Univ. of Wisconsin is in Madison, WI

From the Article by Eric Hamilton, University of Wisconsin News, April 23, 2020

Each year, the Secretary of the Faculty recognizes professors from the University of Wisconsin–Madison for distinguished contributions to research, teaching and service with the Hilldale Awards.

One faculty member each from the arts and humanities, social sciences, physical sciences and biological sciences is selected from nominations by department chairs. The winners will be awarded $7,500 and recognized an upcoming Faculty Senate meeting.

Two of the four winners this year are Richard Lindroth and Thomas Jahns.

Richard Lindroth — Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor of Entomology

Lindroth is a world-renowned expert in the complex interactions between plants, insects and the global environment. His research into the chemical ecology of poplar trees helped lay the foundation for the use of these species as vital models of woody plants and potential bioenergy crops.Portrait of Richard Lindroth

His work has helped unite biological interactions ranging from individual genes all the way up to global climate. Lindroth has demonstrated how higher carbon dioxide levels affect tree productivity and how insect-plant interactions will affect forests’ ability to mitigate climate change. This work relied on Lindroth’s leadership of the Aspen FACE study in northern Wisconsin, the largest open-air carbon dioxide experiment ever conducted. And he was able to link individual genes in trees to their effects on insect evolution, a connection that was previously impossible to demonstrate.

Lindroth is also recognized as an exceptional teacher and mentor to undergraduate and graduate students. He has edited top journals in his field and served as associate dean for research in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences for six years during difficult budget cuts.

“His visionary research, national and international prominence as a scholar, and laudable commitment to campus and community all exemplify the Wisconsin Idea at its finest,” writes Susan Paskewitz, professor and chair of entomology, in her nominating letter.

Thomas Jahns — Grainger Professor of Power Electronics and Electrical Machines

Jahns has helped make our current world a reality through his internationally recognized leadership in the electric motors underlying such applications as electric and hybrid cars and wind turbines. Jahns pioneered the development of interior permanent magnet machines with adjustable-speed drives, first writing about them in 1986. Since then, these IPM machines have gone on to dominate in robots, air conditioners and electric propulsion systems worldwide, and they are found in nearly all electric and hybrid cars.

His research into other types of electric motors has applications beyond cars. Some of the motors are planned for hybrid aircraft using both jets and battery-driven propellers. Other improvements may allow large increases in efficiency for the electric motors that power our modern world, leading to significantly reduced electricity consumption.

Throughout this productive research career, Jahns has also contributed to the education of generations of engineers with expertise in electric motors. He has taught more than 50 courses that have reached nearly 1,000 students. Jahns helped launch and serves as faculty director of a certificate program for working engineers that provides important training and serves as a funnel to on-campus degrees. And he directs the Wisconsin Electric Machines and Power Electronics Consortium, an internationally renowned partnership between industry and academia that has granted more than 600 graduate degrees.

Jahns was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2015, and in 2005 was awarded the Nikola Tesla Field Award by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. “Tom Jahns has truly distinguished himself as among the most accomplished, and impactful, faculty members in the physical sciences at UW–Madison,” writes Susan Hagness, professor and chair of electrical and computer engineering, in her nominating letter.

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See also: Frac Sand Sentinel – Save The Hills Alliance (Free Subscription)

Many people are engaged in studying and working on issues related to FRAC SAND MINING in Northwestern Wisconsin across county lines and then again across state lines as people in Minnesota, Iowa, Ilinois and Michigan fight to keep themselves safe from the issues associated with the silica industry. Silica mining and blasting, crushing and washing and drying at processing mines or plants and the trans-loading of sand to rail or truck or barge so the industry can sell its product either nationally or internationally for hydraulic fracturing is hitting us and many of our sister states hard.

Wisconsin is known as the Poster Child for Silica Mining: Without Regulations! No one wants to experience what is happening in Wisconsin!