LENS will collaborate with eight universities, including Virginia Tech, University of Wisconsin–Madison, University of Maryland, University of Rhode Island, and a few others.
The government wants to develop this battery type
Autoweek
Category: Business/Technology
What is raw milk? And why is everyone talking about it?
bon appétit
“The people that struggle with milk can drink raw milk,” she says. Her claim isn’t in line with a study by John Lucey, a professor of food science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which found “no obvious reason why raw milk could assist with lactose intolerance.”
RFK Jr. says he drinks raw milk. How safe is unpasteurized milk?
The Washington Post
Drinking unpasteurized milk is “a really stupid, bad idea,” said John Lucey, a professor of food science and the director of the Center for Dairy Research at University of Wisconsin at Madison. “It’s almost like a doctor shouldn’t wash their hands before they go into an operating room.”
Nanoink and printing technologies could enable electronics repairs, production in space
Phys.org
The flight path to these experiments began when a research team led by Iowa State’s Shan Jiang, an associate professor of materials science and engineering, and Hantang Qin, formerly of Iowa State who’s now an assistant professor of industrial and systems engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, wondered if their ink and printer technologies would work in the zero gravity of space.
Report finds Wisconsin agriculture revenue on the rise, up nearly 11 percent from 2017
Wisconsin Public Radio
An economic analysis shows Wisconsin’s agriculture industry is pulling in more revenue in recent years but employing fewer people.
The report, titled “The Contributions of Agriculture to the Wisconsin Economy,” is published every five years. The newest survey found the industry earned $116.3 billion in revenue in 2022, the latest data available. That is a 10.9 percent increase from 2017. However, the numbers are nuanced, Steve Deller and Jeff Hadachek, co-authors of the report out of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said on WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.”
An AI pressure test
Politico
Health providers now have a new way to test artificial intelligence applications. The Healthcare AI Challenge creates a virtual testing ground for new AI systems, where providers can better understand how a program would work in real-world scenarios.
The program comes from a collaboration among Mass General Brigham, Emory Healthcare, the radiology department at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, the University of Washington School of Medicine’s radiology department and the American College of Radiology. More partners are expected to join in the future.
Holiday budgets by city (2024)
WalletHub
“For many consumers, overspending happens when they feel time crunched or make snap decisions in response to discounts or limited offers,” said Amber M. Epp, an associate professor of marketing at the Wisconsin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “Consumers can save money in the traditional ways by making budgets and lists this time of year, but also by comparison shopping and seeking out discounts for items already on their lists rather than impulse buying when presented with sales.”
Best credit cards for November 2024
WalletHub
“The market’s best credit cards are often indicative of the health of the economy, because their use can give insights into consumer perceptions and acceptability of interest rates, consumer spending habits as well as consumer debt,” said Cynthia Jasper, a professor of Civil Society and Community Studies, School of Human Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Coca-Cola causes controversy with AI-made ad
NBC News
Neeraj Arora, the chair of marketing research and education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the reason why the company faced backlash for this specific advertisement, and not for “Masterpiece” last year, could be because many consumers recognize Christmas as an integral part of the company’s brand, and AI technology acts as a disruption.
“Your holidays are a time of connection, time of community, time to connect with family, and that’s sort of a big part of what the holidays are about,” Arora said. “But then you throw AI into the mix that is not a fit, that is not a fit with holiday timing, but also, to some degree, also Coke, what the brand means to people.”
For decades, installing E.V. chargers didn’t pay off for retailers. Now it does.
The New York Times
Now, new studies say retailers’ charging efforts may well be paying off: One peer-reviewed study by researchers at Boston University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison published this year looked at the impact of nearly 1,600 Tesla Supercharger stations in more than 800 U.S. counties and found a 4 percent increase in monthly visits for retailers within 200 meters of chargers after they were installed. The effects were most pronounced for retailers within 150 meters. The researchers also found a 5 percent increase in spending.
Is raw milk safe? Science has a clear answer
Popular Science
Boiling is an even more aggressive form of heating than pasteurization, which was developed to kill pathogens while minimizing changes to milk’s flavor and composition, says John Lucey, a food science professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and director of the university’s Center for Dairy Research. “Boiling is a very substantial heat treatment whereas pasteurization is much gentler,” he notes.
