Welcome to our spring issue! Explore old haunts and new favorites on State Street; revisit long-gone @uwmadison.bsky.social traditions; learn about a new way to improve public health; and meet a rising literary star and a champion of endangered African animals. onwisconsin.uwalumni.com

Governor Tony Evers visited UW–Madison this week to see firsthand how Badgers are shaping the future of nuclear energy in Wisconsin — including tours of the College of Engineering's nuclear reactor and the Pegasus‑III fusion experiment.

A few minutes of access to a phone is all it can take for an abuser to automate location‑sharing, share texting info or even take unauthorized videos. UW–Madison engineers and computer scientists are fighting back with an AI‑powered detection service.

Restored manoomin is offering new hope in the St. Louis River Estuary. Indigenous-led research — powered by Tribal Nations, UW Extension and the Lake Superior Reserve — is showing that rebounding wild rice (manoomin) may contain lower levels of heavy metals than what’s been reported in white rice.

Six UW–Madison faculty members have been awarded prestigious Sloan Research Fellowships, honoring their creativity, innovation and research accomplishments. Congratulations to Dallas Albritton, Paul Apisa, Annie M. Bauer, Marcel R. Schreier, Tina Wang and Yang Yang!

To start off his visit to campus, Governor Mitch Daniels visited Chancellor Mnookin's (@uwchancellor.bsky.social) office this morning. Throughout the day, he will meet with the La Follette community before headlining the Spring Spotlight event later tonight.

So grateful for Sen. Kohl’s lasting impact on @uwmadison.bsky.social. Herb Kohl Hall will stand as a tribute to his dedication to public service and civic responsibility as the new home for @uwlafollette.bsky.social.

Built in 1880 on Bascom Hill, historic Music Hall is set to become Herb Kohl Hall. The university received a $30 million gift for the construction project.

Congratulations to current College of Letters & Science Dean Eric Wilcots for his appointment as UW–Madison’s interim chancellor effective May 17.  Read more: www.wisconsin.edu/news/archive...

UW–Madison is officially #2 among all public universities in the United States, according to TIME Magazine. When you say Wisconsin, you've said it all! Read more: news.wisc.edu/uw-ranked-no...

In her final address to the Universities of Wisconsin Board of Regents today, Chancellor Mnookin expressed her gratitude and reflected on leading and moving forward one of the nation’s leading public universities during a time of challenge.

With the launch of a new grant program, UW–Madison is making its first investments through the Wisconsin Exchange initiative in faculty-, staff- and student-led projects that put “pluralism into practice” across campus.

A team of UW–Madison computer scientists is pioneering a new approach to health monitoring: using radar to measure breathing and heart rate without physical contact. Their system could help make care safer for even the tiniest patients.

UW–Madison online master’s programs in engineering and education, whose students include many working professionals seeking to advance their careers, have been recognized as among the best in the country by @usnews.com. On, Wisconsin!

Chancellor Jennifer L. Mnookin shared that she will be leaving UW–Madison at the end of the academic year to serve as president of @columbiauniversity.bsky.social. Read more about her leadership tenure at UW: news.wisc.edu/mnookin-to-a...

Adam Konopka and his campus lab are studying whether the health benefits of giving rapamycin to animals could extend to humans.

Welcome, Lewis! Looking forward to your leadership of our new Wisconsin Entrepreneurship Hub to help us build on our legacy of transforming Badger ideas into real impact.

As we begin a new semester, @uwchancellor.bsky.social extends a warm welcome to you — whether you’re just returning to campus or have stayed local throughout Winter Break.

Vatsan Raman’s lab conducted research with the International Space Station. The findings could aid space travel and also fight urinary tract infections.

UW–Madison student Anthony Lange sprang into action when a family friend collapsed during a pickup basketball game. Thanks to his CNA training and quick CPR, he saved a life — and is now on track to pursue a career in emergency medicine.

Here's more detail on three of the major construction projects starting and ending at UW-Madison this year.

Just as it was last year, artificial intelligence will be one of the biggest stories of 2026. See how @uwmadison.bsky.social faculty and students are grappling with AI’s promise and perils. onwisconsin.uwalumni.com/quantum-leap...

High FIVE! We moved up to #5 in the U.S. in the National Science Foundation’s HERD rankings (for the first time in >10yrs!) with $1.93B in @uwmadison.bsky.social’s FY’24 research expenditures! Proud of our deep commitment to discoveries & innovation that benefits lives across Wisconsin & beyond.💡🌍

Students participating in the UW Tech Exploration Lab have made skin-care and carpooling apps and developed a questionnaire to help small businesses.

Come along with us and see what shaped UW–Madison in 2025: triumphs in labs and on the field, stepping out on stage and on the ice, explorations that reach from Lake Mendota to the cosmos. This is our year in pictures, still and moving: news.wisc.edu/still-moving/

UW–Madison’s new Puerto Rican Studies Hub, which launched in October as the first of its kind in the Midwest, is already becoming a center for outreach and scholarship focused on Puerto Rico’s rich culture and history.

Despite uncertainty over federal funding, the university’s scientific community continued to advance knowledge and improve lives. Find out how from our favorite UW–Madison research stories of 2025: news.wisc.edu/a-year-of-re...

