we have both?
Brad Schwartz, who plans to retire this year as chief executive officer for the Morgridge Institute for Research at UW-Madison, believes “society’s biggest invention is the public research university.”
For as long as motorsports has existed, gas has been perhaps the most important part of raceday.
The cars depend on it, teams hire high-level analysts to maximize it and companies go into bidding wars to ensure their fuel goes into each competitor’s tank.
So what happens when you remove gas from the equation? You get the Sunburst.
Wisconsin’s business climate continues to position the state as a competitive location for companies seeking manufacturing strength, cost stability, and long-term operational reliability. Anchored by a deep industrial heritage and a highly productive workforce, Wisconsin offers businesses a favorable environment defined by competitive operating costs, strong infrastructure access, and close connections between industry, higher education, and technical training systems.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison designated 2026 as the “Year of AI Readiness and Competency” on May 21, formalizing the university’s effort to better prepare students and faculty for thoughtful use of AI.
The campus-wide announcement builds off of previous university investments to further AI use and understanding this year, including a hiring blitz of 50 faculty for the new College of Computing and AI (CAI), which will open July 1, 2026 — bringing the total new faculty hired through the university’s RISE-AI initiative to over 100.
Wisconsin has one of the leading nuclear physics programs in the United States at UW-Madison’s College of Engineering. One of a handful of academic reactors in the United States sits on the UW-Madison campus and its graduates are largely coveted by companies hoping to build a talented workforce.
Infleqtion, a leading quantum tech firm with offices in Madison, is accelerating with $550 million in new funding after going public earlier this year.
Chief Scientist and UW-Madison physics Prof. Mark Saffman addressed attendees of yesterday’s launch event for the Wisconsin Quantum Alliance in Madison, organized by the Wisconsin Technology Council. The initiative aims to accelerate tech development and commercialization of quantum in Wisconsin, as well as preparing for future workforce needs.
Teams of researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison spent months submitting proposals to the Department of Energy’s vast new Genesis Mission — an initiative centered around artificial intelligence (AI) but naming research goals in fields as varied as nuclear fusion and molecular biology. Many of UW-Madison’s proposals center around one burgeoning cross-college priority: quantum.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison plans to debut public, free-of-charge metals casting and CNC machining Wisconsin Hubs this summer in partnership with the U.S. Department of War (DOW).
Metallurgical Engineering Trades Apprenticeships & Learning (METAL) and America’s Cutting Edge (ACE) are Department of War-sponsored hubs offering free, hands-on workforce development courses. ACE’s bootcamps focus on introductory CNC machining, a process involving a computer-controlled machine that carves material into a user-designed part. METAL’s offerings focus on introductory metals casting and forging.
Maks Makarenkov couldn’t help but smile on car rides through the capital city. He saw homes with blue and yellow flags pinned in their windows or dangling from flagpoles.
“Seeing the Ukrainian flags here, it touches my heart,” Makarenkov said. “In this war, we feel the American support.”
Magnetic fields are found everywhere in the universe, from planets and stars to entire galaxies. These invisible forces influence major cosmic events and processes, including solar storms, the movement of high energy particles, and even galaxy formation. While small magnetic fields are often chaotic and turbulent, much larger magnetic structures appear surprisingly organized. For decades, scientists have struggled to explain how disorder in space could create such large-scale order.
A nuclear fusion company that got its start at UW-Madison is nearing the end of a nationwide search for the right place to advance the technology it hopes will power the future.
It didn’t have to look far.
After some promising successes using powerful magnets to shape plasmas, Realta Fusion is ready to build a prototype fusion device, which it will use to test whether the plasma inside will perform as expected at a commercial scale.
For the first time in 40 years, UW-Madison is launching a new college.
The university has named Remzi Arpaci-Dusseau as the founding dean of the College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence, set to officially open on July 1.
As artificial intelligence continues to grow, so do its criticisms.
The first dean of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s new College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence says the institution will be a vital non-industry leader shaping the future of AI.
Leaders in science, business, and government gathered in Madison on Tuesday to discuss the future of fusion energy.
The Fusion Summit at the Discovery Center brought together researchers, lawmakers, and more than one hundred companies exploring how Wisconsin could become a national hub for this emerging technology.
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On June 1, Maria Woldt will become the third director of the Dairy Innovation Hub, a state-funded initiative that brings together scientists, farmers, businesses, and educators to explore new ideas to ensure Wisconsin’s $52.8 billion dairy sector remains globally competitive while advancing economic, environmental, and social sustainability.
