UW-Madison Science Alliance Updater
September 21, 2020
Hi Everyone,
Today begins the second of two weeks of all online courses at UW-Madison. High rates of covid have driven several other UW System campuses to switch to all online for at least two weeks. The 7-day percent positive rate for students tested on the UW-Madison campus is 6.9 percent as of September 20.
After revisiting a decision that originally it said it would not revisit, the Big 10 has resumed only football this fall. Bucky will be playing the Fighting Illini at Camp Randall on October 24; only parents will be permitted in the stands. Public Health Madison Dane County is urging Wisconsinites not to tailgate or otherwise party in large gatherings (over 10 people). “The increase in cases we are seeing is predominantly due to parties. Adding football parties into this mix is only going to make the situation worse,” said Satya Rhodes-Conway, City of Madison Mayor. “Nothing that is happening now exemplifies what we have come to know as the Wisconsin Idea,” Dane County Executive Joe Parisi said in a statement released yesterday.
At the national level, the HHS doctored the statements of CDC professionals posted on the CDC website, then reversed the guidance following an outcry.
In 1883 Robert Ingersoll nearly said of Abraham Lincoln, “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” On might say the same of nations, when given a pandemic.
And so we see in what’s happening here at home, around Wisconsin, and across the nation: the roles of evidence and data, of scientists and physicians, and of science in general in forming public policy and in making personal decisions are embroiled and embattled in ways that are new in my lifetime.
In other words, it’s a pivotal time to be engaged in science outreach and in the public service mission of a public land-grant university.
Thanks again!
Tom Zinnen
Note: please visit https://science.wisc.edu/science-alliance/ for the updater archive.
Notable This Week
1. Science Alliance meets weekly by Webex at 10:00 am Mondays, including today, September 21. Email Tom Zinnen at zinnen@biotech.wisc.edu to receive the link. The meeting notes are archived on https://science.wisc.edu/science-alliance/.
The draft agenda for September 21 at 10am includes:
*Welcome
*Updates from science outreach programs
*Status of public visitors on campus in person
*Wisconsin Science Festival
*UW Science Expeditions in April: parallel planning for online, hybrid, and in person
*”Scientists Live!” 4-H program looking for 20 scientists for this coming springs’s lineup
*PBS Wisconsin and University Place re-starting; WN@TL is piloting; ideas on production & audience engagement
*Other announcements or topics
2. Please add your upcoming online programs or resources with learners of any ages to the list at http://science.wisc.edu/ and be sure to include program events in the calendar at http://today.wisc.edu and tag them with “Science” and any other appropriate tag.
3. Programming Events coming this week and soon:
*The Energy Transitions Oral History Workshop for 4-12 teachers and classes. Today, September 21, at 1:30pm. Kick-off Event of Clean Energy Week. Clean Energy Week September 21-24. Programs from the Wisconsin Energy Institute. Events each day at https://energy.wisc.edu/events/clean-energy-week
*The UW Now Livestream. Tuesday September 22, 7pm. Remzi Arpaci-Dusseau and Erik Lefkofsky
*Badger Talks Live: – Sept 22 at 6:30pm “Roughing It: the History of Camping” with Stanley Temple. https://www.facebook.com/UWConnects/live & https://badgertalks.wisc.edu/events/
*SoundWaves on Friday September 25 at 7:30. From Minuscule to Massive: The University According to Ice Cube. Online; register at discovery.wisc.edu/soundwaves
*STEAM Conference for Children & Youth of Military Families. Saturday September 26. Contact Joe Muellenburg of UW-Madison Division of Extension 4-H & Youth Development for information.
*Virtual Saturday Science Workshop with UW Space Place. September 26 at 10:00am. Check at http://www.spaceplace.wisc.edu/#satworkshops
*The Wisconsin National Primate Research Center at UW–Madison, along with the other National Primate Research Centers, are hosting a virtual booth at SciFest All Access. New Dates! September 26-October 3 (formerly Sept. 16-23). More info at https://usasciencefestival.org/scifest/
*About Every Two Weeks: Maritime Archeology Webinars. Tamara Thomsen and Caitlin Zant. Wisconsin Historical Society. Archive of past talks at https://wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS16271 Contact Amy Wyatt for dates and times.
4. The PLATO Frontiers in Life Sciences Seminar will be firing up again this fall for online presentations to a group of 20-25 active retires. We’ll be gathering by Zoom. If you’re a researcher or outreacher looking for a venue to hone your skills in sharing your science with an appreciative, affirmative audience, please contact Tom Zinnen at zinnen@biotech.wisc.edu and let’s find a Wednesday at 1 pm that’s good for you.
5. “On the Spot” Workshop Opportunity, weekly running October 26-November 16, from Travis Tangen, ttangen@warf.org
National partners with local connection were recently funded for a project by the National Science Foundation to provide more communication tools for scientists to use in their public engagement events. The On-the-Spot Feedback projects provides feedback tactics that help you identify how well audience members are following you and their level of interest in your event. The workshop also includes suggestion for effective ways to respond to the feedback you receive during your engagement. In addition, you have the opportunity to receive a $200 honorarium for your participation. Here’s how to sign up:
Getting On-the-Spot Feedback from Your Audience: Online workshop for scientists who engage with the public:
October 26 – November 20, 2020, 60-minute live sessions on Mondays at 2pm PT / 5pm ET (October 26, November 2, 9, 16)
More details and application:
Complete an online application form by Sunday, September 27. The form has 22 questions and takes about 15 minutes to complete. Note that this course has limited capacity, so we may not be able to accept everyone who applies. The project team will send out acceptance notifications by October 7.
Five Powerful Routes to Promote Your Events: The Updater newsletter (750 subscribers), the science.wisc.edu portal, the @sciencewiscedu Twitter feed (3.2K followers), the @UWMadisonScienceOutreach Facebook page, and the today.wisc.edu calendar.
* Add your news, requests and programming announcements to the Updater by emailing them to ejesse2@wisc.edu
* Check out www.science.wisc.edu for more science activities! We’re delighted to help you promote your upcoming science outreach events. Send a note to Liz Jesse at ejesse2@wisc.edu.
* Or post your events to the @sciencewiscedu Twitter feed and to the @UWMadisonScienceOutreach Facebook page.