Dorota Grejner-Brzezińska a year ago stepped into a top role at UW-Madison with big plans to expand its billion-dollar research operation.
Then the executive orders poured in. Her plans had to change.
As the pot of federal funding for research at universities and colleges continues to shrink, UW-Madison’s campus leaders are positioning the university to grow its work with the Department of Defense.
That doesn’t mean UW-Madison researchers will be at the forefront of developing new bombs, said Vice Chancellor for Research Dorota Grejner-Brzezińska.
As darkness fell over the state capital Oct. 25, Makeela Magomolla, Tayah Dean and George Whitney led a group of more than 40 people on the winding paths of UW-Madison’s Lakeshore Nature Preserve.
Microsoft, in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Princeton University, and the New Jersey AI Hub, announced a unique partnership with TitletownTech to accelerate scientific discovery.
This new model will combine the agility of a startup, the technology of a global company, and a university’s expertise.
The Wisconsin National Primate Research Center (WNPRC) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison appointed Ricardo Carrion Jr. as its next director on Oct. 23. Carrion will begin the role Nov. 3, 2025.
The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents approved a request from University of Wisconsin-Madison on Sept. 18 seeking an additional $13.5 million to make space for a cancer research project.
Originally budgeted at $48.5 million, researchers at the Wisconsin Institute for Medical Research found the new structure requires significantly more complex infrastructure, adding $13.5 million to construction costs. The building will support a cyclotron particle accelerator, [brief definition], and will be ready in 2027 according to UW-Madison’s request.
The University of Wisconsin Institute for Research on Poverty hosted a webinar Oct. 29. The webinar examined the effects of student loans and how they specifically target Black students and families, welcoming three experts to discuss a variety of effects impacting students.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice says funding in the state would impact a Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction grant program that includes training new providers, increasing teleservices, and a UW-Madison program which trains 24 psychology graduate students to work in high-need high schools.
UW-Madison is building a new cyclotron particle accelerator, aimed at making the university a leader in the exploding field of theranostics and nuclear medicine, expanding research into and treatment of diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer’s.
A recent University of Wisconsin study found that overfishing is hurting the Wisconsin and Minnesota fish population more than climate change.
Most species of fish are impacted primarily by overfishing, though climate change has a detectable impact on the upper midwest region of the United States, co-author of the study and associate professor Olaf Jensen said. “When we compare the magnitude of [climate change and fishing], for most species, fishing is still having a much larger impact than warming,” Jensen said.
Vice Chancellor Dorota Grejner-Brzezinska wants the University of Wisconsin-Madison to conduct more research with the U.S. Department of Defense — with a caveat.
“I’m not thinking of us going directly to classified (research) and developing new weapons. There’s so much good work we can do that benefits … society but also provide national security,” said Grejner-Brzezinska, who oversees UW-Madison’s $1.7 billion research operation.
Older Americans are often the victims of ageist attitudes. Then, a new UW department forms to improve treatment of larynx disorders. Then, we learn about possible cures for disease coming out of cell therapy research at the UW.
According to University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Zachary Morris, the university has experts in nearly every area of a rising field of cancer research called theranostics.
Morris, a faculty member at the School of Medicine and Public Health and Chair of the Department of Oncology, leads the UW-Madison Initiative for Theranostics and Particle Therapy. He told The Daily Cardinal the theranostics field has quickly been gaining traction over the past decade, and UW-Madison is poised to be at the forefront.
A study of Wisconsin school board policies has found that nearly all districts have policies protecting students from discrimination based on sexual orientation and the vast majority protect students from discrimination based on gender identity.
“I don’t think there’s enough work that describes the environment that we’re in. But then the project gained some urgency when we started hearing from educators across the state about the need for some sort of description of the state of guidance affecting teachers and students,” said Mollie McQuillan, lead author of the school board policy research and an associate professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at UW-Madison.
The trial, led by the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of California, Davis will look at hundreds of thousands of mammograms at UW Health and the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s medical school, as well as academic medical centers in four other states. Wisconsin researchers say it’s an important foray into better understanding both the potential benefits and drawbacks of using AI in cancer screenings.
Talking to oneself out loud—known in psychology as “self-talk” or “thinking out loud”—is a common and beneficial behavior, not a sign of irrationality. Rather than indicating madness or social isolation, self-talk serves as a powerful cognitive tool with a range of psychological benefits. Gary Lupyan, associate professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin, explains that this practice can improve memory and concentration, challenging the stereotype that talking to oneself is a symptom of instability.
In one experiment, participants who named objects out loud were able to locate them more quickly than those who remained silent. As Lupyan explains, “Even though we all know what a banana looks like, saying the word out loud helps the brain activate additional information about that item, including what it looks like.” Verbalizing names or thoughts engages both visual and contextual processing in the brain, enhancing identification and recall.
“Research shows we can actually train our attention and our meta-awareness, and that this is a learnable skill,” says Richard Davidson, PhD, a professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and founder of the Center for Healthy Minds.
