The University of Wisconsin–Madison has joined astatewide consortium of 15 public and private partners,mobilizing its experience and expertise as acollaborative powerhouse in bioscience and technology to help bolster Wisconsin’s leadership in personalized medicine and biohealth technology.Announced by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation on Aug.16,the consortium will bring together educational institutions,biohealth companies,precision manufacturers,and investors to develop and facilitate shared initiatives and to pursue designation by the federal Economic Development Administration as aRegional Tech Hub.The designation would give Wisconsin access to$50-75 million in federal funds under the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022.“The University of Wisconsin–Madison is delighted to collaborate in this critical project and to be apartner in this ambitious vision to improve both the health and the economic vibrancy of our state,”says UW–Madison Chancellor Jennifer L.Mnookin.“It’s the epitome of the Wisconsin Idea:working in partnership to drive forward innovation,world class research and broad-ranging opportunity for the public good.”The creation of the consortium—and pursuit of the Regional Tech Hub designation—aims to foster new technologies and care pathways that will improve care for patients while growing Wisconsin’s economy.The group will leverage Wisconsin’s momentum in the growing biohealth technology space and facilitate collaboration that spurs economic growth in the state,creates good-paying jobs and advances health care and personalized medicine to save lives and reduce health care costs. 查看详细>>

Sixteen projects have been selected for funding in the second round of Research Forward,a program to stimulate innovative and groundbreaking research at UW–Madison that is collaborative,multidisciplinary and potentially transformative.The winning projects were chosen from 96 proposals submitted by applicants across campus.They range from establishing aMicrobial Natural Products Discovery Hub,to probing the origins of the universe,to examining the negative effects of poverty on adolescent academic success,to developing anew type of anti-tumor vaccine that can be used to treat cancer.The Research Forward initiative is sponsored by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education and is supported by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation,which provides funding for one or two years,depending on the needs and scope of the project.Some of the projects that have been funded have the potential to fundamentally transform afield of study.“Research Forward encourages collaboration among campus PIs,enhances PhD student and postdoc training,and strengthens our external grant funding requests,”says Steve Ackerman,vice chancellor for research and graduate education.“The projects we selected are truly forward-looking and use innovative approaches and tools such as state-of-the-art machine learning methods,3D printing techniques and geostationary satellites.”Amy Wendt,associate vice chancellor for research in the physical sciences,notes that project teams in Round 2were also asked to submit diversity,equity and inclusion plans as part of their research proposals.Submitted DEI plans include gender and racial/ethnic diversity on project teams,recruiting graduate students and community research participants from underrepresented and underserved groups,and supporting diverse research backgrounds and cross-disciplinary teams.“Many of the project teams are diverse in their academic and demographic backgrounds,”Wendt says.“Some team members have ademonstrated record of prioritizing and advancing DEI,including through service work in their departments and academic fields.Having scientists and trainees with diverse backgrounds and life experiences working together brings different perspectives to the table as we address complex scientific problems.When we remove barriers to increased participation by members of underrepresented groups,we enhance public trust in our research.”Subject matter experts reviewed each proposal to identify those that held the most promise for meeting the goals of the Research Forward initiative.Based on the reviews,divisional faculty subcommittees then made recommendations to OVCRGE. 查看详细>>

Innovation and research are what keep Wisconsin’s manufacturing sector vibrant,and one secret weapon is the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Department of Materials Science&Engineering.Not only are top materials science students sought after by industry,but breakthroughs in materials developed at the university often have direct impacts on local businesses.Materials scientists investigate awide range of topics valuable to industry partners,from new advances in metallurgy and additive manufacturing—aka 3D printing—to new types of recyclable plastics,useful coatings and cutting-edge materials like graphene and other 2D materials. 查看详细>>

At the emcee’s signal,participants flock to different tables.They quickly get down to discussing their common interests,intent on discovering whether to meet up again soon.This is speed dating,of asort.But while participants indeed search for new partners,romantic matches aren’t the goal.Over appetizers on acool fall afternoon at the University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum,dozens of scientists and environmental educators are hashing out collaborations that can advance research,build new partnerships,and improve the experiences of hundreds of thousands of visitors to educational sites across South Central Wisconsin.“These nature groups are really the first to be teaching kids about what’s happening,and they really want to be up to speed on the latest science in these fields,”says Jack Williams,professor of geography at UW–Madison and event organizer along with the Arboretum’s education coordinator,Gail Epping Overholt,and Betsy Parker from the organization Nature Net.“A big part of both UW’s mission and Nature Net’s mission is to help the broader public understand achanging world.This was an opportunity to connect these two groups.” 查看详细>>