Microsoft to use diesel-fired generators as backup power for data centers
Wisconsin Public Radio
Production of renewable diesel from plant oils has increased in recent years amid wide use in transportation fuel, according to Mary Blanchard, associate director of the Wisconsin Energy Institute at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
“It generally meets a 50 percent greenhouse gas reduction compared to petroleum-based diesel fuel,” Blanchard said, noting some companies claim even higher emissions reductions.
Study committee considers draft legislation to hunt sandhill cranes, aid corn growers
Wisconsin Public Radio
In Wisconsin, only 17 percent of 2,769 people surveyed last December support a hunting season on sandhill cranes. That’s according to a study led by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and funded by the International Crane Foundation. The organization has said crop damage by cranes should be solved by other means, saying a hunt wouldn’t have any significant benefit for farmers.
Tom Still: Economic outlook post-election: Winners, losers and lots of unknown
Wisconsin State Journal
Patent law “march-in” rights: Some say the federal government should be allowed to appropriate products patented by universities and developed with private money if the underlying research received any federal funding and if the products are deemed unreasonably priced. In patent law-speak, that’s called “march-in” rights. It would be a major departure from the bipartisan 1980 Bayh-Dole Act, which was silent on what constitutes “reasonable” price and which has been credited with spurring innovation at major universities nationwide.
‘Trial by fire’: UW-Madison hackathon generates tech ideas in 24 hours
The Capital Times
After 24 hours of programming and coding — fueled by plenty of snacks and energy drinks — the organizers of an annual hackathon event at the University of Wisconsin-Madison announced which of the 55 projects would move on as finalists.
Social Security at 90: The financial status of the US’s largest federal program
Wisconsin Public Radio
UW-Madison Professor Emerita Karen Holden visited ‘The Larry Meiller Show’ to discuss the current and future solvency of the Social Security program.
Wisconsin could lose out under Trump term targeting climate, clean energy policies
Wisconsin Public Radio
Efforts to combat climate change and shift to renewable energy have accelerated under policies and regulations put in place by President Joe Biden’s administration. Even so, it hasn’t been enough to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, according to Greg Nemet, energy expert and public affairs professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “We’re on track, but we need to really start pushing harder to get the adoption of electric vehicles, solar panels, wind power, heat pumps and all those things at a faster rate,” Nemet said. “I think what we’re looking at now is probably almost definitely slowing down.”
Morgan Edwards, assistant professor of public affairs at UW-Madison, said the slowing of emissions reductions may not be immediately evident in Wisconsin as much as they will in the long run. “We’re locking in long-term climate impacts that we’re going to see for decades to come,” Edwards said. “That’s things like more extreme weather events, warmer winters, more irregular farming seasons, which is a big deal across the country, but (also) in this state where we have a lot of agriculture.”
Report: One-third of Wisconsin hospitals operated in the red last year
Wisconsin Public Radio
Stuart Craig, assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Business who studies health care spending, said hospital’s operating margins are also “a function of their choices.” He points out that most hospitals are nonprofit entities, so they should be motivated to keep patient costs as low as possible and invest any profit back into their facilities.
“Hospitals will often defend high commercial (insurance) reimbursement rates by saying, ‘Well, we lose money on all these Medicare patients,’” Craig said. “But those are choices that they’re making to set their cost structure. Like, if you looked at hospitals that operate in markets that are mostly Medicare patients, they just set a lower cost structure and stay open.”
DoIT Help Desk responds to reports of students unenrolled from Canvas courses
Badger Herald
Help Desk resolves issue, students to be re-enrolled within next 2-4 hours.
Courses disappear from UW-Madison Canvas dashboard
Daily Cardinal
There are no known workarounds at this time and the DoIT investigation is ongoing.
Social Security advocates call for stronger support to live up to FDR’s vision
Wisconsin Examiner
Another myth is that Social Security won’t be there for younger workers. J. Michael Collins, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison La Follette School of Public Affairs and the leader of the UW Retirement and Disability Research Consortium, said he hears that often from his students at UW.
In the worst case scenario, however, the shortfall would cut benefits to 72 cents on the dollar, he said.