“In Wisconsin overcrowding is a huge issue. Assigning more people to a room than they’re supposed to, which, of course, affects your sleep,” said Farah Kaiksow, associate professor of medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, who has researched aging and care in prison.
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.
Despite worries over rising temperatures, it turns out anglers have a greater effect on fish populations than global warming. That’s according to a new study led by the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“We found that for the majority of the populations so far fishing has far more greater impact than warming on the fish populations,” said Luoliang Xu, postdoctoral researcher at UW-Madison’s Center for Limnology.
Atmospheric scientist Elizabeth Maroon of the University of Wisconsin-Madison told CNN there are large uncertainties in how this marine heat wave will affect the atmosphere above it, but there is no question that the blob will have an impact.
For example, she said there is the question of, “Will the marine heat wave get amplified by La Niña conditions, which is a very distinct possibility?” Those two would then work together to change winter weather patterns, she said, calling it one of several scenarios.
Wisconsin’s cranberry industry generates nearly $1 billion annually and supports over 4,000 jobs in the state, according to the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension. While 2025’s production of the fruit saw a slight decrease from the 6.01 million barrels harvested in 2024, the forecasted 5.3 million barrels will make up roughly 65% of the total U.S. supply.
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.”
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.
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.
A University of Wisconsin-Madison collective is working to establish a long-term data set of little brown bat populations on campus with national implications for conservation.
The UW-Madison Bat Brigade is a collaboration between students, professionals and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to monitor and study bats on campus. The Brigade is part of Biocore, an honors biology program.
Some University of Wisconsin-Madison research will be affected due to the federal government shutdown, according to a message from both the Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration and of Research.
UW-Madison ranked sixth nationally for research expenditure in 2024 and is at risk for delayed research project funding after the shutdown.
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.
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:
It’s no secret that Wisconsinites love fishing. But who knew the effects of local anglers on our fisheries were outpacing that of climate change?
That’s exactly what a new study from postdoctoral researcher Luoliang Xu and Prof. Olaf Jensen at UW-Madison’s Center for Limnology found. The discovery was published last week in the journal Science Advances.
“Warming and fishing are happening at the same time, and they both can strongly affect the fish populations,” Xu said. “So the intention of our study is to try to tear apart these two factors.”
In Wisconsin, grain farmers will likely face negative margins in 2025 as expected prices for corn and soybeans are below the estimated break-even points for Wisconsin producers, according to projections by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension.
This fall, as temperatures plummet to -50°C (or -58°F) at the South Pole, a team of UW-Madison scientists and engineers will embark on an adventure to the frozen desert. Their goal: drill seven holes through a mile and a half of Antarctic ice to complete a revolutionary upgrade to the world’s coldest neutrino telescope.
“Whoever had the idea of drilling holes a mile and a half into a glacier was crazy,” says Vivian O’Dell, project manager for the IceCube Upgrade. “Completely nuts. And yet it works.”
In Wisconsin, there were 37,600 women farmers in 2022, accounting for 35.5% of the state’s total producers, according to the University of Wisconsin–Madison. However, some people have a hard time believing that.
“We’ll be the first to see the ice-free peaks,” said Andrew Jones, the study’s lead author and a doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told the San Francisco Chronicle. “This has ecological implications for plants and animals. And it’s a symbolic loss. Climate change is very abstract, but these glaciers are tangible. They’re iconic features of the American West.”
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.
“Glaciers are touchstones between the past and the present, and it’s just so visceral when you can see how it used to be and how it is today,” Andrew Jones, a geoscientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and lead author of the study, tells the Los Angeles Times’ Ian James.
Morgridge Hall, the new home of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Computer, Data and Information Sciences (CDIS) programs, which may soon separate from Letters & Sciences, is officially open for business.
After a two-and-a-half-year construction project which cost $260 million, Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin and a host of other speakers cut the ribbon on Morgridge Hall Friday, ushering in a “new AI revolution” that will sweep the campus.
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.
Where someone lives can shape their health, just as much as the care they receive. That’s why Dr. Amy Kind of her team at UW-Madison have developed the Area Deprivation Index (ADI).
The tool maps health disparities using the impacts of income, housing, education and employment on health.
Bringing a new power station online means Wisconsin would need more nuclear engineers to design and operate the plant.
Department Chair Paul Wilson and Assistant Professor Ben Lindley believe there is a ready pipeline of qualified workers in the state to keep up with that added demand. UW-Madison “pumps out” nuclear engineers, but Wisconsin has only one nuclear plant located in Two Rivers, Lindley said. This leaves some graduates to look for employment in other states.
“A lot of them want to stay in the state, and so having more job opportunities would certainly help,” Lindley said.
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.
“Recent budget reductions to NOAA are reducing the observations needed to support these accurate weather prediction models. This budget impact results in fewer observations of the atmosphere and elimination of future satellite systems.”
