Category: UW Experts in the News

Three of the inductees were in the field of science: Steve Ackerman, an atmospheric scientist the UW-Madison and one of the “weather guys” on Wisconsin Public Radio; Robert H. Dott Jr., longtime UW-Madison geologist, who has pioneered research into sedimentary processes; and Judith Faulkner, the founder of the phenomenal medical software company, Epic.

Letters honors were bestowed on longtime UW-Madison economist Donald Nichols, now emeritus, for his leadership at the university, his work as a public servant (he served as gubernatorial financial adviser for Gov. Tony Earl) and his award-winning teaching; and to Prof. Jeremi Suri, a nationally recognized UW-Madison history professor for the past ten years who wrote the critically-acclaimed Henry Kissinger and the American Century. Suri was recently named to a major chair in the University of Texas-Austin’s Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law.

Quoted: “It?s the perfect environment for botulinum to grow,” says Eric Johnson, a professor of microbiology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Noted: Edward Friedman, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, echoes some other observers when he goes so far as to call China?s rise “the greatest challenge to freedom in the world since World War I” aimed at “making the world safe for authoritarianism.” But does China really want to overturn the US-led post-World War II international order ? the very system that has allowed the country to flourish so remarkably? And if the men at the top of the Chinese Communist Party are indeed so minded, could they, or those who come after them, ever succeed?

Quoted: “This could hurt particularly rural communities that already struggle from an economic standpoint,” said Bret Shaw, an environmental communications specialist for the University of Wisconsin-Extension and a professor at UW-Madison.

Interviewed: Dr. David Mickelson with the Department of Geoscience at the University of Wisconsin?Madison.

Quoted: ?That?s a big difference,? said Timothy Smeeding, an economist at the University of Wisconsin who oversaw the study in that state. ?It?s about time we started counting the programs we use to fight poverty.?

Quoted: Peter Carstensen, a law professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said he has not read the bill but also said that whether it applies in Vos? case depends not only on the language of the bill but also whether Vos? attorney asks to extend the time for debating fees.

Quoted: “To put this in the same category (as Watergate) is just preposterous,” said Stanley Kutler, an emeritus professor at the University of Wisconsin who wrote “The Wars of Watergate”, a history of the era. “What happened down there is a terrible thing, and it?s terrible in its own right, but it?s apples and oranges.”

Noted: One of Wisconsin?s most quoted political scientists — Charles Franklin — is moving over from UW-Madison to run the new project. He says the poll will be completely transparent, all questions-and-results will be posted online for all to see. He says the Marquette Law School project should give voters “an extraordinary level of understanding” about the many views of Wisconsin?s electorate.

Quoted: Susan Riseling, police chief at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where demonstrators also have established a foothold, said the national scope of the protest movement warrants a broader discussion in law enforcement about how to manage it. “We?re in the middle of something that is bigger than what each of our cities are doing individually to respond to it,?? she said. “We need to learn from each other about what is working and what is a struggle.??

Quoted: If Walker enraged organized labor, Obama?s health-care reforms and economic stimulus programs ?helped mobilize the conservative base and contribute to their resurgence in ?09 and ?10,? says Charles Franklin, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. ?You?ve got an unhappy middle class, unhappy with their situation. They were looking for someone to improve it, and then they were disappointed when that didn?t happen.?

Quoted: “Take a list of things that are really going to be scary (for young children) — vicious animals with big teeth, grotesque, mutilated or deformed characters — and it really describes Halloween,” said Joanne Cantor, an emeritus professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who has studied the impact of media on children. “The No. 1 thing to know about kids of that age is that they don?t understand the difference between fantasy and reality.”

Quoted: While video of the confrontation has flooded YouTube, it may do little to settle the question of who did what to whom, says Pamela Oliver, a sociology professor at the University of Wisconsin.How you are going to view the situation is always up for grabs. Police and protesters will both try to shape perceptions in their favor.

Quoted: “We have some misgivings and I think we should have some misgivings but nevertheless we?re overall suggesting approval for this indication because… the device is being used for this indication every day,” said panel member Dr. Richard Page, a cardiologist from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Quoted: The U.S. economic downturn even plays a role. With unemployment around 9 percent, men looking for a job have to make sure their look is as polished as their resume. “The better you look, the more you?re going to earn,” said Deborah Mitchell, executive director for the Center for Brand and Product Management at the University of Wisconsin School of Business. “Men are increasingly thinking ?Wow, I need to look good or look young.?”

Noted: Andrew Milkowski, adjunct professor in the animal sciences department at the University of Wisconsin and scientific adviser for the American Meat Institute, which represents the interests of companies selling meat products, agrees with Dr. Huffman that research linking nitrates and nitrites to health problems is flawed.

Noted: John Hawks, an anthropologist at the University of Wisconsin, who summarized what is known about Denisovans, whose remains were found in a particular cave in Russia where the remains of modern humans and Neanderthals were also found; and other archaic human species that may once have co-existed with our own.

Quoted: “There?s a class of homeowners that are severely underwater that are current on their payments that this will help,” says Morris Davis, academic director of the James A. Graaskamp Center for Real Estate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, but that?s a small group. “I don?t think this is going to help many people,” he adds.

Quoted: Barry Burden, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Quoted: Alexander Shashko, who teaches a music history course at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, said that protest songs historically derived power from the social or political movements that adopted them, and that the main political movement to rise from the economic crash had been the Tea Party, the conservative antitax group.

Quoted: Dave Wilcox, a journalism instructor at the University of Wisconsin, teaches undergrads entry level reporting. He blasts both Politico and Roll Call for their reporting today: Politico for running with the post before DeMint?s spokesman challenged the story and Roll Call for running a story based on two anonymous sources. ?You can go with one anonymous source that confirms someone else?s word on the record,? Wilcox said in a phone interview. ?But two people who won?t speak on the record is invalid. We would consider that a fail. That?s from the perspective of teaching young journalism students.?

Noted: An increase in LGBTQ services could be part of a broader movement that recognizes gay marriage and gays serving in the military. “There?s a widening conversation in general about the lives of LGBTQ people,” said Gabe Javier, the director of the LGBTQ campus center at University of Wisconsin-Madison. And that leads to more resources being provided across the board, from community groups to LGBTQ-focused Greek life.

A. Panting dogs take shallower breaths. When people (and dogs) breathe too fast, they can lower the level of carbon dioxide in the blood to the point that they feel lightheaded or even faint, according to Gordon Mitchell, a professor who teaches respiratory physiology at the UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine.

Quoted: Ronald D. Schultz, chairman of the department of pathobiological sciences at the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Quoted: Barry Burden, political science professor with the University of Wisconsin Advertising Project said it?s typical to have two to three rounds of back-and-forth with this type of political fight. He said there?s really no code of ethics governing groups doing political advertising.

Quoted: “There was no requirement, other than a box to check off that any substantive counseling was given to help smokers to quit,” Dr. Michael Fiore, director of the Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention at the University of Wisconsin, told Reuters Health. He was not involved in the current study but chairs a panel working to revise the hospital rules on smokers.

Noted: Megan Moreno, an assistant professor of pediatrics at University of Wisconsin-Madison and author of a recent ?Advice for Patients? column about school bullying published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, says the definition of bullying has evolved.

Quoted: “Can you imagine this city if 48% of the white kids were dropping out?” asks Gloria Ladson-Billings, an education professor at UW-Madison and Madison Prep board member. “I don?t get why that kind of failure is tolerable.”

Noted: “This is the way that theyre able to get the information without having to go to 1,000 different universities,” said Gia Euler of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.