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The University of Wisconsin–Madison has named Remzi Arpaci-Dusseau founding dean of the College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence as the university prepares to launch the new college July 1.
UW-Madison named Remzi Arpaci-Dusseau as founding dean of the College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence as the school prepares to launch the new college on July 1.
Approved in December by the Universities of Wisconsin Board of Regents, the college is the first academic division created at UW-Madison in more than 40 years.
The University of Wisconsin–Madison has received $100 million in private gift commitments for its new College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence, which is set to launch on July 1, 2026.
The donations come from what’s referred to as the Catalyst Collective — a group of alumni, business leaders and corporate partners who have pledged major investments in the college. The alumni donors include Andy Konwinski, cofounder of Laude, Databricks and Perplexity AI; John Morgridge, former chairman and CEO of Cisco Systems, and Tashia Morgridge, a retired special education teacher; Signe Ostby, a former marketing executive; and Jeff Tangney, cofounder and CEO of Doximity. The contributors also include Scott Cook, co-founder of Intuit; and Epic, a software company based in Verona, Wisconsin.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison has named the first dean of the College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence.
Remzi Arpaci-Dusseau was appointed into the new role, the university announced on Monday.
His appointment will begin on July 1.
UW-Madison on Monday announced a $100 million donation and dean for the College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence that will hold its first classes next fall.
The investment comes from a group of alumni and industry leaders and is intended to help swiftly recruit and hire 50 new faculty, expand research and build programs for the college, which opens July 1.
Carlos Bello sent out 60 to 70 job applications early this spring. But with less than two months left before he graduates from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he still hadn’t landed a job.
The Transcend UW startup competition hosted student entrepreneurs in the Discovery Building April 16 to 17, according to the Transcend website. At the event, participants pitched ventures and connected with investors and industry professionals, according to Transcend President Siddharth Singh. Prize winners walked away with thousands of dollars for their innovations.
UW Health has become the Official Health Care Partner of the Green Bay Packers through a new multi-year agreement.
The partnership, announced at a Thursday press conference, includes joint community initiatives, fan-focused events throughout the year and a visible presence at Lambeau Field. UW Health will have permanent signage at the north entry gate of Lambeau Field and logo patches on Packers practice jerseys.
When considering the expansion, Westby sought advice from the Center for Dairy Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Greenwalt commented that in Europe, cottage cheese is made in closed vat systems, but it isn’t commonly done that way in the United States. The CDR helped the co-op to find the right systems for its expansion.
A recent report from a University of Wisconsin-Madison organization found that Exact Sciences contributed around $6 billion to $7 billion to the state’s economy.
The company grew from small beginnings, starting with 19 employees in 2009 to about 7,200 employees globally. Revenues grew from $4.8 million in 2009 to $3.2 billion by 2025. Researchers attribute this growth to Cologuard’s success.
AI technology is developing so fast, experts say advances are becoming hard to measure.
Recognizing this, the Universities of Wisconsin has launched a free series of videos for people who need a starting point.
The AI Skills Access Passport (ASAP) was developed in partnership with UW Credit Union. The series is designed for the general public.
Written by Jonathan Patz, the Vilas Distinguished Professor & John P. Holton Chair of Health and the Environment at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Nelson Institute & Department of Population Health Sciences.
There’s europium, which enhanced the color red in early television sets, and neodymium, which strengthens and miniaturizes magnets. These so-called “rare earth permanent magnets” are used in everything from high-speed rail and electric vehicles to the tiny motors that make iPhones buzz, according to Julie Klinger, a professor of environmental studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a rare earths expert.
Aaron Greer, an independent filmmaker and University of Wisconsin-Madison professor who has championed film incentives for years, said without an incentive projects would often look elsewhere.
“There’s an old saying in Hollywood, it takes ten years to become an overnight success. There’s a way it feels like that with this,” Greer said.
John Gross, a clinical associate professor of law at the University of Wisconsin Law School, said Briggs is charged because of a newer law in Wisconsin that bans making or having virtual child sexual abuse materials. The statute passed in 2024.
“We’ve added a statute like this to make sure that the law actually captures not just images that were made of actual children, but also images of children that were generated by artificial intelligence,” Gross said.
Menzie Chinn, an economics professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said it’s a pretty safe bet that the Fed is keeping an eye on the war in Iran and its effect on energy prices.
“I think they will be eager to make sure that they show commitment to not let inflation get out of hand,” he said.
