Some microorganisms prefer the breaststroke while swimming. Others move along by essentially twisting their tail.

How populations of bacteria and other microorganisms swim is more than just a matter of style, according to Mike Graham, University of Wisconsin-Madison Harvey D. Spangler Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering.  [MORE]

"More knowledge is good — everybody is on the same page about that. But will that knowledge necessarily help build support for the science?" says Dietram Scheufele, a UW-Madison professor of life sciences communication...  [MORE]

Paul Nealey was featured in an article entited "Macromolecular Self-Assembly a Promising Alternative to Photolithography". An excerpt:

"Paul Nealey and his colleagues at the University of Wisconsin are investigating techniques to integrate self-assembling block-copolymers into the lithographic process,with the goal of achiveing sub-15 nanometer resolution while retaining such essential lithographic benefits as pattern perfection and high-volume manufacturing."

(Full article available online to members only.)  [MORE]

In May, 14 striking, larger-than-life photographic prints that are both comfortingly organic and starkly abstract will enable patrons of Mother Fool's Coffeehouse in Madison to visualize a scientific world that's rarely seen outside the laboratory. "Sights Unseen: Images of the Nanoscale" is an art exhibit featuring research images captured by faculty, staff and students in the University of Wisconsin-Madison National Science Foundation-funded Materials Research Science and Engineering Center on Nanostructured Interfaces and the NSF-funded Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center. The exhibit runs throughout May, with an opening reception from 7-9 p.m. on Sunday, May 4, at the coffeehouse, 1101 Williamson St. The coffeehouse hours are 6:30 a.m.-11 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m.-11 p.m. weekends.  [MORE]

Since scientists first learned to make nanowires, the tiny wires just a few millionths of a centimeter thick have taken many forms, including nanobelts, nanocoils and nanoflowers. But when UW-Madison chemistry professor Song Jin and graduate student Matthew Bierman accidentally made some pine tree shapes one day — complete with tall trunks and branches that tapered in length as they spiraled upward — they knew they'd stumbled upon something peculiar.  [MORE]

Jeanine Gelhaus, the NSEC Teacher Fellow and middle school teacher at Medford Middle School , has been selected as the Wisconsin recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST). The PAEMST is the highest recognition that a kindergarten through 12th-grade mathematics or science teacher may receive for outstanding teaching in the United States.

A team of UW-Madison engineers will work with researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Texas-Arlington for a multimillion-dollar Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. MURIs provide long-term support for science and engineering research vital to national defense. Led by Erwin W. Mueller Professor and Bascom Professor of Surface Science Max Lagally (materials science and engineering), the team will investigate various photonic and electronic applications for silicon nanomembranes, flexible single-crystal sheets of silicon. The researchers will explore such applications as flexible electronics, sensors, NEMS, low-temperature systems, thermoelectric devices and 3D stacked electronics, for example. The UW-Madison team also includes Lynn H. Matthias Professor II in Electrical and Computer Engineering Robert Blick, Professor of Physics Mark Eriksson (also Materials Science and Engineering), Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Zhenqiang (Jack) Ma and Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering Kevin T. Turner.

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Secretary Matthew Frank recently cited Wisconsin Distinguished Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Craig Benson and CEE and Soil Science Associate Professor Joel Pedersen for their pivotal role in paving the way for the DNR to dispose of deer carcasses from the state chronic wasting disease (CWD) zone in the Dane County Landfill. Benson’s and Pedersen’s studies of the fate and transport of prions in landfills provided scientific evidence that allayed Dane County Board concerns about the safety of the disposal method. Their research can potentially save the DNR between $550 and $2,000 per ton on costs for safely disposing of carcasses of deer infected with CWD.

Professor Sam Gellman will be receiving the 2008 Phi Beta Kappa of Wisconsin Teaching Award! The award will be presented as part of the PBK initiation ceremony on Saturday, April 5th.

Professor John Moore is being awarded the 2008 Braude Award, given by the Maryland Section of the American Chemical Society. The Braude Award Honors excellence in chemistry teaching and is being awarded to John in recognition of his work with Journal of Chemical Education. The award, which was endowed by and named for George L. Braude, a chemist with W. R. Grace and the Food and Drug Administration, will be presented at a meeting of the Maryland Section on October 22 this year.