The Wisconsin Week Wire — Oct. 10, 2007
Top News
Study: Excess vitamin A can be stored during fetal development
A new UW–Madison study suggests that pregnant women who take some types of vitamin supplements or eat fortified foods may pass excess vitamin A to their developing fetuses.
Spoken word scholars aim to transform campus
Students who have embraced urban art, including “spoken word,” are coming together at UW–Madison, playing a leadership role in a national movement and sharing their craft with others.
Research
Researchers identify key step bird flu virus takes to spread in humans
A team of UW–Madison scientists report the identification of a key step the bird flu virus must take to facilitate the easy transmission of the virus from person to person.
On Campus
Events calendar
Festival showcases ‘print missionaries,’ art department
Two printmakers — both UW–Madison alumni — will return to Madison at the invitation of Tandem Press for Arts Night Out! on Saturday, Oct. 13.
Register for Homecoming run/walk
The 22nd annual Badger Homecoming Charity 5k run/3k walk is coming up on Sunday, Oct. 21. The cost is $20 for adults and $15 for students who pre-register on or before Thursday, Oct. 18. Day-of-race registration is $25 for adults and $20 for students; register from 9:30–10:45 a.m. on Library Mall. There is also a new one-mile Fun Run with Bucky Badger for kids 14 and under. The fee is $10. It starts at 10:30 a.m., followed by the run/walk at 11 a.m. Participants are invited to a post-event tailgate lunch on Library Mall. The theme of this year’s Homecoming celebration is “Where in the World is Bucky Badger?” Mark your calendar for another popular event: the parade on Friday, Oct. 26. It will start at 5 p.m. this year, one hour earlier than usual. The parade travels down State Street from West Gilman to Lake Street. A pep rally and fireworks will follow on the Union Terrace, weather permitting. For a complete listing of Homecoming events or to pre-register for the run/walk and Bucky’s Fun Run, visit UW Homecoming.
Washington Post editor to give annual Nafziger lecture
Rajiv Chandrasekaran, author of “Imperial Life in the Emerald City,” the best-selling account of the botched U.S. effort to rebuild Iraq, will deliver the annual Ralph O. and Monona H. Nafziger Lecture on Wednesday, Oct. 17.
Scholars examine state funding, accountability in higher education
Four higher education experts will address ongoing issues for public universities during a forum on Thursday, Oct. 11.
Washburn Observatory to close for renovations
Washburn Observatory will close at the end of October for remodeling and renovations.
All staff invited to administrative project forums
Two employee forums to update the campus community on UW–Madison’s Administrative Process Redesign project are set for Friday, Oct. 12, and Monday, Oct. 15.
Milestones
Smithies’ work at UW–Madison underpinned Nobel Prize in Medicine
The gene-targeting work for which North Carolina biologist Oliver Smithies was recognized for the 2007 Nobel Prize in Medicine has a distinct Wisconsin flavor — he was a professor of genetics here from 1960–88.
Historian named among Smithsonian’s top young innovators
Jeremi Suri, a UW–Madison historian whose work is reshaping views of how political power is forged in a globally connected age, was named one of Smithsonian Magazine’s “37 Under 36: America’s Young Innovators in the Arts and Sciences.”
Community
Take part in National Depression Screening Day
As part of National Depression Screening Day on Thursday, Oct. 11, Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton encourages citizens to visit her Web site for a free, confidential depression screening.