UW-Madison Science Alliance Updater
22 March 2021
Hi Everyone,
Tonight my kids were talking about a YouTube video that pointed out we’re now just as close to 2050 as we are to 1990. I countered that we’re actually closer to 2050. My son Will said yes, but the video was made last year. My daughter Claire replied, “Yeah, Dad. This year we’ve gotten closer to the future.”
And that phrase nutshells the last 12 months.
Last year on Thursday March 12 we had to cancel the UW Science Expeditions campus open house scheduled for April 4-6, 2020. Everything was scheduled to be in person and most events were set to be indoors. It wasn’t plausible to shift to a “virtual” open house, and I likely would have considered it an oxymoron.
Then on Monday March 16, 2020, the Science Alliance set April 9-11 as the dates for the 2021 UW Science Expeditions, nearly 13 months into the future. At the time, I imagined that by April 2021 the pandemic would have come and gone, and that we’d be back to work status quo ante covidum, and that 2021’s Science Expeditions would be just like all the previous Expeditions since 2003: that is, on campus and in person.
As Yogi Berra warned long ago, it’s hard to make predictions, especially about the future. I am batting 0 for 3.
1. The pandemic has come but it is far, from from being gone: as of last week covid continued to kill nearly 1,500 Americans a day.
2. Nearly all university buildings remain closed to most employees and to all the public.
3. And the 2021 edition of Science Expeditions coming up on April 9-11 will be not like any of the 18 that preceded it: it will be mostly online, with some outdoor events, but none in person.
Yet some things will be the sam about Science Expeditions:
* The hospitality of welcoming the public to connect with the people, places and programs in science here at Wisconsin’s public land-grant research & extension university.
* The invitation to make the UW-Madison campus a Destination for Exploration all year round, and not only for the three days of Science Expeditions.
* The re-affirmation that we believe that among the most valuable things we as researchers & outreachers can share with the public are the ways we view and do science as a path to exploring the unknown.
On behalf of the Science Alliance members planning Science Expeditions, I am pleased to ask you to invite your friends & family to spend some time April 9-11 exploring the Science Expeditions events online and outdoors. As my daughter pointed out, this year we can all get closer to the future, and even better, we can all play a part in inventing it.
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 March 22. Email Liz Jesse at ejesse2@wisc.edu or 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 Monday, March 22 at 10am includes:
- Welcome
- Updates
- Science Expeditions Campus-wide Open House April 9-11:
- Online Events Team
- Outdoor Activities on Campus & Other UW-Madison Sites
- Communications & Promotions Team
- Engineering Expo April 9: https://engineeringexpo.wisc.edu
- Other announcements or topics
2. Please invite your colleagues in research & outreach to Spread the Word about the
2021 UW Science Expeditions Open House on April 9, 10 and 11.
Exploration Stations: online, live or recorded.
Online Tours of Destinations for Explorations.
Science Spectaculars.
Self-guided Outdoor Events.
3. Programming Events coming this week and soon:
- The UW Now Livestream. Next up on Tuesday March 30 at 7pm CT. TBD
- Badger Talks Live: – https://www.facebook.com/UWConnects/live & https://badgertalks.wisc.edu/events/ March 23 at noon CT. “Welcome to the Kohler Art Library!” with Anna Simon, Art Reference and Instruction Librarian
- “Clean Energy, Jobs, and the Economic Recovery” with the ‘Forward in Energy Forum’ of the Wisconsin Energy Institute. March 23 at 4:30pm CT. Register for zoom here.
- “Wednesday Nite @ The Lab” public science seminar, by Zoom. Wednesdays at 7 pm CT. Every Wednesday night, 50 times a year. March 24 features Paul Kelleher of Philosophy on “The Ethics of Vaccine Allocation”. Register for zoom at go.wisc.edu/240r59. This talk is part of the “UW Philosophers at Work” series.
- Virtual Saturday Science Workshop with UW Space Place. Most Saturdays at 10:00am. Check at http://www.spaceplace.wisc.edu/#satworkshops.
