Wisconsin Alumni Association || Onwisconsin Spring 2012
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For University of Wisconsin-Madison Alumni and Friends Micro to Macro A tiny fly leads a UW geneticist to fruitful discoveries. SPRING 2012 WISCONSIN ALUMNI ASSOCIATION Familiar Territory For David Ward, it’s the same, yet so different. 150 YEARS Fat Fighter Is a healthy diet a human right? Space Dreams Badger alumnae reach sky-high goals. Rune-Nation Seeking the truth behind mysterious markings. The power of many gives power to many. Join the great people who make Great People possible. uwgreatpeople.org GP ad Fall 11ad-4_lg.indd 1 8/8/11 4:59 PM SPRING 2012 contents VOLUME 113, NUMBER 1 Features 22 Ward 2.0 By Jenny Price ’96 As he leads the university for a second time and agrees to a second year as interim chancellor, David Ward talks about embracing innovation during difficult times. 24 Lord of the Flies By Jill Sakai PhD’06 It took multiple bus rides for a young Barry Ganetzky to attend college classes each day. That same single- mindedness has nourished the UW researcher’s longtime career, pushing him to study tiny creatures and find ways to treat human disease. 30 Shared Space By Jenny Price ’96 30 Three dreams — and three dreams come true: these Badger alumnae are using their engineering degrees by working for NASA, contributing to America’s exploration 38 of space, and mentoring those who will follow. 38 Leading the War on Obesity By Melba Newsome Barry Popkin ’67, MS’69 long ago predicted the current obesity epidemic — and the former civil rights activist is now fighting for the right to a healthy diet for all. 42 A Rune with a View By John Allen James Frankki ’85, PhD’07 turned an interest in medieval Germanic languages into a fixation with studying runestones, chasing the chiseled characters across the United States. Departments 5 Inside Story 8 Letters 10 Scene 12 News & Notes 24 18 Collection 19 Classroom 20 Sports Cover A powerful lens brings into focus 46 Traditions the common fruit fly, a species that 49 Badger Connections takes center stage in painstaking 66 Flashback UW research. Photo by Jeff Miller SPRING 2012 3 Year of the Wisconsin Idea This academic year, we proudly celebrate the Wisconsin Idea. Through events, information, and reflection, we are observing one of our longest-held traditions: that UW teaching, research, outreach, and public service should improve the lives of people everywhere. Our alumni contribute to the legacy of the Wisconsin Idea every day through their work beyond the boundaries of campus to benefit the state, nation, and world. But we only hear some of these inspiring stories, so we invite you to share yours at www.wisconsinidea.wisc.edu 4 ON WISCONSIN Wis Idea AD, ON WIS.indd 1 1/31/12 9:14 AM insidestory JEFF MILLER Had you arrived at On Wisconsin Rose Bowl Stadium SPRING 2012 a few minutes after the winning team collected Publisher the championship trophy Wisconsin Alumni Association on January 2, but couldn’t 650 North Lake Street, Madison, WI 53706 Voice: (608) 262-2551 • Toll-free: see the scoreboard, you (888) WIS-ALUM • Fax: (608) 265-8771 might have thought that E-mail: [email protected] Website: onwisconsin.uwalumni.com the Badgers had won. Long after the clock Co-Editors Niki Denison, Wisconsin Alumni Association ran out — and the Cindy Foss, University Communications Badgers, in fact, hadn’t Senior Editor won — Wisconsin fans John Allen, Wisconsin Alumni Association remained in the stands Senior Writer to take part in the UW Jenny Price ’96, University Communications Marching Band’s Fifth Nobody does it better: win or lose, wherever they go, Badger Art Director Quarter. “Wisconsin fans unite with unwavering pride, energy without end, and Earl J. Madden MFA’82, plenty of red attire. University Communications travels well” is a popular Production Editor phrase when bowl berths and NCAA tournament bids are handed out, but it took my Eileen Fitzgerald ’79, first-ever trip to Pasadena for the 2012 Rose Bowl to help me truly understand its University Communications meaning: fans wear red at all times of the day, every day, even on the plane ride home Editorial Associate after a heartbreaking loss. They come early and stay late on game day. They quickly Paula Apfelbach ’83, Wisconsin Alumni Association; Editorial Intern: Lydia Statz x’12 put losing in perspective, and they celebrate regardless of the outcome. Design, Layout, and Production Yes, I’m biased. I was born in Madison, and I bleed Badger red. But consider Barry Carlsen MFA’83; Toni Good ’76, MA’89; this comment from an Oregon Ducks fan, posted to the UW’s Rose Bowl website Kent Hamele ’78, University Communications following her team’s victory: “I have to say that the Wisconsin team, band, and fans Campus Advisers are absolutely wonderful! I loved all the T-shirts, the overalls, the