Category: News

The gift aims to accelerate four high-impact research initiatives at the university: quantum technologies, brain health, fusion energy and national security.

The projects, spanning fusion to critical minerals, are among 278 funded awards to national labs, companies, universities and non-profits in order to accelerate breakthroughs in energy, scientific discovery and national security through a new platform that combines AI, supercomputing, quantum systems and advanced scientific instruments.

UW–Madison’s first new college in more than four decades will explore and inform technological change for societal benefit.

The University of Wisconsin–Madison will designate 2026 as the “Year of AI Readiness and Competency” in a coordinated, campuswide effort to ensure that students, faculty and staff are prepared to use artificial intelligence thoughtfully, responsibly and in service to the Wisconsin Idea.

Michal Engelman, a nationally recognized sociologist and demographer, has been chosen to lead the RISE-THRIVE Collaboration Headquarters (HQ). Engelman serves as director of the Center for Demography of Health and Aging and principal investigator of the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study in the College of Letters & Science. The HQ will be housed in the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery.

The University of Wisconsin–Madison has named Remzi Arpaci-Dusseau founding dean of the College of Computing and Artificial Intelligence, marking a major step forward as the university prepares to launch the new college on July 1, 2026.

The Office of Business Engagement partnered with the Data Science Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to release the Research and Business-Bridging Intelligence Tool (RABBIT) in January 2025, and since then, researchers say it has helped faculty and staff more easily find colleagues with relevant expertise across campus.

For many organizations, the question is no longer whether AI will matter, but how to apply it effectively and responsibly. Increasingly, they are turning to experts at UW–Madison for guidance.

Chris Kucharik, professor of plant and agroecosystem sciences  in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, and investigator with the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies and the Wisconsin Energy Institute (WEI), has been chosen to lead the RISE-EARTH Collaboration Headquarters (HQ).

Forty-four participants from 11 universities, national laboratories, research organizations, and companies across the United States came to UW–Madison to learn new open source tools and technologies.