Pepin County is the latest partner for the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s UniverCity Year program,which brings faculty,students,and community members together to improve the sustainability,resilience,and general wellbeing of Wisconsin’s communities.Launched in 2016 with the Wisconsin Idea in mind,this program facilitates engagement between the UW–Madison learning community and localities across Wisconsin,bridging research and community knowledge to address some of the greatest challenges facing Wisconsin’s local governments.Now in its fourth year,UniverCity Year has engaged with hundreds of students and faculty members on dozens of projects with the City of Monona,Dane County,and Green County.Pepin County offers new opportunities for engagement on anumber of economic development,sustainability,and land use projects that require interdisciplinary problem-solving and ingenuity. 查看详细>>

This month,many employees at the University of Wisconsin–Madison will receive an email asking them to acknowledge that they agree to comply with UW–Madison research policies establishing rights to intellectual property that arise from their extramurally funded research activities.This is in response to amendments to regulations issued under the Bayh-Dole Act,which gives universities,nonprofits and other small businesses the ability to claim patents to inventions arising from federal funding,such as research grants from federal agencies(e.g.,NIH,NSF,DOE).UW–Madison currently holds over$600 million in federal research awards.The email will contain alink to an electronic tool in which employees can read some background information on the Bayh-Dole Act and certify that they agree to comply with UW–Madison policy and federal regulations related to intellectual property.“By completing the form,we can all help to avoid any unnecessary surprises down the road with respect to patent ownership,and assist in maintaining uninterrupted and continued research funding,”explains Norman Drinkwater,interim vice chancellor for research and graduate education.“This requirement does not reflect achange in UW–Madison policy,but does help bring the university into compliance with federal changes to the Bayh-Dole Act regulations,”says Kristin Harmon,UW–Madison intellectual property disclosure specialist.UW–Madison research policy has long required employees to disclose inventions and assign patent rights to the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation(WARF)if required by relevant grants or agreements.Harmon notes that an added benefit of having the electronic acknowledgement is that it simplifies the reporting process and makes it easier for PIs and others who need to track compliance.“The electronic acknowledgement will replace paper-based acknowledgements that the PI has been responsible for collecting from project staff each time anew grant was received,and which had to be maintained in physical files in the past,”Harmon says.”You also will only have to sign the agreement once in your career at UW–Madison.”Nick Novak,UW–Madison assistant vice chancellor for research services,says the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education has reviewed employment categories and official titles and identified those employees most likely to be required to sign the agreement.Those employees will receive an email and link to the form. 查看详细>>

This blog gives me the opportunity to occasionally highlight developments on campus that are deserving of attention.While much attention has been showered on the recent collaboration we announced with Foxconn(which Iwill address later in this column),an initiative that didn’t receive quite as much coverage was the launch of the Forward BIO collaboration,a collaborative effort to make Wisconsin arecognized center of excellence for biomanufacturing.This initiative,between campus,a nonprofit lab facility at University Research Park and BioFoward Wisconsin,a group dedicated to creating partnerships between government,higher ed and private industry,will help incubate new start-ups by our faculty and students,providing aspace where entrepreneurial ideas in biotechnology can be tested.We also recently hosted acelebration to mark the start of a$47 million renovation of the Babcock Hall Dairy Plant,as well as anew,three-story addition for the Center for Dairy Research.Funding for the project came from the state of Wisconsin,UW–Madison and donors.Nearly 200 individual and corporate donors—primarily from the state’s cheese and dairy industry—raised over$18 million to support the project.We have long been deeply involved in working closely with the state cheese and dairy industry to test new ideas and there is space in this building that will only accelerate that collaborative work.What do these stories have in common?Each leverages our key long-term strengths at UW–working at the crossroads where multiple disciplines connect,sparking new ideas and building collaborations–not only within the bounds of campus but between the campus and our many partners in industry. 查看详细>>