Quoted: “For all we know, it could be the obesity that makes (the children) have higher BPA levels,” says Ellen Connor, an associate professor of pediatric endocrinology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
A University of Wisconsin-Madison professor won a 2012 American Book Award on Oct. 7 for his book on environmental issues. Robert Nixon, a professor of English, won the award for his book ?Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor.? The book centers on the impacts of destruction of ecosystems, radiation contamination and communities lost to dams or mines.
Despite acknowledging concerns about the increasing costs associated with earning a college degree, the Regents this past June ultimately voted to increase tuition by 5.5 percent for the 2012-13 academic year for in-state undergraduates. It was the sixth straight year in which resident undergrads attending one of the UW System?s 13 four-year campuses have had their tuition bumped up by that exact same percentage. Add it up, and tuition and mandatory fees at UW-Madison are topping $10,000 for the first time in 2012-13, costing an in-state undergrad $10,378.
Quoted: “These kinds of food systems can generate jobs,” as well as help small farms, noted Sharon Lezberg, associate scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “There?s a whole host of benefits.”
Noted: Thompson?s electability was once assured based on his name recognition and vast likability in the state as a moderate conservative dating back to his years as governor. That shifted during the Republican primary, when he took hard right positions that many perceived as catering to national trends in his party, says Dennis Dresang, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Those positions helped Baldwin portray him early in the race as unreliable and dogmatic.
Noted: Joseph Peterson, a professor in the University of Wisconsin geology department, and his colleagues took CT scans of the skulls and compared the distribution of lesions to those on the skulls of birds, crocodilians, and mammals – particularly mammals with horns.
Noted: University of Wisconsin?Madison ecologist Stephen Carpenter has for years studied how critical transitions can be used to keep invasive species from overtaking healthy habitats. Using the food chain at Peter Lake on the Wisconsin?Michigan border as a test bed, Carpenter and his colleagues over several years introduced dozens of largemouth bass into the algae-infested water.
With less than a month to go until the election, a new poll showed the presidential and Senate races are essentially tied among likely voters in Wisconsin.
A new Marquette Law School Poll finds the presidential race tied in Wisconsin, with President Barack Obama at 49 percent and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney at 48 percent among likely voters. The race for U.S. Senate is also a dead heat, with former Governor Tommy Thompson at 46 percent and Rep. Tammy Baldwin at 45 percent. Two weeks ago, before the first presidential debate, Obama held an 11-point lead and Baldwin was narrowly ahead by four percentage points. The new poll was conducted October 11-14, before the second presidential debate.
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.
Scientists now can see Uranus in sharper focus, thanks to a new technique developed by two UW-Madison scientists and other scientists using the world?s largest telescopes. High-resolution infrared images of the seventh planet from the sun, taken at the Keck Observatory on the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii, were shown at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society?s Division of Planetary Sciences in Reno on Wednesday.The images are being called the best look ever at Uranus? complex and enigmatic weather patterns. The UW-Madison scientists working on the project were Larry Sromovsky and Pat Fry.
Just a few months ago, Greg Barrett-Wilt found himself beneath an awning on the dry and dusty site of ancient Troy in Turkey on the Aegean Sea. The UW-Madison scientist held in his hand a broken piece of pottery, an invaluable piece of antiquity. And he was about to do something unthinkable: deface it with a scraping tool. Barrett-Wilt, who specializes in using sophisticated instruments to study proteins, is a partner in a collaboration that will use cutting-edge science to bring to life a very old and storied place. He was recruited by William Aylward, a UW-Madison archaeologist, who will lead new excavations of Troy, the setting for Homer?s legendary tale of love, betrayal and war, and a real and bustling city that was continually occupied for 4,500 years.
Imagine boiling American history down to 138 pages in a small book. The result is ?American History: A Very Short Introduction,? one of the newest entries in Oxford University Press? VSI series. This offering ? one of almost 350 ? is of particular interest because it was written by Paul S. Boyer, a UW-Madison history professor emeritus who died in March.
A professor at UW-Madison weighs in on Tuesday nights presidential debate and looks ahead to Mondays final show-down between President Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney.
