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Measuring water quality across the state
Photo by show999/iStock
La Follette School of Public Affairs professor Manny Teodoro has created water utility report cards that give A-F letter grades for 570 water utilities in Wisconsin on multiple subjects — water quality (health), finance, infrastructure & operations and communications.
From the article: “I think having more localized feedback that’s really diving into the data and giving detailed report cards on different factors is very important, so I was very excited when I got the report card.” — Alex Parker, utilities manager for the City of New Berlin
UW for You
Pushing the boundaries in medical imaging
UW researchers introduced a new imaging technology that has the power to reveal biomolecular detail in tissues like cancer tumors in their native environments and at unprecedented resolution. It's been described as a potential game-changer for biomedical researchers.
The future of health
Researchers across the College of Letters & Science are focused on critical topics that will change the way the world looks at medicine, health policy and personal wellness. Their work ranges from inventing a marker that shows where a tumor is in the body to studying of how neighborhood life factors into a long-term health.
A new kidney — free of daily meds
UW researchers led by surgery professor Dr. Dixon Kaufman and supported by federal funding have been testing the effectiveness and safety of a living kidney transplant approach that allows some transplant recipients to live without the need for anti-rejection medications. “I have to consciously remind myself that there’s a third kidney in here,” says Shawn Wiederhoeft, a kidney transplant recipient who participated in the clinical trial and takes no anti-rejection medications. “I feel healthier than I’ve ever been.”
Improving health care for rural communities
UW's Wisconsin Academy for Rural Medicine brings medical students into rural hospitals and clinics around the state for hands-on training. Many return to rural areas after graduating. “We have students who finish training and then return to practice in a community or town that hasn’t had a doctor in a decade,” says Dr. Joe Holt, director of WARM.
The Cheat Sheet
UW's Morgridge Institute works to make K-12 field trips to campus even better. ● UW faculty and staff explore the state on the 40th Wisconsin Idea Seminar ● UW has been named by Princeton Review as one of 209 "Best Value Colleges” for 2025 because of its stellar academics, affordable cost and strong career prospects for graduates. ● Emerging carbon dioxide removal strategies can help combat climate change. ● Professor explores why people claim to know concepts or terms that don't actually exist. ● Research shows that COVID-19 vaccines reduce transmission within households. ● What are the best plastic cutting board alternatives? ● New survey shows benefits derived from attending farmers markets. ● Mission Impossible star Ethan Hunt attended UW–Madison and is from Madison! ●
Were U Wondering?
Does UW offer professional development degrees online?
Yes, and options are growing. The first 18 students are completing the Wisconsin School of Business’s first fully online graduate degree program this year, and they're finding that the focus on analytics and data is advancing their careers already. Launched in 2023, the Master of Science-Business: Data, Insights, and Analytics offers a flexible, asynchronous degree for working professionals — no matter their geographic location.
Can't Stop a Badger
The Bayh-Dole Coalition awarded UW professor emeritus James Dahlberg the American Innovator Award. Dahlberg combined basic science discoveries with an entrepreneurial vision that has brought several types of health screenings to homes and hospitals everywhere, including the at-home Cologuard screening test for early signs of colon cancer.
The first images of the greatest cosmic movie ever made was released by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory on June 23, and one of the “directors” is UW physics professor Keith Bechtol. “Rubin Observatory is a confluence of technology that allows us to map the universe faster than we’ve ever been able to before,” Bechtol says.
Paul Lambert, who leads UW's McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, says UW's NIH-funded research on tumor viruses, which cause about 15% of all human cancers, has deepened understanding of cancer biology and directly led to preventive strategies — like vaccines and potential therapies — that save lives.
Coming Up
Badger Talks: From Wood to Watercraft: Dugout Canoes of Wisconsin
Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum, 312 N. Front St., Spooner, WI | Aug. 8 | 6 p.m.
UW anthropology professor Sissel Schroeder will present on the Wisconsin Dugout Canoe Survey Project, which highlights cultural traditions and technological ingenuity.
UW Organic Research Field Day
Arlington Agricultural Research Station, Arlington | Aug. 26 | 9:30 a.m.
The day will feature tours and talks about the latest research in organic grains and forages, including methods for reducing tillage in corn and soybeans, no-till dry beans, advances in organic food-grade grains, emerging crops, using biocontrol agents to manage white mold in soybean, and an on-farm research project studying soil health in organic grain systems.
Picture This
Watch this time lapse video from Saturday, June 21, at the Memorial Union Terrace, as summer moved into full swing. Summer Solstice arrived at 9:42 p.m. CT Friday, when the North Pole was tilted most directly toward the sun, making Friday the longest day of the year, and Saturday not far behind. Also on the Terrace: Finale of the Madison Jazz Festival.
