Medical Physics graduate students ride for cancer research

Through their research, graduate students in the Department of Medical Physics work toward improving cancer treatments, fine-tuning the amount of radiation therapy delivered to patients, designing ways to make treatment even more precise, and collaborating with other researchers across campus. In September, the students will tackle the problem of cancer from another angle: helping fund cancer research by participating in The Ride. “We do these rides and then the money comes straight back to some [of our] close colleagues. It’s really impactful,” said graduate student Reed Kolany.

International research meeting coming to Madison this fall

An international research meeting is coming to Madison this fall, bringing researchers together to discuss the changing global environment.The Sigma Xi Annual Meeting and Student Research Conference will be held Nov. 14-17 at the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center. The meeting’s theme is “Our Changing Global Environment: Scientists and Engineers Designing Solutions for the Future.”

Fake news, real coverage: How conspiracy theories spread through media and politics

Half of the American public believes in a popular conspiracy theory. Take the idea that the compact fluorescent light bulbs are a form of mind control, the U.S. government was behind the terrorist attack on 9/11, or any number of theories connected to big political names, and someone believes it. Graduate student Jordan Foley studies how today’s media ecology contributes to spreading conspiracy narratives.

When rivers move borders: PhD student writes on boundaries and belonging in the Colorado River borderlands

In 1907, Cocopah Indians who had been living in Mexico suddenly found themselves farming land in the United States. The Colorado River that marked the border between the U.S. and Mexico had moved around them. That stretch of the Colorado River shifted unpredictably across its floodplain before the Hoover Dam was completed in 1936. The conflicts and alliances that arose from this ever-changing landscape are the focus of Daniel Grant’s dissertation on belonging and exclusion in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands from the late-19th through mid-20th centuries.

Beyond translation: PhD student headed to Smithsonian to study art, technology, and global belonging

There are two major collections of Korean American artist Nam June Paik’s work. Kyungso Min has already studied the collection at South Korea’s Nam June Paik Art Center. So, the natural next step for Min, a doctoral student in art history at UW–Madison, was to study the Nam June Paik Archive housed at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.This summer, Min will have the chance to do just that as a Smithsonian Institution Fellow.

UW–Madison formalizes graduate assistantship policy, continues investment in graduate assistants

A new policy document provides formal guidance on employment-related matters for graduate student teaching and project assistants and their supervisors.  Consistent with university values of shared decision making, the document comes out of a two-year collaborative process involving graduate students, faculty, staff, and administration.

Graduate programs train students for high-need professions in Wisconsin

Master’s degree programs at UW–Madison are addressing training needs and certification requirements in high-growth job fields across the U.S. and at home in Wisconsin.

In the next five years, the demand for trained school psychologists is expected to grow by 20%, creating about 30,500 jobs across the U.S. Another example comes from the healthcare fields, where the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development predicts a nearly 11% increase in demand for dietitians and nutritionists by 2024.