- Check for other events presented online and available to all at http://today.wisc.edu/events/tag/science
4.Upcoming Lineup for Wednesday Nite @ The Lab online by zoom starting at 7pm Central.
Schedule and descriptions at https://science.wisc.edu/wednesday-nite-at-the-lab/
March 24 Paul Kelleher, Philosophy. “The Ethics of Vaccine Allocation.” Part of the “UW Philosophers at Work” series.
Register at https://go.wisc.edu/240r59
March 31 Bill Belcher, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. “Recovery & Identification of the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion: The First Battle of Makin Island”
Register at https://go.wisc.edu/240r59
5.The Arboretum Lectures and Classes
WINTER ENRICHMENT VIRTUAL LECTURE SERIES
The 2021 lectures will be virtual on Thursday mornings, February 4 through April 8, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Lectures are $10 each and advance registration is required. 7 or more lectures for $70. Talks will begin promptly at 10 a.m. (CST).
Note: the Winter Enrichment lectures are free to students and that link is also on the website. We’d love students to participate!
March 25. Treaty Rights, Culturally Important Beings, and Indigenous-led Climate Adaptation in the Ojibwe Ceded Territories. Robert Croll, Policy Analyst and Climate Change Program Coordinator, and Hannah Panci, Climate Change Scientist, Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission. Register by March 21.
April 1. Using Markets to Achieve Conservation: Examples from the Field. Dominic Parker, Associate Professor, Agricultural and Applied Economics, UW–Madison. Register by March 28.
April 8. Climate Change, Reality versus Development: Global South and Worldwide Perspective. Marie-Josée Paula Houénou, specialist in climate change and environmental law and strategies, and city advisor, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, and a 2018 Mandela Washington Fellow at UW–Madison. Register by April 4.
6. The Wisconsin Medicine livestream will release two more episodes this month (March 10 and March 24). Wisconsin Medicine is a shared effort of UW Health and the School of Medicine and Public Health (in partnership with WFAA) to discuss some of the latest and most inspiring medical breakthroughs at our institution. Information: https://www.wiscmedicine.org
7. Step Out of the Classroom and Into Translational Science 2021
Remote learning doesn’t have to feel disconnected! Because of the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the Association our Clinical and Translational Science (ACTS) is proud to announce the Ambassadors Program — a new program geared towards welcoming newcomers to the world of science and making the field more open and inclusive for everyone. Secondary school classrooms will have the opportunity to experience Translational Science 2021, where they’ll be able to connect with our rich community of researchers and investigators and feel inspired by their revolutionary work.
ACTS members, pass on this can’t-miss opportunity on to your network of high school contacts so they can learn more about the endless opportunities that await them within the translational science and clinical research field.
What is the Ambassador’s Program?
Who: Teachers, students and parents of secondary school students who want to learn more about the field of translational and clinical research.
What: Encourages young scientists to network with other scholars, engage with science leaders and learn effective scientific communication skills.
When: Thursday, April 1 from 12:00 – 5:00 PM ET
Friday, April 2 from 12:00 – 3:00 PM ET
How: Interested teachers, science teams and/or students should email info@actscience.org with the subject line “ACTS Ambassadors.”
More: https://www.actscience.org/Translational-Science/Registration/Ambassadors-Program-Proposal-ACTS-National-Meeting
8. School of Pharmacy Outreach Events
APRIL 10, 2021 | 9:30 AM – 11:45 AM CST
Please join us online for our UW–Madison School of Pharmacy PharmD Spring Open House virtual event, designed for those who are interested in exploring the Doctor of Pharmacy program at UW–Madison. These events will feature an Admissions Q&A, PharmD student panel, and overview of the curriculum and co-curricular opportunities. Registration is required.
1. Curriculum and Experiential Learning — Find out how our curriculum and experiential learning opportunities help differentiate our students through specialization.
2. Opportunities for Co-Curricular Learning — Learn about student orgs and co-curricular activities that can enhance PharmD students’ development and preparation for career success.
3. Admissions Overview — Join this session to learn more about the PharmD admissions process, application timeline, prerequisites, and the selection criteria.
