Award-winning Grad Student Research Could Benefit Industry
Three members of Lih-Sheng (Tom) Turng’s research group at WID won top awards for their exceptional research papers in March.
Stories
Lessons of Conventional Imaging Let Scientists See Around Corners
Discover Fellow Andreas Velten and collaborators, drawing on the lessons of classical optics, have shown that it is possible to image complex hidden scenes using a projected “virtual camera” to see around barriers.
WID Researchers Collaborate on UW2020 Projects
Researchers at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery are co-Principal Investigators and co-Investigators on four UW2020: WARF Discovery Initiative projects.
WID Affiliate Victor Zavala Earns Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers
Zavala was nominated for contributions to the computational strategies applied to advanced control of power systems, and for service to the educational community as an enthusiastic professor and mentor. Three other UW researchers also received the award.
Uncovering a Connection Between Regulators and Genes During Early Neurodevelopment
WID researchers used a collaborative combination of computational and wet lab experimental techniques to find a connection between a transcription factor and a neurodevelopment gene.
Wisconsin School of Business’s Jon Eckhardt Named Discovery Fellow at WID
Eckhardt is also the Executive Director of the Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship and the Robert Pricer Chair in Enterprise Development. His research includes the use of information in entrepreneurship, firm formation, venture finance, and initial public offerings.
Meet Tiny Earth Director Sarah Miller
Sarah Miller was named the executive director of Tiny Earth this spring. We sat down with her to learn about her background and the future of Tiny Earth.
WSJ: Wisconsin Institute for Discovery to Bring Scientific Street Art to Madison
The Wisconsin Institute for Discovery and the Madison Arts Commission are teaming up to create street art to boost interest in science, technology, engineering, the arts and math.
Know Your Madisonian: Illumination is Goal of Discovery Hub Director Ginger Contreras
Ginger Ann Contreras, executive director of the Illuminating Discovery Hub at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery at UW-Madison, is working to help create science-themed murals in Madison and promote accurate and diverse portrayals of scientists in entertainment.
New Technique Enables Versatile 3D Control Over Stem Cell-Derived Organoids
WID researchers Randolph Ashton and Tom Turng partnered on a project to create hydrogel molds that will allow them to more precisely control the three-dimensional structures of organoids.
Generating Stem Cells: a Path to Greater Efficiency
A team of researchers at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery are combining computational and laboratory methods to more efficiently reprogram differentiated cells into induced pluripotent stem cells. Their work was published in Cell Reports on May 7, 2019.
UW–Madison Researchers Earn Army Research Office Grant to Study Microbial Communication
WID Director Jo Handelsman and biochemistry professor Ophelia Venturelli are part of a multi-university interdisciplinary team awarded a grant to study information transmission in microbial communities and how biological networks communicate.
WID Director Jo Handelsman Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Her election—alongside 200 other newly-elected members—recognizes her contributions to science.
Seminar on Astrobiology Aims to Inspire a Look into the Bounds of Life
A new group centered at WID hopes to coordinate the dozens of labs that are addressing some aspect of astrobiology and inspire others to join the work. A public lecture series this spring is part of the effort.
Revolutionary Engineered Blood Vessels Behave Like the Real Thing
WID’s Tom Turng envisions a future in which surgeons can order mass-produced artificial blood vessels that arrive ready to use in bypass surgeries.
WID Biologist Takes Top Prize in Bioethics Cartoon Contest
Rush Dhillon, a comparative biologist working with the John Denu Lab at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, took the top prize in a contest that invites participants to make a cartoon on any ethical issue arising in or from biomedical research.
THOR Wrangles Complex Microbiomes into a Model for Improving Them
A growing understanding of microbial communities and their influence on human health or crop productivity has led to the dream of changing these communities to produce benefits. New research at WID addresses this head-on.
WID Hubs Launch at Illuminating Connections Event
WID’s new hubs—Data Science, Multi-Omics, and Illuminating Discovery—represent a new path forward for collaborative research projects and fields.
Wisconsin Public Television and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Announce the Timothy William Trout Education Innovation Lab
Gift of $2.1 million from Dr. Monroe and Sandra Trout creates partnership among Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, Morgridge Institute for Research, UW-Madison School of Education, and Wisconsin Public Television
Tour WID’s New ‘Hubs’ Designed to Spur Campus Collaborations Dec. 12
The Wisconsin Institute for Discovery will launch a suite of hubs designed to bring together researchers from across campus and provide access to specialized tools and resources.
Could Yesterday’s Earth Contain Clues for Making Tomorrow’s Medicines?
WID’s John Yin and colleagues have described initial steps toward achieving chemistries that encode information in a variety of conditions that might mimic the environment of prehistoric Earth.
Randolph Ashton Named SCRMC Associate Director
WID’s Randolph Ashton, assistant professor of biomedical engineering, is the new associate director for UW–Madison’s Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center.
Wisconsin State Journal: At UW-Madison, 500 Scientists Studying Stem Cells 20 Years After Discovery
The Wisconsin State Journal, as part of its feature highlighting stem cell research at UW 20 years after James Thomson’s discovery, highlights WID researchers Randolph Ashton and Kris Saha.
New Technology for Controlling Neural Tissue Manufacturing
A paper published in eLife this week by an interdisciplinary team at WID describes new methods for reproducibly manufacturing brain and spinal cord organoids with strict control over morphogenic and developmental processes.
Cap Times Q&A: Kevin Ponto Wants to Use Virtual Reality to Solve Real-world Problems
For WID’s Kevin Ponto, virtual reality is more than a way of playing video games or simulating roller coaster rides. He thinks VR can be a tool for solving real-world problems.