Year in Review 2005–06: Part 4

April 2006

Julie Curti, a senior majoring in political science and geography, is one of just 75 students named nationally as a Truman Scholar. The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation awards allow students to attend graduate school in preparation for careers in government or other public service. The first UW–Madison student to receive the honor since 2000, Curti hopes to use the scholarship to pursue dual master’s degrees in urban planning and public affairs.

The broad range of transportation options available to commuters at the university lands the campus one of 12 national Best Workplace for Commuters awards given by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The university and its long-standing local partner, Madison Area Technical College, strengthen their productive relationship with a new pilot program, the student Transfer Contract. According to the pilot agreement signed by both schools, a qualified student can begin his or her postsecondary education as a freshman at MATC and two years later be guaranteed admission as a transfer student for meeting specified levels of academic achievement at MATC and the requirements for transfer admission to UW–Madison.

Seven years after its inception, the Cluster-Hiring Initiative is producing a track record of accomplishments toward its goal of getting people outside the “academic silos” of departments to collaborate across disciplines. Collectively, the initiative has led to tens of millions of dollars in new federal research initiatives generated by either individual faculty or interdisciplinary teams. Scores of new courses have been developed, graduate training programs launched and new academic majors created. The initiative is also helping solidify the university’s leadership in key emerging fields such as nanotechnology, stem cells, energy policy, global environmental challenges and genomics, and the studies of poverty, religion and American culture.

Richard Davidson, who has devoted his career to understanding how the brain regulates human emotions, is featured in TIME magazine’s annual list of the 100 most influential people, honoring the vision, ideas and accomplishments of individuals around the world. Davidson catapulted to world fame in the early 1990s when, at the personal request of the Dalai Lama, he conducted a groundbreaking investigation into the effect of meditation on the brain.

May 2006

The university’s Posse Scholars program sees its first four graduates receive their degrees. Posse was launched in 2002, when 20 students of diverse backgrounds were recruited out of Chicago-area high schools by the Posse Foundation based on their extraordinary academic and leadership potential. They were awarded four-year scholarships and placed in supportive, multicultural “posses” of 10 students each. The idea behind the program is that a supportive network of peers and campus mentors can help students of diverse backgrounds thrive in unfamiliar surroundings.

The Irving Shain Chemistry Research Tower is dedicated on the corner of Johnson and Charter streets, as part of a two-day open house and symposium that focuses in part on the enduring effects of Irving Shain’s research into electro-chemistry. A chemistry professor and former chancellor, Shain influenced programs ranging from the Academic Computing Center to the Chancellor’s Scholars Program.

Christopher Ochoa, who served 12 years in prison for a rape and murder he did not commit, graduates from the UW Law School. Ochoa was freed from prison in 2001 with the help of the school’s Wisconsin Innocence Project. Faculty and students involved in the project began working on his case after Ochoa sent them a letter from prison saying he believed DNA testing would prove his innocence.

Early data from the Wisconsin Smokers’ Health Study suggest that treatments provided in the study are producing some of the highest quit rates ever achieved. Among study participants receiving active medication, more than 60 percent have remained tobacco-free at the end of treatment — one of the measures used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

UW–Madison Libraries and the Wisconsin Historical Society collaborate to create a National Student Leadership Archive and Resource Center, which will chronicle the history of student organizations, ranging from Habitat for Humanity to the Associated Students of Madison to the Children’s Justice Project.

June 2006

Howard Bremer, a pioneer in university-based technology transfer and a patent attorney at the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, wins the 2006 Jefferson Award, an annual recognition of outstanding contributors to intellectual property law in the United States. A Wisconsin native who earned his bachelor’s and law degrees from UW–Madison, he has been called the “father of university licensing.”

The Why Files, a Web site that explores the science behind the news, celebrates its first decade. Produced under the auspices of the Graduate School, the site is the oldest continuously produced popular science magazine published exclusively online and now reaches an audience of roughly 340,000 users per month. With hundreds of articles on various aspects of science, math and technology, and winning numerous awards and accolades along the way, the project represents one of the deepest archives of popular science on the Internet.

Design work begins on a privately funded renovation of Olin House, the official residence of the chancellor. The Olin House Advisory Council, a group of community and university volunteers, recommends the extensive project to renovate the aging and failing infrastructure in recognition of the home’s tradition, history and significance to the community.