Dan Simmons

UW-Madison grad, 27, ready to play with the universe as Berkeley physics PhD

host.madison.com — Jessie Otradovec showed promise in post-high school jobs at Papa John's and Cost Cutters in Green Bay. But she wanted to play with the universe. She eventually left behind the pizza and barber shears and, at age 27, will graduate from UW-Madison this weekend with a bachelor's degree in physics and astrophysics.

Percy Brown rises from segregated South to Madison neighborhood champion

host.madison.com — As a 15-year-old, Percy Brown watched in horror from the living room as a burning cross lit the night in front of his rustic Mississippi home, another hostility endured growing up in the impoverished belly of the segregated South.

Scott Walker calls for tuition freeze, smaller increase for UW System

host.madison.com — Gov. Scott Walker announced Wednesday night that he'll cut about $94 million out of the $181 million budget boost earlier proposed for the University of Wisconsin System, in addition to freezing tuition as a result of revelations that the System kept hundreds of millions of dollars in cash reserves in recent years.

MATC students go to flight school building unmanned drones

host.madison.com — Hovering just feet above the gym floor at Madison Area Technical College: what some see as the future of flight and others see as a scary vision of a future without privacy. At first, it looks like a rudimentary model aircraft - two aluminum tubes flared in a V-shape with eight tiny propellers spaced evenly atop the tubes and four padded wiffle balls below as landing gear.

Wisconsin students decline, international students rise as percentage of most recent UW-Madison freshman class

host.madison.com — UW-Madison's incoming freshman class last fall included the lowest percentage of Wisconsin students and by far the highest percentage of international students in at least a decade, the latter fueled by a doubling of Chinese freshmen from the previous year.

MadDanWSJ: UW-Madison: standing O for ...

twitter.com — UW-Madison: standing O for chancellor Ward at his final faculty senate meeting. pic.twitter.com/bavjJZvZ0Y