Business and political leaders in the Milwaukee area applaud University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee chancellor Carlos Santiago’s gumption for bolstering the university’s relationship with public and private economic development groups through a capital expansion program valued at several hundred million dollars. Yet, for all his efforts over the past three years, Santiago’s plans for a new engineering campus in Wauwatosa, a School of Public Health in Milwaukee, a School of Freshwater Sciences near the lakefront and two redevelopment projects near the UWM campus seem to hit roadblocks at every turn, inching their way to reality. No matter where Santiago tries to put a new building, he runs into opposition and political red tape...In an extensive interview with The Business Journal this week, Santiago talked about his plans, his frustrations with the constant roadblocks and the possibility of a new basketball arena on campus...

Engineers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on Thursday announced a discovery that advances the renewable-energy research aimed at converting corn stalks or switchgrass into jet fuel. The research was published in this week's issue of the journal Science...

U.S. researchers have developed a highly efficient way of creating biofuel out of crop waste. The researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison developed a chemical process that converts gamma-valerolactone, a derivative of the woody and grassy parts of plants, into fuel. The chemists say the resulting biofuel, called alkenes, is powerful enough to be used as jet fuel, unlike ethanol which lacks the energy density needed for such an application...

...Researchers at the University of Wisconsin report a breakthrough on Friday in the journal Science. Their two-step chemical conversion turns waste biomass efficiently into liquid hydrocarbons that could fuel vehicle or jet engines...

Wisconsin scientists say they've made a breakthrough in developing jet fuel from biomass, instead of oil. But it'll still be awhile before your next flight runs on the biofuel. Engineers at the UW-Madison took a biomass compound, called GVL. They exploited the tendency of the sugar in the material to degrade, and say they've transformed it into the chemical equivalent of jet fuel...

A fire in an off-campus apartment near the University of Wisconsin-Stout sent one student to the hospital and left other students without a home...

One resident was still inside a six-unit apartment complex when the Menomonie Fire Department responded to the scene of a fire early Thursday morning...According to a press release from the (UW-Stout), four students and a dog needing immediate shelter were taken to Price Commons...

An experimental new drug is more effective than a widely used flu drug in treating bird flu, at least in lab mice, a UW-Madison study found. Mice infected with bird flu who received the drug, CS-8958, had a higher survival rate and lower virus levels than infected mice who got Tamiflu, according to the study, released Thursday and led by campus scientist Yoshihiro Kawaoka...

Graduate student diversity levels in multiple hard science departments have remained near constant over the past decade despite recruitment efforts...The percent of underrepresented graduate students in the sciences has remained almost constant at 4 percent from 1994 to 2008, according to the documents. In 2000 4.3 percent of graduate students in the sciences were minorities and in 2005 it dropped to 3.5 percent. According to Damon Williams, UW-Madison Vice Provost for Diversity and Climate, diversity numbers are low in graduate science departments at every “institution across the country”...

...After submitting DNA samples for genetic analysis, five University of Wisconsin-Parkside students, a faculty member and a staff member now know their maternal family roots, with six of the seven being able to confidently say their families hail from specific locations and peoples in Africa. They learned the results Wednesday night at Parkside through Gina Paige, president and co-founder, with Rick Kittles, of African Ancestry...

The "buy local campaign" is more than just shopping local; it also can mean learning local. This spring, 27 area teachers will be completing their master's degrees in education from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls while staying right here in Marshfield. Through a collaborative partnership, UW-Marshfield/Wood County Continuing Education and UW-River Falls Outreach offer a Master of Science in Education-Professional Development...

...Since 1907, our university has been at the forefront of environmentalism. UWSP's connection to the wellness of the planet and the individuals who inhabit it permeates our programs across campus. Of course, it is within our renowned College of Natural Resources that much of our modern reputation has been built and advanced...(Author: Interim UWSP Chancellor Mark Nook)...

...Symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, can affect up to 20 percent of the general population, especially in northern climates, where residents often don't get enough sunlight during the winter..."Seasonal depression deepens as you go farther north," said John Achter, director of the UW-Stout counseling center...

Lobbying day began with a visit from Gov. Jim Doyle and a pep talk from Superior Days founder Frank Boyle before the group took their message, as Doyle put it, “under the dome”...“I’m just going to give you a little warning,” he said. “Every now and then, people start talking about, ‘Well, maybe we ought to close a campus.’” Then they start looking toward the University of Wisconsin-Superior. Doyle said legislators and residents need to make sure that doesn’t surface during the coming campaign...

The Wisconsin Senate is set to vote on a bill that would make it a crime to manufacture or use false academic credentials. The Senate is scheduled to consider the measure in its floor session Tuesday. The plan is expected to pass with bipartisan support...

In the midst of anxieties about the nation's economy and unemployment rate, there is much discussion about the responsibility of the educational community. Research confirms that increasing the number of Americans with a college degree would help our economy recover faster and help the United States retain its competitive advantage globally. The best way to do that is to improve the readiness of high school students to succeed in college--and teach college graduates how to succeed in a real job...

More rallies are planned for next week to protest the budget cuts in (California) higher education and the resulting layoffs, furloughs and fee increases. Here are some numbers — from state and nonprofit sources — that describe education in public schools and colleges...

The tricky thing about viruses is that it’s impossible to know where they might spread next or what damage they might do if they mutate. The same could be said of “viral” protest movements like the one that started in California months ago. Talk of a series of March 4 demonstrations across California began in October, and since that time a loosely connected cyber network of angered faculty and students have planned their own protests across the country. What has emerged is the promise of the collective angst of cash-strapped public education -- from K-12 through the college sector -- bubbling over in hot spots from sea to shining sea...

...This year, in what may be a first nationally, the University of Pennsylvania is applying the idea to admitted applicants who are gay. Several experts on college admissions say that they do not know of any other colleges that have taken this step. Outreach to gay applicants is different in some key ways from outreach based on academic interests or race and ethnicity. Typically, applications ask about academic interests and race and ethnicity (although that question is optional), and no colleges are known to ask applicants about their sexual orientation...

The Tennessee General Assembly is considering a bill that would make certain state government officials eligible to become the head of any public institution or statewide system, even if they do not hold an advanced or terminal degree...