John Tolley, December 9, 2016

Badgers are a proud bunch. Give them a moment and they?ll happily sing the praises of their lovely campus, situated on the shore of mighty Lake Mendota, or of the warm ?Sconnie spirit that permeates the region.

More than that, though, they?ll beam with pride in a university that ranks among the best in the nation. From breakthroughs in health, nutrition, and food science to advances in the arts, UW-Madison is a shining example of the ?Wisconsin Idea? that public institutions should work towards the public good.

Join us as we take a look back at our favorite University of Wisconsin-Madison vignettes of 2016.

 

Wisconsin encourages lifelong learning, creates lifelong memories: BTN LiveBIG

?The University of Wisconsin-Madison started Grandparents University back in 2001,? said Kate Prehn, program director for GPU. ?[The program] is a great opportunity for the grandparents and grandchildren to come to [UW-Madison], to spend time together learning about one of the 25 different majors that we have. They learn about the major, they learn about campus, but - most importantly - they learn about each other and they learn together.?

 

This Wisconsin researcher is taking fertility testing out of the lab: BTN LiveBIG

?The aim is to really get women answers from the get-go,? says Brenner. ?We?ve created a test that enables women to measure the same hormones that get measured today in the blood, but in the saliva instead. They can measure them every single day, which gives them a complete picture of what their body?s actually doing.?

 

Wisconsin leads the way in the art of glass: BTN LiveBIG

It?s hotter than molten lava, constantly moving and requires artisans to work in a careful precision with their tools, their space and each other. It?s glass, and no other university has shaped its future as an artistic medium longer than the University of Wisconsin.

?It started around 1962, and Harvey Littleton is really well known for being the founder of the Glass Lab [at Wisconsin] and kind of bringing this process from the factory to academia,? said Helen Lee, the Glass Lab?s current director.

 

Badgers' 'CAVE' a haven for experiential learning: BTN LiveBIG

?We?re recreating this other reality through projection. The CAVE is a room where ? the floor, the wall, the ceiling - it?s all 3-D projection. We can recreate any kind of an environment in the past or an environment in the future. It?s just right there in front of you.?