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Category: Business/Technology

Developer presents plans for student apartment buildings

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Daily Cardinal

Downtown residents and community members met at a neighborhood meeting Thursday to discuss two proposed student-oriented apartment buildings on North Bassett Street and North Frances Street. Developer Scott Faust has proposed demolishing two existing houses at 313 and 315 N. Frances St. to make way for a 12-story student-oriented apartment complex. The building would include 42 apartments, 91 underground bike stalls and commercial space on the first floor for either a restaurant, bank or retail business.

Chris Rickert: Bill for UW-Madison chancellor search firm hard to swallow

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Wisconsin State Journal

I know it?s common for major corporations and major universities to hire outside search firms to help them find top leaders. But corporations aren?t spending millions in tax dollars. And am I wrong to wonder why a tax-supported organization such as UW-Madison ? which has its own human resources department and thousands of learned people of sound judgment ? can?t find its own boss? UW-Madison history professor and search committee chairman David McDonald emphasized that “this is a really important position,” and the search firm, Storbeck/Pimentel and Associates, has expertise and connections “that none of us on the committee really has.”He also said hiring search firms to identify chancellor candidates is standard practice in the UW System.

On Campus: UW to pay $167K to identify/recruit chancellor candidates

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Wisconsin State Journal

UW-Madison will pay a search firm about $167,000 plus additional expenses to help the university identify and recruit candidates to be its next chancellor, according to a contract obtained by the State Journal. The company, Storbeck/Pimentel and Associates, is a household name in recruiting top university executives nationally and touted its record in placing non-traditional candidates in top jobs.

Second fire in 2 weeks hits UW Memorial Union

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Capital Times

Burned popcorn in a popular bar at the UW-Madison Memorial Union brought firefighters to the facility for the second time in two weeks, authorities reported. The fire in the Rathskeller was reported at 2:47 p.m. Saturday, according to a news release from Madison Fire Department spokeswoman Lori Wirth. Staff of the Rathskeller met firefighters in the hallway and led them to the bar, where the popcorn cooker had been on fire before being extinguished by the bar?s general manager.

Plain Talk: Photos make case for burying power lines

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Capital Times

The ?beauty? of overhead power lines has always been in the eye of the beholder. Many can overlook their ugliness as a necessary evil if cities and businesses are to develop and expand. Retired UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley, a renowned research engineer, would joke that while others might see a transmission tower as a blight on the landscape, an engineer sees them as a work of art. They are, after all, what brings the power to make things go. Obviously, employees at the UW Arboretum don?t see them as art.

SLAC, TAA urge UW to sever ties with Palermo?s

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In the midst of the controversy surrounding the Palermo?s Pizza workers? strike, the University of Wisconsin-Madison Teaching Assistants? Association and the Student Labor Action Coalition released a joint resolution calling for the university to cut all ties with Palermo?s.The issue began when workers at Palermo?s were fired from a Milwaukee factory after attempting to unionize. Workers also condemned poor working conditions and Palermo?s lack of effort to correct them.

UW-Madison administration is aware of the current dispute between the pizza company and its workers and will continue to monitor the situation, Vice Chancellor for University Relations Vince Sweeney said in an email. ?It appears to be a difficult and complicated issue and we are hopeful that the parties can reach a resolution in the immediate future,? Sweeney said.

Four Beltline power poles lowered for views inside Arboretum

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Wisconsin State Journal

American Transmission Co. has lowered the height of four power poles along the Beltline so they don?t ruin the pastoral view inside the UW Arboretum. In the quiet of the Arboretum, where wild turkeys wander and bicyclists meander, there?s little sense of the hubbub of the city ? or the busy Beltline Highway ? just beyond.

Quoted: Donna Paulnock, the Arboretum’s interim director and associate dean for biological sciences in the UW Graduate School.

Labor group rejects adidas? summit plan

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Daily Cardinal

University of Wisconsin-Madison?s Labor Licensing Policy Committee expressed concern Wednesday after adidas announced its plan to host a summit abroad to address the issue of companies? failure to pay severance in the global garment industry. Over the past year, LLPC has urged Chancellor Ward to cut licensing and sponsorship ties with adidas, the university?s primary licensing partner, after the company failed to pay more than 2,700 Indonesian workers due severance pay after a PT Kizone factory contracted by adidas abruptly shut down in January 2011.

Reversing the slide: Iron County communities try to curb exodus of residents

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Wisconsin State Journal

Until recently, a diverse constellation of industries ? farming, manufacturing, mining and tourism ? sustained these communities. But in many of them today, the population is aging, fewer babies are born, and fewer workers are left to support those left behind.