Chinn said the Fed usually focuses on core inflation, which strips out energy prices since they can jump around from month to month. But he said the Fed will also consider scenarios where the conflict drags on, keeping energy prices high for a while.
“And if it’s sustained, then that’s going to feed into core prices, eventually,” Chinn said.
“Adolescence is one of the big time periods of growth, next to infants,” said Taiya Bach, a member of the teaching faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Department of Nutritional Sciences told Gizmodo. “They need way more calories than a grown adult does.”
“Even if you are overweight, you still have that growth piece because a bunch of your calories are still going towards hormones and development and bone growth,” Bach said.
Entrepreneurs launching startups through UW-Madison and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation will soon have a larger presence on the West Coast.
The university and WARF, the campus’ nonprofit patent licensing arm, are partnering with seven other schools to open a two-year pilot workspace in San Francisco that university-founded startups and teams traveling to the Bay Area can use for work and to meet with investors.
First, we learn about the impacts of rising gas prices in Wisconsin. Then, we talk to a researcher and an advocate about Wisconsin’s FoodShare program and new work requirements.
Ron Kean, University of Wisconsin-Madison’s poultry specialist, told Wisconsin Public Radio that poultry producers are also growing frustrated by a lack of solutions in this new era of avian flu response.
“There’s going to have to be more work on vaccination, which is a big international political issue,” he said. “That I think is one of the big frustrations for the poultry industry.”
Outgoing Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin praised the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s artificial intelligence initiatives in her address to the Board of Regents last month, including one new tool researchers have been using to partner with industry partners and collaborators.
“It’s not labor digging if it’s mutually beneficial: He agrees to provide financial resources, and she agrees to make the home a haven,” said Allison Daminger, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the author of “What’s on Her Mind: The Mental Workload of Family Life.”
“I’d probably label something like that ‘specialization,’ which has been around for a long time,” she said.
Some young people are using chatbots “to test out being flirty or being romantic or being a little bit sexy and seeing how the chatbot responds to that,” Megan Moreno, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who studies technology and adolescent health, told me.
That kind of experimentation may be more common among boys, who generally engage in more risky behavior online than girls, Moreno said.
Wisconsin currently has 274 licensed hemp growers, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Last November, that number was 470.
The decline could be due to people waiting to see how the law plays out and if the loophole will close or not, said Shelby Ellison, an agricultural professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It might be clearer in another month how many people reapply for licenses through the USDA.
UW-Madison Data Science Institute associate professor Anna Haensch raised concerns with the potential electrical demands of data centers. In 2024, Wisconsin’s peak demand was 14.6 gigawatts, and the Wisconsin Policy Forum expects it to increase about 17 gigawatts by 2030.
Additionally, Haensch emphasized the need to separate hyperscale data centers from the broader cultural narrative surrounding artificial intelligence.
“Connecting data centers so explicitly to AI has made these projects almost untenable,” Haensch said, noting that AI is often framed in apocalyptic terms.
“The siting study includes looking at nuclear energy systems, anything from similar to today’s reactors that are operating to a variety of advanced reactor concepts, including microreactors and other smaller reactors, as well as fusion energy systems in the future,” said nuclear engineering professor and department Chair Paul Wilson.
Eighteen of the 700 companies on Forbes’ “Best Large Employers” 2026 ranking were headquartered in Wisconsin. Here are the businesses that made the list:
5. University of Wisconsin-Madison (rank No. 251; Madison)
“It’s going to hang in that $18 to $19 per hundredweight price for 2026. It doesn’t look like it’s going to rebound very strong this year,” said Aerica Bjurstrom, a regional dairy educator with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension. “Everybody has a different breakeven point; that’s not breakeven for a lot of dairy producers. It’s going to be a tough year.”
The University of Wisconsin-Madison and other employers across the United States face new federal guidelines for highly-specialized H-1B international visa sponsorship that prioritize higher-paying positions and, in some cases, require a $100,000 fee, following changes made by the Trump Administration last fall.
“It’s a huge problem,” UW-Madison journalism professor Katy Culver said about the sheer volume of artificial intelligence-fueled misinformation online. “It predates AI, but AI is making the information more believable for a lot of people.”
The Milwaukee School of Engineering came out on top, which apparently did not sit well with the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Two UW-Madison economists dove into earnings data by program. Their recent report, “Degrees of Deception,” found their university came out on top for the most majors of any Wisconsin school. But this point of pride was obscured in the overall rankings because the university offers some lower salary-producing programs that MSOE doesn’t offer, such as music and social work.
