2024 CALS Year in Review
The end of the year is a great time to look back and reflect on the milestones and accomplishments of the CALS community. Here are some of the stories that made 2024 a memorable year for the college.
CALS launches new majors and certificates
In 2024, CALS launched a number of new majors and certificates in response to student interest and job market demand. The new agroecology major focuses on making agricultural systems more sustainable while addressing global challenges such as climate change and social inequality. The dairy and food animal management major emphasizes training in management practices and business concepts for a range of food animal species. The new environmental soil science certificate focuses on the science and environmental implications of soil and was designed to complement to many majors. Students seeking to develop skills and knowledge in the science, production and marketing of fermented foods and beverages can now opt for a fermented food and beverages certificate.
UW–Madison researchers and a group of Tribal partners launched a project to support Native American food traditions and food sovereignty for Great Lakes Tribal Nations. The project, which focuses on expanding traditional Tribal food production practices and infrastructure, is supported through a $10 million grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
Entomologists share the buzz about periodical cicadas
In May and June, Brood XIII periodical cicadas emerged in Wisconsin. The insects emerge every 17 years and were last seen in the state in 2007. PJ Liesch, manager of the Insect Diagnostic Lab, helped share information about this phenomenon by building a resource-rich website and conducting numerous media interviews. On June 8, the entomology department held Cicadapalooza in Lake Geneva, an events that included walking tours, demonstrations, and talks to introduce curious nature lovers to the noisy bugs.
Government leaders visit CALS, attend college events
2024 was a big year for visits from government officials thanks to the numerous political races up and down the ballot. Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin attended the groundbreaking for the US Dairy Forage Research Center’s new research farm; CALS leaders and faculty met with USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack during his World Dairy Expo trip; and Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers shared remarks at the Dairy Innovation Hub’s annual Dairy Summit. Other visits included: EPA chief of staff Dan Utech at Allen Centennial Garden, USDA Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small at D.C. Smith Greenhouse, Wisconsin Senator Rachel Gabral-Guevara at Hancock ARS, then-Wisconsin Senator Melissa Agard at Arlington ARS and five other legislative offices attending field day events.
CALS scientists look for ways to reduce methane emissions from dairy cattle
Cattle are essential to Wisconsin’s dairy community — but when they eat, they produce the greenhouse gas methane during digestion. Fortunately, there are ways to reduce the amount of methane that cattle burp up. CALS scientists received funding to explore three promising approaches: using genetics to breed cattle that emit less methane, developing a milk-based test that can predict a cow’s methane emissions and exploring the microbiome for dietary interventions.
Harnessing microbiology to make the most of waste
Erica L-W Majumder, assistant professor of bacteriology, is studying microbes that live in landfills and working to identify waste that these microbes can turn into biodegradable plastics. The hope is that microbe-made bioplastics can one day replace standard plastics. Along these same lines, Victor Ujor, assistant professor of food science, is studying how tools such as molecular engineering and fermentation biology can convert waste products into biofuels and sustainable materials.
Chats with AI shift attitudes on climate change, Black Lives Matter
When conversing, humans can adjust to their conversation partners’ political leanings and cultural expectations to make sure they’re understood. But more often now, humans find themselves in conversation with computer programs. Researchers including Kaiping Chen, professor of life sciences communication, wanted to understand how GPT-3, a precursor to ChatGPT, would perform in complex discussions. They recruited more than 3,000 people to have real-time conversations with GPT-3 about climate change and the Black Lives Matter movement (BLM). They found that people who were more skeptical of human-caused climate change or BLM were disappointed with the chat bot experience but left the conversation more supportive of the scientific consensus on both topics.
CALS researchers explore connection between diet and infertility
The association between obesity and infertility is a long-standing one, but scientists are still trying to determine the precise nature of the correlation. A study focused on high-sugar diets in fruit flies, spearheaded by Rodrigo Dutra Nunes and Daniela Drummond-Barbosa in the Department of Genetics, found that a high-sugar diet — and not obesity — is the primary cause of female infertility. In another notable health-related study, biochemistry associate professor Vatsan Raman and his team created a biosensor that glows green when interacting with naltrexone, an opioid mimic.
Investigating a no-melt ice cream
Frozen treats can help you cool off, but they can also melt quickly into a puddle. A team of food scientists explored adding naturally occurring compounds to ice cream to prevent it from making such a mess. They found that polyphenols, which occur naturally in foods like green tea and blueberries, can be added to ice cream to make it thicker. These compounds help create a network between the cream’s fats and proteins that help the ice cream hold its shape, leading to fewer drips at room temperature.
CALS graduate students bring the wonders of insects, plants, and genetics to kids and families
Graduate students are bringing the wonders of science and nature to learners of all ages through numerous outreach efforts organized by Insect Ambassadors and What’s Eating My Plants? (WEMP). Insect Ambassadors-led events introduce learners to citizen science programs that monitor monarch butterflies, bumble bees and dragonflies. WEMP members host activities at S.T.E.A.M. Science events, such as teaching kids about tomato care and fungal genetics and helping them build Lego models of tomatoes designed by Brian Hudelson, director of the Plant Disease Diagnostics Clinic.
Popular on social media: A view of the solar eclipse
On Monday, April 8, a partial solar eclipse passed through Madison and drew out crowds all around campus. CALS photographer Michael P. King captured people observing the rare event through specialized eclipse glasses in front of Ag Hall. In Madison, the sun was only 85-90% obscured, but it was still an incredible sight.
Dean Glenda visits with stakeholders around the state
Dean Gillaspy prioritized getting out and visiting with key stakeholders in 2024. She made multiple trips with Chancellor Mnookin, including one to central and northern Wisconsin featuring stops at Russell Rezin & Son Cranberry Marsh in Monroe County, HoChunk Nation land in Juneau County and Kemp Natural Resources Station in Oneida County. Second and third outings were to Monroe and Vernon Counties featuring stops at Organic Valley in Cashton, Hidden Springs Creamery in Westby and Wonderstate Coffee in Viroqua. During a fourth visit, Gillaspy took a tour of Klondike Cheese Factory in Green County. As part of a UW 175th anniversary celebration held in Chippewa Valley, she participated in a discussion hosted by the Wisconsin Farm Union. Gillaspy also took part in a panel about community-university partnerships at the Rural Sociological Society’s annual conference.
CALS personnel share their expertise with the media
This year, CALS experts were quoted in more than 7,500 media stories in publications from 80+ countries. All told, stories mentioning CALS experts had a reach of around 18.8 billion audience impressions (reads/views/listens), as reported by the media monitoring service Meltwater.
A small sample of stories that reached the largest audiences include Judith Kimble in The New York Times describing the nematode research community, John Lucey in USA Today commenting on raw milk risks, and Andrew Stevens in Yahoo!News explaining the impact of bird flu on egg prices.
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