Happy holidays and happy New Year, Badgers! Here’s to a great 2026!!✨

Thank you to our excellent Winter Commencement speakers: nuclear engineer and Miss America 2023 @gracestanke.bsky.social ’23 and student speaker (congrats!) #UWGrad Jeeva Premkumar ’25. So grateful for the wisdom, humor and authenticity you shared with our new grads.🎓

Congratulations to our Winter 2025 graduates! Wherever life takes our newest 2,151 alumni, I know they are ready and capable of incredible things. On, Wisconsin! #UWGrad 🎓🦡

Our Badgers make excellent leaders! It’s nice to see @time.com recognize this quality in their list of Colleges for Future Leaders — #6 for public universities and #22 nationwide. 👏

Raj Vinnakota, president of the Institute for Citizens & Scholars, offers advice on how UW–Madison can lead the way in fostering civic dialogue: news.wisc.edu/engage-in-ci...

Congratulations to UW professors Daniel Ludois and Guri Sohi, who have been named fellows of the National Academy of Inventors! The academy recognized Ludois for his development of new types of electrostatic motors and power converters and Sohi for his work on computer microprocessors.

Teaching students to deliberate not debate: In a public policy course, UW–Madison students put the science behind productive disagreement into practice.

Congrats to Badger senior Evelyn Browning: a 2026 Marshall Scholar!👏 One of only 43 awardees in the country this year, she will investigate genetic variants related to neurodevelopmental conditions as a grad student at @cam.ac.uk & @sangerinstitute.bsky.social.

Commencement Week has arrived!🎓Our Winter 2025 #UWGrad class is already doing impressive work across campus, community, and our state — and this is just the beginning. Meet some of our notable grads:

Very proud that more than 15,000 people in our Badger community donated to the Big Ten 'We Give Blood' challenge and that we won the $1M grand prize toward supporting health on our campus. Huge thanks to Abbott for championing this great cause. Together, we’re saving lives! 👏

Grateful to the UW Board of Regents for supporting our vision to create our first new college in many decades: the College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence. I look forward to working with many on & off campus to help make this college a reality.

UW–Madison‘s statewide network of hyper-local weather stations gives Wisconsin growers a powerful tool called Wisconet to reduce costs and improve yields.

Badgers, there's only 2 days left of the @big-ten.bsky.social We Give Blood challenge by Abbott!🩸We’re neck-and-neck with Nebraska as the lead tightens — and your donation could help us win that $1M prize. If you’re able, please consider giving by December 5: bigten.org/abbott/

Looking forward to welcoming #UWGrad Jeeva Premkumar as our Winter 2025 Student Commencement Speaker! 🎓 He’s taken leaps across continents (and into a freezing Lake Mendota!) and in just over a week he’ll take the stage to celebrate with our winter grads.

Why does federal research funding matter? A delegation from Wisconsin's congressional staff spent three days at UW–Madison to see how national investments translate into real impact for Wisconsin. Read more about their visit: federalrelations.wisc.edu/2025/11/25/c...

Undergraduates in UW–Madison's School of Nursing are benefiting from a new nursing immersion program with the Ho-Chunk House of Wellness. Learn more: nursing.wisc.edu/where-cultur...

Director Susan Yackee argued in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that despite declining trust, many Americans want to restore civility and common ground. Our new public policy major will help students practice that civil dialogue. ⬇️ Read the full op-ed: www.jsonline.com/story/opinio...

Brothers, physician assistants, colleagues — Ben & Branden Statz have found a shared calling in emergency medicine at UW Health. Their story of connection through service reflects the remarkable skill and compassion our APPs bring to patient care every day. emed.wisc.edu/news/brother...

The first spoke in the Wisconsin Entrepreneurship Hub, the Badger Tech Foundry launched by the UW –Madison College of Engineering recruits and trains graduate students and postdoctoral researchers to help ensure ideas born in the lab become companies, careers & catalysts for change.

Honored to be part of last night's premiere of Sacred Wisdom, Sacred Earth. So grateful to the Tribal elders, culture keepers, youth & the @lokainitiative.bsky.social at the @centerhealthyminds.bsky.social for bringing this film to life & honoring generations of Indigenous knowledge & stewardship.

A Badger with crowning achievements as Miss America & as a nuclear fuels engineer, @gracestanke.bsky.social ’23 will be our Winter 2025 #UWGrad Keynote! 👑⚛️ She’s taken the Wisconsin Idea around the world through her travels, & I look forward to celebrating our graduates on December 14. 🎓

I am heartbroken by Dean Linda Scott’s sudden passing. Her integrity, leadership, commitment to excellence & wonderful dry humor shaped the School of Nursing & the national nursing community & touched so many lives. Her legacy will endure & she will be dearly missed. nursing.wisc.edu/remembering-...

So pleased to open our 2nd annual Wisconsin Research, Innovation & Scholarly Excellence (RISE) Summit, connecting talented faculty & leaders across RISE-AI, -EARTH & -THRIVE. Great momentum, with 119 new hires & interdisciplinary collaborations tackling important challenges!