A study led by a University of Wisconsin researcher shows the first empirical documentation of digital voter suppression on social media and foreign election interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The study was published Jan. 26 in the official journal of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.
Imagine getting into a car, putting the directions into your phone, then just sitting back with ease while no one is behind the wheel. That is now reality as self-driving/autonomous cars are now fully operating on busy roads across the U.S.
The visit follows a partnership announcement between the Public Service Commission and UW’s Department of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics to study nuclear energy opportunities in the state.
Inside the University of Wisconsin Nuclear Reactor Tuesday morning, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers peered over the shoulders of student operator Nick Tierney, a senior majoring in nuclear engineering, to eye the array of instrumentation on the reactor control panel, then climbed the stairs to look down into the reactor’s cooling pool.
“They don’t solve the long-run problem of higher input costs and low prices; they are a Band-Aid to get us through this short-term problem,” said Paul Mitchell, the director of the Renk Agribusiness Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Agriculture professor and economist Steven Deller, also of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, had a similar view.
“We’re hemorrhaging thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars, and they’re giving us pennies,” Deller said, adding that farmers want “fair markets” and a “level playing field.”
The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Wisconsin Humanoid Robotics club, founded in November, plans to design and build a humanoid robot from scratch.
Humanoid robots are human-like automatons powered by artificial intelligence, with arms, bipedal legs and the ability to execute a range of mechanical tasks in the same way a human would. An analysis by Morgan Stanley projected the humanoid industry to become a $5 trillion market in the next 25 years. Humanoids could have applications in hazardous industrial work environments, consumer households and even scientific operations beyond Earth.
Ignite Wisconsin’s grant of nearly $800K to the Wisconsin Fusion Energy Coalition will help push Wisconsin as a national hub for fusion energy.
Gov. Tony Evers, along with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), announced Thursday that the coalition, led by 5 Lakes Institute and UW-Madison’s fusion research work, will “accelerate startup formation, supply chain development, and community outreach in a sector projected to reach nearly $3 trillion by 2080.”
State utility regulators and the University of Wisconsin-Madison are partnering to explore potential nuclear energy projects in Wisconsin.
UW-Madison and the Public Service Commission will conduct a siting study to evaluate the suitability of various sites and the impact of projects on local economies. The study will also look at different reactor technologies, including both traditional nuclear power, advanced small modular reactors and fusion energy.
Co-authored by rofessor of environmental medicine, and djunct associate professor of Population Health Sciences, both at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The preparation of this year’s guidelines deviated from the past years’ processes, according to associate professor in the University of Wisconsin Department of Food Science Brad Bolling.
“There was a new scientific review process that didn’t follow the established public accountability and measures that typically the dietary guidelines goes through,” Bolling said.
The revised guidelines are lacking review and thought, retired senior clinical nutritionist of UW Hospital and Clinics Donna Weihofen said. The adaptation of the guidelines into effect is scary, given the existing controversy behind them, according to Weihofen.
The layout and suggestions presented in the new guidelines also confuse Weihofen. The graphic is completely flipped, and the placement of whole grains, an important source of fiber, on the bottom is a confusing choice, according to Weihofen.
“Fiber is really an important part of our diet … so to put that at the bottom of the pyramid doesn’t seem to make nutritional sense,” Weihofen said.
The University of Wisconsin College of Engineering is set to debut its new Aerospace Engineering major this fall after the UW System Board of Regents voted on its approval Feb. 5, according to a College of Engineering press release.
“We are often so externally focused that we don’t recognize what is going on in our minds, and when we begin to pay attention to that, it’s genuinely exhausting for most people,” Richard Davidson, a University of Wisconsin psychologist who studies meditation. It also can make us more anxious, at least at first.
University of Wisconsin-Madison leaders and students urged campus communities to strengthen civil dialogue, protect free expression and adopt a systemwide artificial intelligence vision responsibility at a Board of Regents meeting Thursday.
It’s like the World Cup. The stadium is on edge, and a player kicks the ball, scoring the winning goal.
The crowd erupts.
But at UW-Madison in Morgridge Hall, the soccer stars are autonomous humanoid robots.
Josiah Hanna, a UW-Madison assistant professor of computer sciences, leads the university’s student RoboCup team, which uses artificial intelligence to teach soccer-playing robots humanlike behaviors, all while producing research to advance the field.
