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Category: Business/Technology

Silent sports contribute millions

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Skiers, bikers and other silent sports enthusiasts spent $26.4 million in trips to three northern Wisconsin counties in 2012, resulting in $14.7 million being pumped into the counties economies, according to a new study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension Department of Urban and Regional Planning.

UW-Madison School of Business gets $1.1M from accounting firm

Madison.com

Ernst & Young’s pledge includes $850,000 for the Global Mindset Leaders program and the remaining funds going to other accounting programs. The global mindset idea has two components: academic and extra-curricular activities for undergraduate business students that demonstrate the value of diversity in the classroom, workplace and business environment, and secondly, scholarships to under-represented minority students.

Morgridge Institute’s SWAMP project launches to root out software vulnerabilities

Wisconsin State Journal

A new project based in Madison aims to root out software vulnerabilities that can leave the door open for viruses, website hacking or other forms of cybercrime, estimated as a $100 billion industry. The SWAMP, or the Software Assurance Marketplace, is a collaboration of the private, nonprofit Morgridge Institute for Research along with UW-Madison, Indiana University and the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.

Gene Patent Case Fuels U.S. Court Test of Stem Cell Right

Bloomberg

As scientists get closer to using embryonic stem cells in new treatments for blindness, spinal cord injuries and heart disease, a U.S. legal debate could determine who profits from that research. Consumer Watchdog, a nonprofit advocacy group, wants an appeals court to invalidate a University of Wisconsin-Madison?s patent for stem cells derived from human embryos, saying it?s too similar to earlier research. The Santa Monica, California, group also says the U.S. Supreme Court?s June ruling limiting ownership rights of human genes should apply to stem cells, a potentially lucrative field for medical breakthroughs.

UW students train computers to play angry birds

Daily Cardinal

Artificial Intelligence is defined as the ability for a machine such as a computer to perform functions analogous to learning and decision making. This past summer undergraduates Anjali Narayan-Chen and Liqi Xu taught the computer how to play Angry Birds. Angry birds is a popular game where using a slingshot, the player shoots wingless birds to kill pigs. And like other games, there are several levels of difficulty, different sizes and colors of birds, and different obstacles. With each game, new birds and special abilities can be activated by the player.

Rehabilitative device bridges the gap between stroke victims’ brains and hands

Gizmag

We?ve recently seen rehabilitative systems in which stroke victims use their thoughts either to move animated images of their paralyzed limbs, or to activate robotic devices that guide their limbs through the desired movements. Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, however, have just announced an alternative approach. Their device acts as an intermediary between the brain and a non-responsive hand, receiving signals from the one and transmitting them to the other.

Still: Ten trends defining tech-based development in Wisconsin

WisBusiness.com

Campus entrepreneurism: A decade ago, it was difficult to find organized entrepreneurial education programs on Wisconsin campuses, the exceptions being the Weinert Center of Entrepreneurship at UW-Madison and the Kohler Center for Entrepreneurship at Marquette University. Today, such programs are relatively widespread and popular. At the UW-Whitewater, for example, the “Launch Pad” is a student business incubator. At the UW-Madison, a dormitory floor has been set aside for self-identified entrepreneurs. This campus fad won?t soon fade.

Editorial: Boosting Entrepreneurism

WISC-TV 3

Cities seeking to be hubs of innovation ? in other words cities where smart, creative people want to be in the 21st century ? require collaborative partnerships. And if those partnerships include a major research institution and a world renowned patenting, licensing and investing organization all the better.

Dietram Scheufele speak at UW-Madison’s first TEDx conference

Daily Cardinal

Despite widespread skepticism about whether or not the digitalization of America?s dialogue can advance modern thought, University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Dietram Scheufele said there are only three common behaviors that, if corrected, could transform the current state of polarizing disagreements online into beneficial conversations.

Inside Wisconsin: Tom Still

Wisconsin State Journal

Part of the global effort to predict storm behavior is being conducted through the UW-Madison Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies. With support from NOAA, university scientists will work with data from NOAA satellites, current and future. The team will collaborate to improve satellite-based products that monitor weather and climate while enhancing sensors planned for future spacecraft.