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.
Quoted: “Their economic future isn?t very bright,” says Timothy Smeeding, director of the Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin?Madison. “Wages and income are flat. Transportation, childcare costs, and healthcare costs are going up, and your income isn?t.”
Noted: The debate is important because ?the archaeological record is very stingy,? says the study?s lead author, paleoanthropologist Travis Pickering of the University of Wisconsin, Madison. So evidence on how humans got their food ?is one of the few things we can ? extrapolate from to talk about cognition and sophistication and social organization.?
A University of Wisconsin archaeologist will lead a new round of excavations at ancient Troy.
A University of Wisconsin-Madison archaeologist will lead a new round of excavations at ancient Troy.
Noted: One thing?s for sure, tonight?s town-hall style format between President Barack Obama and challenger Mitt Romney will look much different than their first meeting. Also, University of Wisconsin-Madison Political Scientist Barry Burden says the first debate changed the dynamic of the campaign, with Romney coming out ahead.
The federal government awarded University of Wisconsin researchers $2.1 million to fund a project intended to promote sustainable vegetable production on behalf of producers and processors.
Public television?s investigative series “Frontline” did a great job last week telling the life stories of President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney. So great it actually made me want to vote for them. Not because they came off as particularly brilliant or capable or caring. But rather because they came off as all these things and more, including unserious, haughty and ineffectual. Human, in other words.
Arguably at the forefront of efforts to understand what fuels political stance-taking in Wisconsin is UW-Madison associate political science professor Kathy Cramer Walsh, who spent more than a year gathering the opinions of regular folk in face-to-face interviews around the state. In a guest column in this newspaper in June she noted that “politics is often … about us versus them” and candidates “often make claims about the ?type? of people they are battling on behalf of.”
Among the books and binders in her office in the Mechanical Engineering building, associate professor Heidi-Lynn Ploeg?s shelves are filled with bones. She pulls out a thin cardboard sleeve, and inside are dozens of mouse femurs. Each one of these leg bones is shorter than the length of a fingernail. ?It?s amazing how we can compare these to the human body,? Ploeg said. Ploeg is the director of a Bone and Joint Biomechanics laboratory at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
As the state prepares for its first wolf hunt, scientists say they don?t know what effect the five-month hunt beginning Monday will have on Wisconsin wolves. One hunt won?t put wolves ? removed from the federal endangered species list last year ? back on the list but research hints at possible longer-term harm to the wolf population and even an increase in wolves killing livestock, researchers say.
Quoted: Tim Van Deelen, a wildlife biologist at UW-Madison who has studied the state’s wolves extensively.
Of the 42,818 students enrolled at UW-Madison this fall, 4,753 are international students, according to preliminary figures produced by the university. That?s a record high for UW-Madison and means that one of every nine students on campus today hails from outside the United States….One of the people tasked with providing information, programs and support to these international students is Laurie Cox, an assistant dean with the Division of Student Life who directs the International Student Services program.
Even with increased focus on concussions, football remains by far the most popular high school sport. In Wisconsin, 29,807 football players compete at about 420 schools in Wisconsin ? nearly double the number of track and basketball players. But greater awareness of the effects of head injuries has prompted much conjecture about the viability of the game, said Dr. David T. Bernhardt, a pediatrician in primary care sports medicine at the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health.
A: Metal sources are determined by finding some attribute that is unique to a given source, explained UW-Madison chemist James Burton, who directs the T. Douglas Price Laboratory for Archaeological Chemistry. “For example copper from Europe has gold in it, while North American copper does not. We are mainly interested in bronze, an alloy of copper and other metals such as tin and lead.”
A. An air mass is a large body of air whose properties of temperature and humidity are similar in any horizontal direction. Air masses can cover hundreds of thousands of square miles. Air masses are formed when air stagnates for long periods of time over a uniform surface. The characteristic temperature and moisture of air masses are determined by the surface over which they form. An air mass acquires these attributes through heat and moisture exchanges with the surface.