face paint, and the Paula Bonner MS’78, President and CEO, and Mary DeNiro MBA’11, Executive Vice warm charm you all brought with you. … Thanks for a great game, true sportsman- President and COO, Wisconsin Alumni ship, and a wonderful atmosphere.” Association • Amy E. Toburen ’80, Director, University Communications • Lynne Johnson, During the years I lived outside of Wisconsin, I was a rabid Badger fan, but I Senior Director of Communications, confess that I took it for granted when I moved back home. It’s easy to forget how University of Wisconsin Foundation lucky I am to live in the place that far-flung alumni, such as those I met in Pasadena, Advertising Representative celebrate with such enthusiasm. The more the years and the miles separate people Madison Magazine: (608) 270-3600 from Madison, the more they seem to appreciate what it brought to their lives. Alumni Name, Address, Phone, and E-Mail Changes • Death Notices Yes, it would have been great to win the football game. But what we carry with us, Madison area: (608) 262-9648 and what joins us together, is worth even more. It’s why we will always travel well. Toll-free: (888) 947-2586 Jenny Price ’96 E-mail: [email protected] Quarterly production of On Wisconsin is supported by financial gifts from alumni and friends. To make a gift to UW-Madison, please visit supportuw.org. Printed on recycled paper. Please remember to recycle this magazine. This magazine was printed by Arandell Corporation, a SPRING 2012 5 Wisconsin Green Tier participant. AluUW-Madisonmni Weekend April 27–28, 2012 Featuring Saturday’s Signature Event WISCONSIN Dig in to everything the weekend has to offer ALUMNI ASSOCIATION by visiting uwalumni.com/alumniweekend. 150 YEARS PHOTO COMPOSITE: BUCKY ILLUSTRATION: ON WISCONSIN MURAL, RED GYM 6 ON WISCONSIN warf.org SPRING 2012 7 letters For University of Wisconsin-Madison Alumni and Friends BUCKY ILLUSTRATION: BUCKY ILLUSTRATION: As a Madison graduate and an American dealing with the uncertainty. I wish her only citizen originally from Hong Kong, I bene- the best of luck. ON WISCONSIN ON fited well from my student days at Madison, Sam Frazer ’68, MD’72 MURAL, RED GYM not just academically, but also culturally, as I Verona, Wisconsin Unflagging mingled with the communities there, bonding Potential with some students as we became lifelong They Want to Be Badgers The UW explores academic partnerships with China. friends. The segment about the Fifth Quarter in “If It’s been one high Although much has been said about You Want to Be a Badger” [Winter 2011] trig- note after another! China’s robust economy amidst the western gered a memory for me. The UW Marching world’s financial downturns, China’s stun- Band was a guest at a Packers-49ers game And thanks to the 38,000 who’ve banded together as members of the Wisconsin Alumni Association (WAA) to support the university and stay connected, our 150th ning growth, fueled by vast consumer demand in November 2009, and gave concerts before anniversary feels even more special. Go ahead, toot your own horn about how proud you are to be a Badger — and massive government investments in infra- the game, at halftime, and following play for a become a WAA member today! structure to facilitate domestic commerce, half-hour each time. Following the latter, which uwalumni.com/membership created a bulging middle class enamored of included segments of the band moving up into the American culture in general. the stands, nobody at Lambeau Field left their Cover-ing China While statistics show that students from seats. The spectacle captivated the fans, and Just received the Winter 2011 issue of On China comprise the majority of international not even a fly-over by F-16 jets compared in Wisconsin. Did not like the cover at all. The students at Madison, not everyone in China the lump-in-your-throat department. It was content of the story [“Delicate Balance”] is fine, who wants to come to the United States can awesome. and the graphics inside the magazine are fine, afford to come. Despite the emergence of the Gene Schwarze ’61 but the cover glorifies the People’s Republic middle class, an economic gap also exists in Eagle River, Wisconsin in a way that’s just inappropriate. It would’ve China between the haves and have-nots. been more appropriate to use a graphic like By arranging for UW-Madison students The writer of “If You Want to Be a Badger” the one on page 22 as the cover art. to study in China, Dean Bousquet implements missed one of my favorite UW foods. Alan Cobo-Lewis MS’90, PhD’92 a dual winning proposition of not merely Unfortunately, it’s not nearly as well known as Orono, Maine Really enjoyed the most informative and inter- If I had to choose between Babcock ice cream and fudge-bottom esting article “Delicate Balance” in your Winter pie for my last meal, I’d go for the latter and be in heaven.