“When we think about the needs of the community and the tax base that?s required to support a community and all of its services, this is where it really starts to matter, not only for the current well-being of the community but for the future well-being for the community,” said Katherine Curtis, a UW-Madison assistant professor of community and environmental sociology.

Chris Rickert: Focus funds on manure, not milk

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Wisconsin State Journal

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was in Madison for the World Dairy Expo last week when he raised the specter of $6-a-gallon milk should Congress fail to renew the federal farm bill.

….After all, America hasn’t “got milk” in quite a while, as milk consumption has been dropping since at least 1975, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Brian Gould, an agriculture economist at UW-Madison, says a variety of factors are to blame for the change, including the advent of bottled water and other beverages, an aging population that drinks less milk, and changes in taste and preference. “It’s a structural problem,” he said. “It’s something that’s not short-term.”

Two big apartment buildings proposed near Kohl Center, UW campus

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Wisconsin State Journal

A Madison developer is proposing two large apartment buildings near the Kohl Center and UW-Madison, continuing a surge of residential construction in the Downtown area. Scott Faust is proposing to demolish two smaller residential buildings to build a 12-story tower at 313-315 N. Francis St. and to demolish four more residential buildings for a five-story apartment building at 202-222 N. Bassett and 510-520 W. Dayton streets. Both projects are targeted mainly to students but also would welcome young professionals.

Madison company Echometrix gets OK to sell ultrasound technology

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Wisconsin State Journal

Echometrix, a Madison medical technology company, has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to sell its EchoSoft ultrasound technology.”We?re very pleased to have reached this critical milestone,” said chief executive Sam Adams. The application was submitted in spring 2011. Founded in 2007 based on UW-Madison research, Echometrix has three employees. Adams said he plans to hire at least one more by the end of the year.

Company at Dairy Expo helps farmers turn manure into cash cow

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Wisconsin State Journal

A Wisconsin company plying its wares in Madison this week at the World Dairy Expo is offering farmers a way to turn one of the dairy industry?s messiest problems ? manure ? into cash. With an assist from a team of UW-Madison scientists, Braun Electric Inc. of St. Nazianz makes equipment for the Trident “nutrient management system,” which processes manure that might otherwise pollute lakes and the air into animal bedding, dry fertilizer, mulch and biofuels that can be sold for profit.

….”Farmers will make more money off of manure than milk,” said Aicardo Roa, a chemist from Soil Net, a company which has operations in Madison, Belleville and China. He worked with a team from UW-Madison led by biochemistry professor John Markley to help Braun land a $7.5 million grant from the Department of Energy to make the system available to the public. “We are the first people to understand that manure is a resource. That water, protein, it’s all a resource,” Roa said.

Grass Roots: Students call on UW-Madison to stop selling Palermo’s pizza at Camp Randall and the Kohl Center

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Capital Times

UW-Madison students visited the office of Chancellor David Ward Monday to ask the university to stop the sale of Palermo?s pizza ? the target of a national boycott by labor unions — at Camp Randall and the Kohl Center. The pizzas are sold with a Bucky logo and billed as ?the official pizza of the Badgers,? students say in a letter delivered to Ward by members of the Student Labor Action Coalition.

Campus Connection: Report says student debt a drag on Wisconsin’s economy

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Capital Times

There?s no question that many of the statistics associated with student loan debt are eye-opening….A report released Thursday by the Institute for One Wisconsin, a liberal think tank, argues that yes, it is something to be concerned about, because ?student loan debt is stealing the future of the middle class? and acts as a significant drag on the state?s economic recovery due to the fact that so many people continue paying for their education so long after they graduate. The analysis indicates middle-class households with student loan debt are significantly more likely to rent than own a house, while those paying off student loans also are more likely than those without such debt to buy used cars rather than new ones, potentially reducing new car purchasing in Wisconsin by more than $200 million each year.

Arrests made after melee at downtown bar

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WISC-TV 3

MADISON, Wis.-Two people were arrested and two cited after a group of patrons began fighting with staff at Wondo?s Bar, at 602 University Ave., Sunday morning. Madison police said multiple officers were called to the bar at 1:46 a.m. Officers said the disturbance began when a patron fell off a bar stool and was asked to leave. A recycle bin filled with bottles was thrown down a flight of stairs at bouncers and a woman used a broomstick to hit a 34-year-old bouncer in the head multiple times, according to police.

Campus Connection: Ohio State is the latest Big Ten school to sign on with Coursera

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Capital Times

On Wednesday, Coursera announced it has partnered with 17 new colleges to offer these massive open online courses, or MOOCs. To date, UW-Madison has not gotten involved with this new trend, and Provost Paul DeLuca reiterated to me on Wednesday afternoon that the university has no immediate plans to jump on the MOOCs bandwagon.