Immigrants provide important economic contributions in Wisconsin, report says
Wisconsin Public Radio
“There’s an undercount in the Latinx population, and, in particular, the undocumented population,” said Armando Ibarra, a Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor in the University of Wisconsin-Madison School for Workers. “This population of folks is hesitant to interact with folks that represent the federal government or the state government, because of their precarious immigration status.”
Black Males in Engineering: An innovative form of education
Badger Herald
Founder of the Black Males in Engineering project, Brian A. Burt, is leading research into how Black men are often excluded from science, technology, engineering and mathematics — or STEM — industries. Through BME, Burt hopes to emphasize that Black mens’ journeys throughout STEM need to be aided by many people throughout their lives.
New chapter for CDIS: Tom Erickson announces departure
Badger Herald
Remzi Arpaci-Dusseau to succeed as new director, promising continued growth, innovation.
Wound dressing by Middleton company approved by the FDA
Wisconsin State Journal
The wound-healing film was invented in 2008 by a team at UW-Madison that included Ankit Agarwal, co-founder and chief scientific officer of the company.
Research suggests women farmers may improve local economies
Wisconsin Public Radio
New research has found that communities with more women-owned or -operated farms have higher rates of business creation, lower poverty rates and a longer average life expectancy.
University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Steven Deller is a co-author of the research first published in January. Deller and colleagues argue that the reduction in rural poverty is particularly important.
A historic mansion was the center of a bitter City Hall fight. New owners are reinvigorating it
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Singh has a law degree from Georgetown University and a master’s in business administration from University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her resume includes stints as Dohmen Co. Foundation president and Burke Foundation chief executive officer.
Invest in solar and honor pioneering UW scientist, Farrington Daniels | Steve Kokette
Wisconsin State Journal
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, UW-Madison was an international leader in the first renewable energy to produce electricity for the public — hydropower. During some of those years, the Wisconsin River was known as the hardest working river in the world because it produced so much electricity.
Save 25 times your expected retirement spending, and other advice from a pro
Barron's
Research from the University of Wisconsin showed that the spoils of working longer have accrued to those who need it the least. If you are healthier and wealthier, you are more likely to keep working.
Wisconsin crop harvest is weeks ahead thanks to dry, warm weather
Wisconsin Public Radio
Jerry Clark, crops educator for the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Division of Extension, said harvest is at least two weeks ahead of schedule in the western Wisconsin counties of Chippewa, Dunn and Eau Claire where he works.
“Since corn silage started to be harvested in the early part of September right through today, it’s been excellent conditions for getting the crop off,” Clark said on Wednesday.
Being CEO of the household is weighing women down
The Washington Post
While most markers of gender equality reached their peak around 2000, they have not budged much since. “The invisible, amorphous cognitive labor that goes on behind the scenes has been especially slow to change,” said Allison Daminger, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison whose book on the subject will be published next year.
UW-Madison students’ ‘Nerve Ninja’ wins national inventors competition
Wisconsin State Journal
Ateam of UW-Madison current and former biomedical engineering students sliced through the competition at a national collegiate inventors competition to win first-place with their combined forceps-scalpel device.
More sightings of praying mantids, and the rediscovery of wild cacao
Wisconsin Public Radio
A previously elusive ambush predator insect is seen frequently in Wisconsin this year, entomologist PJ Liesch tells us.
Wisconsin’s public companies must disclose how much they pay CEOs. Here’s who topped the list.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Of the 25 companies, none of the CEOs’ actual salaries exceeded $2 million. Most of the time, the salary makes up a very small portion of a CEO’s pay package.
Many companies instead award their CEOs with shares of the company’s stock and other forms of equity to give CEOs “skin in the game,” said Fabio Gaertner, professor of accounting at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an expert on executive compensation.
Conservative talk radio continues to be a powerful political tool in Wisconsin
Wisconsin Watch
Although less popular than local television and some other forms of media, local radio generally gains strong trust from those who listen, according to Mike Wagner, a University of Wisconsin-Madison journalism and mass communication researcher and professor. In Wisconsin, during the 2016 election, radio stations were airing around 200 hours of conservative talk every day, according to one UW-Madison study.
Sykes’ WTMJ show was Walker’s primary connection to a statewide audience, according to Lew Friedland, distinguished journalism and mass communication professor emeritus and researcher at UW-Madison. “Without Charlie Sykes, I don’t think there would have been a Scott Walker,” Friedland said, calling Sykes “one of the top three most important political actors” at the time.
