Category: UW Experts in the News

Quoted: Heidi-Lynn Ploeg, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at UW-Madison.

Quoted: Polling expert Charles Franklin of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Quoted: Political scientist Charles Franklin of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Quoted: Local researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison said that the findings make sense since cell phone radio waves are proven to increase brain activity. But are cell phone users buying it? “It?s radio signals, it?s all radio,” said cell phone user Dave Scalia. “We get radio signals all the time. So there?s actually no proof of (health risks). Until there?s definitive proof, I?m not going to really care about it.”

Quoted: Morris Davis, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business, said the hit on housing prices in the area isn?t as bad as the nation?s average.

Quoted: The broadcasting of body parts is also a part of the ?everybody wants to be famous? age, added Joanne Cantor, director of the Center for Communication Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Quoted: Deborah Mitchell is with the Center for Brand and Product Management at the Wisconsin School of Business, at the UW-Madison. She says the gas card promotion works because it tackles travelers’ fears over high gas prices head on.

Jeff Kirsch knows what it?s like to stand on stage at the Scripps National Spelling Bee, and for the last few years he has helped teens from Wisconsin, Minnesota and Colorado make it there. This year, Kirsch, director of the Spanish and Portuguese Independent Learning program in the UW-Madison division of continuing studies, is coaching two students and is spending this week in Washington, D.C., cheering them on. In addition to coaching Waunakee?s Parker Dietry this spring, Kirsch has spent about six months tutoring David Phan, a third-time contestant in the national bee from Boulder, Colo.

Quoted: A UW-Madison electrical engineering professor pointed out that wireless Bluetooth devices emit similar frequencies as cell phones, but with less power. Nader Behdad says people who are concerned should use wired headsets.

Quoted: “It?s hard for me to believe there won?t be a handful of travelers who ate contaminated food in a restaurant,” said Dr. Dennis Maki, an infectious disease expert and professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin Department of Medicine. “I?ll be surprised if we don?t have a few cases.”

Noted: The episode was a reminder of the stakes involved in data security?and an indicator that many organizations are not protecting themselves well enough. “When it comes to all of these security problems, companies aren?t spending up front but have to spend a lot of money on the back end to fix things,” says Thomas Ristenpart, a computer security researcher at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Quoted: “It shows historically that the military and civilian society are trying to bridge the gap,” said Donald Downs, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and coauthor of a new book about the ROTC.

Quoted: The shortage ?is concerning,? said Dr. Herbert Chen, leader of the endocrine cancer disease group at the University of Wisconsin, who estimates he prescribes the drug to 75 percent of his patients before treatment. ?We want to be able to offer the best therapies to our patients, and Thyrogen is part of that algorithm.?

Quoted: Steven A. Ackerman and Jonathan Martin, professors in the UW-Madison department of atmospheric and oceanic sciences.

Quoted: Hussain Bahia, a paving expert and professor of civil and environmental engineering at UW-Madison.

Quoted: John Hall, UW-Madison?s military historian.

What?s love got to do with it, this coupling of plant and passion? You can blame, or credit, the other Darwin, said Theresa Kelley, a UW-Madison English professor, expert on plants in romanticism and author of the forthcoming book, “Clandestine Marriage: Botany and Romantic Culture.”

Parker Dietry didn?t know what he was in for when he walked away as the state?s champion speller in March.In the past two months, the 14-year-old Waunakee eighth-grader has exchanged video games for word lists and gets to shoot hoops only if he?s simultaneously spelling words such as ?feijoada? and ?ferrochromium.? But he?s optimistic the time he?s devoted to studying and spelling ? about 25 to 30 hours a week ? will pay off this week as he heads to Washington, D.C., for the Scripps National Spelling Bee. His efforts have meant working with Jeff Kirsch, director of the Spanish and Portuguese Independent Learning program in the UW-Madison division of continuing studies.

Quoted: That?s in line with other polls, said Charles Franklin, a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and co-founder of the polling site Pollster.com.

Quoted: “Detecting antibodies to the virus is important because that will tell us much more about the infectivity of the virus and also tell us if the fish has been exposed to VHS in the past or just recently,” said Anna Wilson, a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a researcher in the VHS project.

Quoted: Andrew Reschovsky, an economics professor at UW-Madison?s La Follette School of Public Affairs, understands why people get confused about Wisconsin?s budget deficit. “The concepts are complicated, and the terms get defined differently by different people.”

Quoted: UW-Madison meteorology professor Gregory Tripoli says the jet stream is being further energized by temperature contrasts on the other side of the globe, in Asia.

Quoted: UW-Madison School of Business professor Ramon Aldag.

Jignesh Patel is a professor of computer science at UW-Madison. He says after 9-11 the FCC enacted the E911 mandate, requiring wireless carriers to provide emergency personnel with more precise location services.

Quoted: In effect, a Democratic senate takeover would “put the brakes on what otherwise would be a runaway train,” said University of Wisconsin-Madison political expert Charles Franklin, referring to a Republican-dominated redistricting process.

Quoted: “We need to plan for this proportion of children needing services,” Maureen Durkin, an epidemiologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told Reuters Health.

Quoted: Steven A. Ackerman and Jonathan Martin, professors in the UW-Madison department of atmospheric and oceanic sciences.

Quoted: Tony Goldberg, an expert on emerging diseases and a professor of pathobiological sciences in the UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine.

Quoted: Andrew Reschovsky of the LaFollette School of Public Affairs.

Noted: At The Neural Interface Technology Research and Optimization (NITRO) Lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, brain-machine interfaces have been used in conjunction with social media. Through the noninvasive EEG devices, researchers were able to send tweets via thought.

Noted: UW-Madison?s Prof. David Canon, an expert on election law, says those opposing the voter identification bill may have “a credible, strong case.”

Quoted: “What this doesn?t tell us is anything regarding the relative risk of having a partner who?s circumcised vs. uncircumcised,” said Dr. Jonathan L. Temte, professor of family medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and a voting member on the CDC?s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. “I don?t think this changes the argument very much regarding pros vs. cons on circumcision.”

Quoted: Rising export demand for dairy products including dry-milk powder and butter from buyers in Asia and Mexico also is fueling the jumps in prices and production, said Bob Cropp, an economist at the University of Wisconsin in Madison who has been studying the industry since 1966.

Quoted: ?There is a non-trivial percentage of the state that has never voted for Thompson,? said Charles Franklin, a political expert at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, referring to young voters. ?The party has shifted to some extent in its policies.?

Quoted: Charles Franklin, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the race could be an interesting look at the dynamics of the state Republican Party.

Quoted: Charles Franklin, UW-Madison Political Science Professor, said, “The trouble is having come so close and backed out at each previous time.. it?s very hard to know whether this time.. he?s finally serious… if he is serious, he?s a formidable candidate.”

Quoted: Barry Gerhart, a professor of management at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.