Epic Systems founder Judy Faulkner joins Forbes list of richest Americans

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Wisconsin State Journal

One of the 20 newcomers on the Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans is from the Madison area. Judy Faulkner, 68, who founded medical software company Epic Systems Corp. in 1979, has a net worth of $1.7 billion and comes in at No. 285 on the annual list, which was released Wednesday. Forbes notes that 40 percent of the U.S. population will have its medical information stored with Epic software by next year. Faulkner is ranked No. 764 on the Forbes list of billionaires worldwide.

“It may seem like it’s, in some ways, an overnight success but they built it over the years,” said Dan Olszewski, director of the Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship at the UW-Madison School of Business. “They’ve had a great strategy of being very focused on customers that it targets and solving their customers’ problems.”

Healthy competition? Critics say consumers lose as providers build, bicker

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Capital Times

As president of the Madison-based health insurance buying pool The Alliance, Cheryl DeMars spends her days haggling with providers over the cost of services. It’s a tough job, given that health care spending continues to skyrocket.

“I understand the public sees what appears to be overbuilding but you need to look at each project on an individual basis,” says Jeff Grossman, president and CEO of the UW Medical Foundation, the clinical practice organization for faculty physicians in the UW-Madison?s School of Medicine and Public Health. Still, critics wonder how adding new buildings can do anything other than increase how much is spent on health care. And that?s a lot.

UW admin on right track with recent Adidas lawsuit

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Badger Herald

Cornell University just dropped its contract with sports apparel juggernaut Adidas amid allegations that after the closing of an Indonesian factory, the company neglected to compensate over 2,700 workers with the $1.8 million dollars they were due. The University of Wisconsin-Madison also contracts with Adidas, and has raised similar concerns over workers? rights in Asia, but has been reluctant to sever its contract. Instead, the university has filed a lawsuit with Dane County District Court, claiming that company violated a code of conduct.

Just Ask Us: How much will special Badgers football uniforms cost?

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Wisconsin State Journal

A: The alternate uniforms won?t cost the university or taxpayers anything, according to Justin Doherty, an associate athletic director and spokesman for the Athletic Department. Adidas is footing the bill for the alternate threads both the Badgers and Cornhuskers will be sporting on Sept. 29. Adidas provides all the Badgers? uniforms that way, said Brian Lucas, director of athletic communications.

Tech and Biotech: PerBlue named to young entrepreneurs list

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Wisconsin State Journal

Madison mobile game developer PerBlue has been named one of the 2012 Empact100, the only Wisconsin company to make the list, which honors outstanding entrepreneurs under age 30. Co-founded in 2008 by Dane County native and UW-Madison graduate Justin Beck ? who turned 25 in April ? PerBlue has 40 employees. The company had $1.5 million in revenues last year, all based on its flagship game, Parallel Kingdom….Beck and the other honorees have been invited to a luncheon at the White House on Sept. 28, and 15 of them will be chosen next week to make two-minute presentations about how they will give back to the entrepreneurial community.

Cornell University drops adidas for violating workers’ rights

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Daily Cardinal

Cornell University announced last Thursday it will cut business ties with adidas, a company the University of Wisconsin-Madison has recently had to consider its own relationship with. In a letter to the company Thursday, Cornell University President David Skorton said the university will stop doing business with adidas effective Oct. 1. Skorton called the apparel industry?s approach to workers? rights ?a critical issue that demands immediate attention.?

Dairy innovation center to shut down

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

In addition to helping dairy plants with business plans and equipment or facility issues, the center also assisted them with product development, packaging and label development and marketplace penetration, working in tandem with the Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Speaker at biotech summit says pharmaceutical industry now has ‘flawed business model’

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Wisconsin State Journal

Technology is changing the world, and the bioscience and health care industries are no exception, a biotechnology booster and venture capitalist told a conference in Madison on Wednesday. That means today?s biotechnology companies will have to find new ways to succeed, said G. Steven Burrill, a UW-Madison graduate and one of the featured speakers at the daylong 2012 Bioscience Vision Summit at Monona Terrace.

Potential Orpheum closure could harm UW, city events

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Daily Cardinal

University of Wisconsin-Madison students and downtown residents may need to look for an alternative concert venue as the iconic Orpheum Theatre faces the possibility of closing its doors.Co-owners Henry Doane and Eric Fleming need to pay Monona State Bank a loan balance of $1.1 million to continue operating their restaurant, bar and theatre, located at 216 State St.