Steve Ackerman and Jonathan Martin, professors in the UW-Madison department of atmospheric and oceanic sciences.
“I feel like closing loopholes is kind of like this idea of putting Band-Aids on big wounds … it doesn’t seem like it will solve a problem,” said Shelby Ellison.
Ellison, a hemp researcher and assistant professor in the Department of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences at UW–Madison, proposes that the state could implement age limits, require testing and labeling, and prevent packaging that appeals to children.
“There’s lots of things to do with packaging and marketing that there are no restrictions on in Wisconsin that many other states have … but just that you can’t make it look like Skittles, right?” Ellison said.
Thirteen winners have been announced in the UW-Madison 2025 Cool Science Image Contest.
Winning snapshots include photos from professors, students, and specialists.
While the current guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention doesn’t recommend the COVID-19 vaccine for healthy children and pregnant women, UW Health is recommending the vaccine for everyone 6 months old and older.
“We’ve always leaned into the professional societies’ recommendations,” said Dr. Jim Conway, the medical director of the UW Health immunization program and an infectious disease physician with UW Health Kids. “The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians [and] the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology have all endorsed, based on data, that every person over 6 months is eligible and should consider getting these vaccines.”
The EPA could take enforcement action against Wisconsin if the Legislature decides not to approve the rule or comply with federal standards, said Steph Tai, an environmental law professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“They could initiate what’s called an administrative order to tell the state to comply, or they could do a civil action against the state,” Tai said.
Strifling added the EPA could offer water systems assistance with co
“When the peaks in Yosemite National Park are ice-free, we will be the first humans to lay eyes on that,” Andy Jones, the study’s lead author and a Ph.D. candidate in geoscience at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said in an interview.
While heat pumps in the US have traditionally been associated with warmer locations, they are starting to become more feasible for colder climes. “You can pretty much buy a heat pump for most climates in the US and it can lower your energy bills,” Allison Mahvi, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, tells Popular Science. Some of Mahvi’s research focuses on how to make more efficient heat pump systems for cold climates.
Sam Frank, the head of the University of Wisconsin-Madison startup Realta Fusion’s theoretical physics team, Kai Shih, a Realta scientist, and Aaron Tran, a UW-Madison postdoctoral researcher, have spent years designing a model that shook up the order of the fusion world.
The draft legislation calls for the establishment of a registry at the Department of Population Health Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health. The registry would include a website with annual reports on the incidence and prevalence of Parkinson’s Disease in Wisconsin.
For another Wildlife Wednesday, emeritus professor and UW Extension wildlife ecologist Scott Craven joins us to talk about fall hunting seasons, the cost of poaching, and the latest on wolves in Wisconsin.
Antibiotic drugs are polluting waterways and exacerbating the spread of an infectious fungal disease in frogs and salamanders. We talk to Jessica Hua, an associate professor in UW-Madison’s Forest and Wildlife Ecology Department, about new research on the subject.
Barret Elward is an engineer at UW-Madison, and co-president of United Faculty and Academic Staff (UFAS) Local 223, the union that represents faculty and staff at UW-Madison.
Elward and his team study fusion energy. Their work is mainly funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, which is directly affected by the government shutdown.
“We’ve already been operating under don’t buy the expensive things, or be really cautious about your expenses,” Elward said.
University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin highlighted the arrival of a record 8,500 freshman, even as she warned of looming challenges tied to federal and state funding and free speech scrutiny in a student media roundtable Tuesday.
According to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, much of the university’s research will continue for the time being, even projects that receive federal funding. But international students and staff may be affected as agencies that oversee passports and visas operate with reduced staffs. Similarly, small business loans and federal research grants will be paused or delayed during a shutdown.
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.
It may ultimately be impossible to replace what’s been lost, at least in the short term, said Chris Vagasky, research program manager for Wisconet, a statewide network of weather and soil monitoring stations based at the University of Wisconsin.
Professor Savin, with researchers at University of Wisconsin-Madison and Binghamton University, interviewed lawyers and social workers in 31 offices that help Americans enroll in disability and Supplemental Social Security Income, a needs-based program.
A University of Wisconsin study brought to light the personal challenges Black men face in engineering graduate programs. The study was conducted by educational leadership and policy analysis professor Brian A. Burt.
Fewer graduate and international students are attending UW-Madison this fall, according to data the university released Thursday — a glimpse into how the deep cuts to federal research and visa crackdowns over the last year are rippling through the university.
The data show a 7% decline in total international student enrollment this fall, a decrease of 490 students, and 9% fewer new graduate and professional students.
“What we study is thinking about new technology that would be a way to start up future fusion devices. And it’s really looking at, how do you reduce the cost and complexity,” said Steffi Diem, an assistant professor at UW-Madison and principal investigator of the Pegasus Three experiment. “And our technology looks at building. It looks kind of like a small lightsaber that injects, you know, the fuel in it, and then we capture it by a magnetic field.”