4. Student Panel — What is it like to be a pharmacy student at UW–Madison? Learn more during this Q&A with current students.
9. Wonders of Physics Goes Online for 2021
After 37 years of physics presentations to the public, The University of Wisconsin – Madison is this year sponsoring a physics video competition for teachers and students.
We invite you to submit a 2-minute video demonstrating a physics concept. Awards will be given for the best videos, and winners will be posted on our website and edited into a longer video to be shown on public television.
We encourage submissions from students and teams, but for legal reasons, anyone under the age of 18 must work under the supervision of a parent, guardian, or teacher who will submit the video on their behalf. This could be a fun educational project for families or for physics classes during this period of social distancing.
The deadline for submissions is June 30, 2021. You can find more information at https://wonders.physics.wisc.edu/contest/.
We invite you to submit a 2-minute video demonstrating a physics concept. Awards will be given for the best videos, and winners will be posted on our website and edited into a longer video to be shown on public television.
We encourage submissions from students and teams, but for legal reasons, anyone under the age of 18 must work under the supervision of a parent, guardian, or teacher who will submit the video on their behalf. This could be a fun educational project for families or for physics classes during this period of social distancing.
The deadline for submissions is June 30, 2021. You can find more information at https://wonders.physics.wisc.edu/contest/.
10. Wisconsin Society of Science Teachers is sponsoring the “Wisconsin Water Week Essay Contest” with levels at grades PK-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12. Entries are due on April 1.
11. The Holtz Center for Science and Technology Studies is excited to invite you and your STS colleagues to four virtual events that we are co-hosting this spring – “Science and Technology in the Hispanic World” – a special seminar series prepared in collaboration between the Holtz Center and Latin American, Caribbean and Iberian Studies Program.
How does global science and technology affect Hispanic societies and ecosystems? How does cultural inheritance of hispanic societies inform citizens’ attitudes towards science driven technological projects? How do science and technology from the North mobilize indigenous science to resist undesired transformations? What are the culturally specific debates and conflicts that emerge in various local contexts where science and technology bring changes? This series features renown scholars and activists to introduce us to science and technology driven social debates in Spain, Mexico, Paraguay and Nicaragua.
More information and access details will be provided as each event approaches.
Tuesday, March 23, 12-1 pm, via Zoom
Paraguay: Kregg Hetherington: “Agribiopolitics: Plants and humans in the age of monocrops in Paraguay”
Event details
Event details
Tuesday, April 20, 12-1 pm, via Zoom
Nicaragua: Birgit Muller “Facing the Environmental Mission: Small Farmers in Nicaragua and the Agro-Ecological Challenges of the Neoliberal Food Regime”
Jamie Adcock
Communications Specialist
University of Wisconsin-Madison
The Holtz Center for Science & Technology Studies
sts.wisc.edu| @HoltzCenter| Facebook
I also want to draw special attention to the #water2me Art Contest for Youth. We noticed that opportunities for middle school and high school existed at the state/regional level, but there wasn’t anything for 5th grade and younger, so we’re piloting this as an opportunity for young people to engage in World Water Day this year. In this socially-distanced time we’re in, we were able to figure out a way to display a few selected entries (voted on by the staff of the sewerage district) on highway billboards!
13. Tune in to the following University Place programs premiering on the Wisconsin Channel in March:
3/26 at 4:00 pm
Making the Virus Causing COVID-19 Safe for Research
Rebecca Hutcheson, Graduate Research Assistant
McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, UW-Madison
Rebecca Hutcheson describes how her team at the McArdle Lab is engineering a safer version of the virus that causes COVID-19 so that the virus may be studied at a lower biosafety level, make research easier.
These programs may also be viewed on or before the broadcast date at pbswisconsin.org/uplace.
Rebecca Hutcheson, Graduate Research Assistant
McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research, UW-Madison
Rebecca Hutcheson describes how her team at the McArdle Lab is engineering a safer version of the virus that causes COVID-19 so that the virus may be studied at a lower biosafety level, make research easier.
These programs may also be viewed on or before the broadcast date at pbswisconsin.org/uplace.