Union seeks to join lawsuit against adidas

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Daily Cardinal

In the midst of a contract lawsuit between the University of Wisconsin-Madison and its primary licensing partner adidas, a union representing unpaid workers at an Indonesian factory contracted by adidas requested to be part of the university?s lawsuit against the apparel company, a move UW-Madison?s Labor Licensing Policy Committee supports. The request comes nearly two months after negotiations between UW-Madison and adidas failed to resolve the dispute over whether or not adidas owes more than 2,700 workers nearly $2 million in severance pay after an adidas-contracted Indonesian factory, PT Kizone, closed down in January 2011.

Developers present apartment complex

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Daily Cardinal

Residents in the State-Langdon Neighborhood heard a proposal Monday for a new student apartment complex, which would require the demolition of three buildings. Developers Jeff and Chris Houden presented a proposal to deconstruct 145 Iota Court and 619 and 625 Henry St. to make way for a new eight story student apartment building. They also plan to add two stories to the Cliff Dwellers building at 140 Iota Court and construct a pedestrian walkway near the complex.

Food industry’s impact goes beyond ‘organic’ paradigm

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Not surprisingly, food science has deep roots in Wisconsin, as well. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, which dates to 1893, food safety and nutrition has long been a staple. Scientists at CALS are studying how bacteria can hitch a ride on plants to get to humans; how wildlife intrusions in fields where crops are grown can spread disease; and how environmental conditions can affect food sources.

Researchers at the Great Lakes Bioenergy Center in Madison are learning more about using nonfood sources, such as fast-growing trees and corn stover, to produce next-generation biofuels. That affects the food chain because it would mean using less farmland for ethanol production – a valid concern in this year?s drought.

Madison start-up companies launch online test sites

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Flexatory is a Web-based inventory system whose users can define item types and customize how they organize them. They can also print bar codes and scan them in using an Android app so their inventory can go anywhere. Flexatory won first place and $10,000 earlier this year in the University of Wisconsin-Madison Qualcomm Wireless Innovation Competition.

Chinese investment risky for university

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Daily Cardinal

Where my concern comes from is that we are working with Chinese government officials as our relationship grows. After all, this is the same Chinese government that engenders such a high level of corruption that even its own autocratic system believes that corruption is a major threat to the country. On top of this, multinational corporations love to advertise the image that they are cleaning up China, when the reality is China is on the verge of an environmental catastrophe.

William Tracy: National business leaders call for more state money for UW-Madison

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Capital Times

National business leaders who understand the importance of research universities to our economic future are telling Wisconsin lawmakers that they need to put more state money into the University of Wisconsin-Madison. ?America is driven by innovation ? advances in ideas, products and processes that create new industries and jobs,? the report says. ?In the past half-century, innovation itself has been increasingly driven by educated people and the knowledge they produce. Our nation?s primary source of both new knowledge and graduates with advanced skills continues to be our research universities.

Some Physicians Plus members will have access to UW doctors next year, despite ruling

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Wisconsin State Journal

Some Physicians Plus members will have some access to UW-Madison doctors next year, despite a judge?s ruling Thursday that the UW Medical Foundation?s threat to stop treating the members next year is legal. Mary Reinke, spokeswoman for Meriter Health Services, which owns Physicians Plus insurance, said Friday that access for about 97,000 Physicians Plus members is guaranteed next year.

Tech and Biotech: Build Madison returns

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Wisconsin State Journal

Potential entrepreneurs, inventors and tinkerers will gather in Madison the weekend of Sept. 22-23 for Build Madison, a community ?create-a-thon.?

“The cool thing about this event is: there isn?t really a focus,? said Sector67 founder Chris Meyer. He said Build Madison is being publicized on the UW-Madison campus in hopes of interesting more students in entrepreneurship.

Q&A: Labor economist says Wisconsin’s infrastructure at risk

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Capital Times

The study of economics has been derisively called the ?dismal science? since the mid-19th century. But no one would describe labor economist Laura Dresser, associate director of the UW-Madison?s Center on Wisconsin Strategy, as dismal ? even if the statistics she produces these days aren?t particularly cheerful. Dresser?s work at COWS focuses not just on the numbers but on providing policy ideas to help close the ever-widening wealth gap in the U.S.

NeuWave Medical raises $14 million in venture funding

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Neuwave was founded by two University of Wisconsin-Madison professors: Fred Lee, Jr., vice chairman of the radiology department, and Daniel van der Weide, a professor of electrical and computer engineering. Laura G. King, president and chief executive officer, previously led GE Healthcare?s $1.2 billion global interventional cardiology and surgery business.

Biotech companies moving, expanding

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WISC-TV 3

MADISON, Wis.-Three businesses in the University Research Park are making changes that reinforce the companies? commitment to Madison, according to the University Research Park director. Epicentre and Aldevron will move operations into the research park?s 80,000-square-foot Accelerator building. Exact Sciences will move into space Aldevron is vacating.