A panel of scholars from across the country met Friday to discuss ways to educate the public about the Aug. 5 Oak Creek Sikh temple shooting by connecting it to greater issues involving racism and violence. To connect what happens in smaller-scale terrorist incidents, such as the Oak Creek shooting, to current larger issues, UW-Madison professor Donald Davis said it is necessary to determine if such incidents are ?just a weirdo acting out? or if they are linked to greater global and national problems.
A former University of Wisconsin-Madison veterinarian who resigned due to frustration with how the university handled his concerns about maltreatment of research animals has become another voice siding with an animal rights group that recently made similar allegations.
A panel of scholars from across the country met Friday to discuss ways to educate the public about the Aug. 5 Oak Creek Sikh temple shooting by connecting it to greater issues involving racism and violence. To connect what happens in smaller-scale terrorist incidents, such as the Oak Creek shooting, to current larger issues, UW-Madison professor Donald Davis said it is necessary to determine if such incidents are ?just a weirdo acting out? or if they are linked to greater global and national problems.? The purpose [of the panel discussion] is to think about what scholars of South Asia can and should be doing to educate people about incidents like this to help make sense of why they happen,? Davis said.
Quoted: There may be more rationality behind my “impulse finds” than meets the eye. According to Professor Beverly Gordon of the University of Wisconsin?s design studies program, souvenirs “make concrete that which is ephemeral. There?s a drive, a compulsion, for humans to bring home something physical from these experiences.”
Quoted: ?In recent years, as prices fell in many markets… many were faced with the prospect of selling for less than they paid,? says Justin Sydnor, assistant professor in the Wisconsin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Quoted: Joanne Cantor, a professor emerita in communication science at the University of Wisconsin, called the study “really interesting,” in part because the researchers used an objective measure – cortisol – to compare gender-based reactions to bad news.
Noted: Sauteed in butter on a skillet, hen of the woods tastes like . . . well . . . chicken. Packed with vitamins and minerals, the mushroom can also be crumbled and eaten raw in salads. Dried, it?s added to soups or steeped for tea, which is described by Tom Volk, a University of Wisconsin mycologist, as “quasi-delicious.”
Quoted: ?Farmers can?t afford to buy as much grain and protein, and that affects milk production,? said Bob Cropp, an economist at the University of Wisconsin in Madison who has been following the industry since 1966. ?In California, there?ve been some foreclosures and some sell-off of cows quite heavily. You?re going to see that in other parts of the country.?
The Office of the Vice Provost and Chief Diversity Officer Damon Williams sponsored an evening dinner featuring a six-person panel of University of Wisconsin-Madison alumni Thursday, to kick off the 2012 Diversity Forum. The forum, entitled ?An Evening of Alumni and Student Conversations on Leadership,? aimed to showcase young, diverse UW-Madison alumni who now work as professionals and to advise current undergraduates about making the most of their college experience.
Of all the astronomical events that open eyes here on Earth, few generate more excitement ? and sometimes, as history has proven, strangeness ? than the arrival of a comet in our neighborhood. So, get out your calendars. Astronomers tell us that the year 2013 will see the passage of a comet that could be historic.
Ken Nordsieck, a UW-Madison astronomer who has studied his share of comets, used a wonderful phrase to describe these bright comets as Hale-Bopp passed in 1997, bright enough to glimpsed with the naked eye. He called it “a great driveway comet.” And Nordsieck, studying the data on 2012 S1, said the approaching comet has the potential to be “quite spectacular” from Madison and other North American locations.
Quoted: Joanne Cantor, a professor emerita in communication science at the University of Wisconsin, called the study ?really interesting,? in part because the researchers used an objective measure ? cortisol ? to compare gender-based reactions to bad news.
Quoted: In a forthcoming book, ?Teenage Citizens: The Political Theories of the Young,? University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Connie Flanagan argues that Americans under 18 unfairly get the ?Summertime Blues? treatment from political scientists and other researchers: ?I?d like to help you, son, but you?re too young to vote.?
Quoted: Stephen Ward, director of the Center for Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the photo by itself was not too offensive but noted it could be exploited.