Journal Sentinel’s Main Street Agenda town hall meeting discusses inflation. Here’s what we learned.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Yes, inflation has gone down, says Menzie Chinn, a UW-Madison economics and public affairs professor. But there’s a catch. He said that, though the rate of prices going up has slowed, it doesn’t mean prices are coming down. “Prices are flattening out,” Chinn said. “They are not going up as fast as they were, but they are still going up.”
J. Michael Collins, UW-Madison professor at La Follette School of Public Affairs and School of Human Ecology, said inflation hits people differently across the state, with one in four saying they’ve had trouble meeting expenses, especially rent, which can be a third to half of a person’s income.
Jane Rotonda and Jessica Calarco preview the 2024 Wisconsin Book Festival
WORT FM
Interview with Jessica Calarco, a professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Tom Still: Tech, ’trep issues on campaign back burner, but should emerge over time
Wisconsin State Journal
Some say the federal government should be allowed to appropriate products patented by universities and developed with private money if the underlying research received any federal funding and if the products are deemed unreasonably priced. In patent law-speak, that’s called “march-in” rights. It would be a major departure from the bipartisan 1980 Bayh-Dole Act, which was silent on what constitutes “reasonable” price and which has been credited with spurring innovation at major universities nationwide, including the UW-Madison. Erik Iverson, who leads the independent Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, has said the proposal “ignores years of input from experts” who have found “there is no legal justification to redefine march-in rights as a price-control tool.”
USDA offering help for beginning farmers as dairy farming struggles
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Beginning farmers will be eligible for financial planning and technical assistance under new U.S. Department of Agriculture projects delivered through the University of Wisconsin System, the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, and the Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship.
Voters in Wisconsin are weighing which candidate better understands their economic anxieties.
The New York Times
The middle class is an amorphous concept that neither candidate has really defined. But one thing is clear, said Katherine Cramer, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison — the days when “middle class” meant “stability” are long gone.
“Now, there’s just so much precarity in terms of people not being sure of whether the jobs that they’re currently in are going to be there in the future,” Cramer said. “They’re not sure of their ability to maintain their standard of living, whether it’s meeting their mortgage payments or rental payments.”
Why some farmers are making the big switch from dairy to beef production
Bovine Veterinarian
While beef-on-dairy production continues to grow in the U.S., it was a novel concept in 2018 when it came to the attention of Ryan Sterry, regional dairy educator with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension.
“A few colleagues and myself were noticing more chatter about this, more farms were experimenting with it,” Sterry recalls.
For University of Wisconsin hurricane researchers, Hurricane Milton offers a learning opportunity
TMJ-4
More than 1,000 miles from where Hurricane Milton made landfall on Wednesday night, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are using data from the storm to refine the way they study hurricanes.
Verizon is purchasing Frontier. How will that affect customers in Wisconsin?
The Badger Project
The federal government’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, supported by all the congressional Democrats from Wisconsin, and none of the Republicans, has provided billions of dollars to bring faster internet to unserved and underserved areas. So big money is available for companies, communities and co-ops to make upgrades. But that comes through a “very long and convoluted pipeline,” said Barry Orton, a telecommunications professor emeritus with UW-Madison and fierce critic of Frontier.
Deer collisions have cost Wisconsin more than $16M since 2001
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
“This issue, it’s economical, it’s social, it’s animal welfare, it’s emotional,” said David Drake, an urban wildlife expert and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “There’s all sorts of different perspectives on this, and that’s what makes it so difficult.”
Florida-based fund managers ride out Hurricane Milton and remain committed to the state
Reuters
Average homeowner premiums in Florida rose 57% between 2019 and 2023 according to data from Benjamin Keys of the University of Pennsylvania and Philip Mulder of the University of Wisconsin, a steeper rise than anywhere else in the nation.
Guardian US taps Dave Strauss as vice-president of revenue operations and strategy, North America
The Guardian
He holds a bachelor of business administration in finance, investment and banking from the Wisconsin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Wisconsin family farms increasingly relying on off-farm employment to supplement income
Wisconsin Public Radio
The economic relationship between Wisconsin family farms and the rural communities that surround them is changing.