Quoted: ?Overall, there?s an important effect and important contribution of the Hispanic population,? says Katherine Curtis, assistant professor of community and environmental sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Quoted: “As a general rule, the campaign finance environment is very dynamic,” said Ken Mayer, a University of Wisconsin, Madison, professor who studies campaign finance. “Affected groups don?t just sit there and say, ?Game over.? They always adapt and continue exercising influence.”
Quoted: Although he?s concerned that myelination seen in mouse models might not ?scale up? to a disease as severe as Pelizaeus-Merzbacher in humans, Ian Duncan, a neuroscientist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, describes the study as setting a precedent for translating animal research in stem cells to humans. If you could improve quality of life by targeting key areas of the brain with these cells, he says, ?that would be a huge advance.?
Unbeknownst to most students, a team of staff members exists that is dedicated to ensuring the safety of the University of Wisconsin?s student population through observations and intervention.
Affirmative action has been an issue for decades, but this week a controversial case comes before the U.S. Supreme Court that could change college admissions processes.
Quoted: Steven Deller, an economist, and Charles Franklin, a political scientist, both of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Quoted: Stephen Ward, director of the Center for Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Quoted: Dietram A. Scheufele, a communications professor at Wisconsin.
Official enrollment data released by the University of Wisconsin-Madison revealed an increase in overall enrollment, making the 2012-2013 freshman class the largest in the school?s history. The data showed there were large increases in out-of-state as well as in-state residents. UW-Madison Provost Paul DeLuca said the overall increase could be attributed to the university?s worldwide reputation for high quality education and student experience on campus.
According to preliminary UW-Madison fall enrollment figures, 25.8 percent of all students on campus are non-residents, a total that tops the 25 percent out-of-state limit set by the UW System?s Board of Regents. “Keep in mind that enrolling a class of 6,000 to 7,000 people with the appropriate in-state and out-of-state residency requirements is a fine art,” says UW-Madison Provost Paul DeLuca.”There is a great deal of uncertainty associated with that process and we try to hit our numbers as precisely as we can.”
When it comes to debating the merits of animal research taking place on the UW-Madison campus, there may well be middle ground on which the masses can agree. But like so many political issues these days, it?s the folks who are most heavily invested in a topic that tend to dominate the discussion.
Gov. Scott Walker has been subpoenaed to testify next week in the misconduct trial involving one of his former aides in Milwaukee County.
….”Some states have statutes that grant immunity to governors so that they cannot be called to testify in legal proceedings ? Indiana, for example. But most do not,” said Karl Shoemaker, UW-Madison associate professor of history and law. “Any witness retains, of course, the right to refuse to answer questions on grounds recognized under existing law ? for example, if testimony is covered by attorney-client privilege, or the 5th Amendment protection against self-incrimination.”
Mary Rouse, former director of the Morgridge Center for Public Service, UW-Madison assistant chancellor for academic affairs and a longtime dean of students, received the 2012 Freedom Fund Award as an Unsung Heroine at the annual NAACP local branch dinner, held Friday. The award recognized Rouse?s work coordinating blood drives for those dealing with sickle cell disease.
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.
A: They are broomcorn, a plant still used to make straw brooms, says Mohammad Fayyaz, head of the botany garden at UW-Madison. The plant was reportedly imported to the American colonies by Benjamin Franklin after 1700. Scientifically known as Sorghum vulgaris var technicum, broomcorn is closely related to sorghum, a grain crop grown in drier parts of the Midwest. Sorghum and corn are closely related.
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.”
A: A degree day is a measure of heating or cooling. A degree day is defined as a departure of the mean daily temperature from a given standard: one degree day for each degree of departure above (or below) the base temperature during one day. The degree day is related to the outside temperature and is not related to time.
A: They are broomcorn, a plant still used to make straw brooms, says Mohammad Fayyaz, head of the botany garden at UW-Madison. The plant was reportedly imported to the American colonies by Benjamin Franklin after 1700. Scientifically known as Sorghum vulgaris var technicum, broomcorn is closely related to sorghum, a grain crop grown in drier parts of the Midwest.
Quoted: Alta Charo, professor of law and medical ethics at the University of Wisconsin Law School