UW-Madison agricultural and applied economics professor Steve Deller said that smaller farms are struggling to generate enough income to support themselves, so families are more often turning to off-farm employment to help pay the bills.
Remote drivers could someday help self-driving semi-trucks
Wisconsin Public Radio
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are studying what needs to happen for a person to remotely operate long-haul trucks that are otherwise autonomous.
“The vehicle operates on its own until it needs you,” said lead researcher David Noyce. “And then when it needs you, it calls you and says, ‘Can you get on the joystick here, and have control of the vehicle? Because I don’t understand what to do.’”
State estimates around 40 percent of private wells contain pesticides
Wisconsin Public Radio
Trade associations for corn, soybean, potato and vegetable growers in Wisconsin were either unavailable or didn’t respond to requests for comment. Russ Groves, chair of the Department of Entomology at UW-Madison, said detections of pesticides are unfortunately a logical outcome in areas where agriculture is more intense on the landscape.
“Those are the tools that we have relied upon so that we don’t have real significant economic losses for a producer or an industry,” Groves said.
As Election Day nears, the economy remains top of mind for Wisconsin voters
Wisconsin Public Radio
Menzie Chinn, a macroeconomist at UW-Madison, said some of the government support to consumers during the pandemic — by both the Trump and Biden administrations — coupled with jammed up supply chains when the American economy reopened helped contribute to inflation.
Wisconsin’s air quality continues to improve, UW-Madison professor says
Wisconsin Public Radio
Earlier this year, the Federal Environmental Protection Agency tightened air quality regulations across the United States.
University of Wisconsin-Madison environmental studies professor Tracey Holloway told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” that these regulations are the tightest they’ve ever been. And that means our air is the cleanest it’s ever been.
Jessica Calarco: How wealthy university donors have changed our society for the worse
Chicago Tribune
Wealthy donors have turned us into a DIY Society, where people are supposed to take care of themselves rather than be helped by government.
Social Security chief visits Detroit, clears up myths, bemoans staffing levels, and more
Detroit Free Press
Karen Holden, a professor emerita at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the La Follette School of Public Affairs and Department of Consumer Science, researches Social Security and the economic status of the elderly. She maintains that the system overall benefits from receiving payroll tax payments from migrants without legal status who cannot collect benefits.
China to raise retirement age amid demographic crisis
DW
Yi Fuxian, a Chinese demographer and senior scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told DW that in the coming years, China may face greater challenges as an aging society than most developed countries.
“China has kept the retirement age unchanged until now, and the recent delay is still insufficient,” Yi said, emphasizing that if this policy had been implemented 20 years earlier, “the current issues might have been avoided.”
Many Native Americans struggle with poverty. Easing energy regulations could help.
Reason
The researchers, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, estimated the net value of wind and solar based on a combination of off-reservation leases paid to landowners and taxes received by local governments. They predict that tribes and their members could earn about the same either by leasing the right to wind and sun to an outside developer or by developing themselves.
UW develops strategy for entrepreneurial growth
Badger Herald
New report aims to strengthen entrepreneurial ecosystem across campus.
How southern Wisconsin could become a nuclear fusion mecca
The Capital Times
The company plans to continue its relationship with UW-Madison despite moving headquarters to another state, said Darren Gale, a top executive at Type One Energy. Madison is home to its physics research.
“Funds to the university, utilizing people involved in the university, the folks who live and work in Wisconsin that are part of Type One — all of those benefits will continue,” he said.
Michael Wagner on how AI can be used and misused in politics
PBS Wisconsin
UW-Madison journalism professor Michael Wagner explains how generative artificial intelligence tools by political campaigns raise questions of honesty and transparency that are difficult to answer.
New farmer survey could signal slowdown in Wisconsin dairy farm losses
Wisconsin Public Radio
Chuck Nicholson, ag economist and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the strong survey response could signal a change for the industry, even if the state is likely to continue seeing farms exit the dairy industry.
Wisconsin veterinary clinic tries new model, choosing co-op over corporate ownership
Wisconsin Public Radio
Dally’s Spring Green clinic and his fellow colleagues at Mazomanie Animal Hospital last year opened Cooperative Veterinary Care, a co-op that might be the first employee-owned veterinary cooperative in the country, according to the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives.